What is holding me back?

[alexg_111]

I recently bought a new graphics card hoping I could kick up the settings in some of my games and get a nice and constant 50-60 fps. Well it seems I do for a moment but as soon as I begin to move around and start loading more of the area in Far Cry 3 I get large fps drops. This happens similarly in other games.

I'm not sure exactly what is holding me back at the moment, I have a couple guesses but I thought I'd ask before replacing things.


My current spec:
Processor: Intel Core i3 CPU 530 @ 2.93GHz
Memory: 3.0 GB RAM
Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE 100352-2L Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5
Power Supply: Rosewill Green series
OS: Windows XP Service pack 3

Please let me know if you need any more information

 

[4745454b]

What hdd are you using?

If you are having drops as it loads areas then I'm guessing either the CPU isn't strong enough to load the data and provide 60FPS, or you have a low end hdd that can't send the data fast enough.

 

[alexg_111]

How can I tell what kind of HDD I have? All I can find out is how much space I have left.

 

[4745454b]

Open the case up? Look up the serial number? Should be listed in the control panel somewhere I'm sure.

 

[alexg_111]

It is a 500gb

sata 32mb cache

s/n WCAT00936129

WD caviar black

 

[4745454b]

If it's a black it shouldn't be a speed issue. Probably your dual core CPU then. I'd try OCing it and seeing if the problem goes away. Double check your temps before OCing.

 

[alexg_111]

If it's a black it shouldn't be a speed issue. Probably your dual core CPU then. I'd try OCing it and seeing if the problem goes away. Double check your temps before OCing.

Alright I'll check out how to OC safely, and use HWInfo to check on temps.