What is holding my computer back? (skyrim and bf3)

What is holding my computer back? (skyrim and bf3)
I figured my p.c. would run Skyrim well by a long shot, but I am getting an annoyingly low frame rate when in combat with more than a few enemies, in towns, or when walking through highly detailed outdoor environments. I am consistently getting under 20 fps and sometimes down to 12 at the worst even when just running around the wilderness. The only time I get good fps is staring at a wall or in very tight quarters (up to 50-60). If there is not a lot on screen, and I am standing still, I will sometimes get to 25 fps but usually drop below 25 when I start moving again.

I put the settings on "High", however I am only at 1280x800 resolution. I turned shadows and radial blur to to low. I am content with these graphics and really don't want to lower them anymore. They are honestly less that I would really want. If I was running at ultra I would understand, but this just seems really bad considering my specs. Even at straight medium or low the fps is not where it should be.

I am also having similar problems with Battlefield 3. Even at lower graphics, it's quite laggy. I am able to process very high quality graphics, just not at a decent fps.

My question is, why the heck is my computer not running this game better? Is there some piece of hardware I need to upgrade so it stops bottleneck my pc? Are there any not so obvious issues that are making my performance so horrid?


and It pointed towards my computer running skyrim silky smooth at high graphics but it's not.

RAM: 4 gb
Video Card: ATI 5850 xfx 1gb (according to the thread, this should be able to do ultra!)
CPU: AMD Phenom Quad Core 2.2ghz
750 watt power supply
Stock HP motherboard (MCP61PM-HM)
64bit Windows Vista

(sorry if I am missing any important information)

Seems very reasonable to me, considering the system recommendations. My monitor and video card are capable of much higher resolutions, but I have them turned down. Others with seemingly less powerful systems than mine report getting better performance.

What is holding back my computer? My best guess would be my cpu, but it's been so long since I have researched new hardware and it all boggles my mind. I can tell what is better than what. Maybe a ram upgrade? Are there any good programs that could determine what's bottlenecking my pc? Is there some not so obvious problem that could be affecting performance.
Thanks.

#2
18-11-2011

Hitman22
Member

Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,389
Re: What is holding my computer back? (skyrim and bf3)
Cannot say for sure that the cpu might be the cause but it could be also that the video card or the processor might be getting heated up and therefore making the game not to run properly. Clean of the dust particles from your cabinet if you have any and remove all bloatwares from your pc and then run the game. Have you tried closing all services and all background applications at the time of running and then playing the game.