Why do I have bad framerates?

I bought a new graphics card a while back, installed it to try to increase my fps in games, but it did almost nothing.

current system:

Dell 537 MT- G41 Chipset
CPU: Intel dual core E5200 800mhz fsb 2M cache
RAM: 4GB DDR2 800
GPU: ASUS Radeon HD6870 DIRECT CU
HDD: Non-fragmented... WD Caviar Black SATA 3 compatable (only using SATA 2 on this MB)

what might be the bottleneck?
I am thinking that the processor just cannot keep up with the graphics demands... any thoughts?
 
Yeah, you should definitely look at upgrading that CPU, and your ram isn't too flash either.
 
A quad core with that same setup may be better, but it will be a waste of your 6870 because you will still be bottlenecked because Core 2 is old as fack. Look at the CPU and GPU gaming performance charts on this site for proof.
 
It's really gonna depend on what games you are trying to play, if its COD, then the C2D is fine, if its BF3 and far cry 3 then your way below min spec, I game on a pretty terrible system and I can say that we are lucky that CPU demand has really not risen to much until I would say late this last year with most games. If your system can run a Q6600 you can get them off ebay for around $80, and it would be more then enough for modern games, most people have been spoiled by there Sandy bridge and Phenom systems they forget what older hardware can actually do.
 
Try upgrading to Intel Sandy Bridge CPU. Let see, try the Intel Pentium G840. And you're gonna need a new mobo as well. I'd recommend AsRock B75M DGS, and (no pun intended from prev. posts), DDR3 RAM like Corsair Vengeance 4gb 1600.

You can afford these on very good prices, because I happen to have bought them not higher than $160 here in our country. Good enough as a budget gaming enthusiasts' build. (y)
 
You can find some E7200//7300 for pretty low prices sometime.
They're very overclockable and a really cheap upgrade path.
 
Try upgrading to Intel Sandy Bridge CPU. Let see, try the Intel Pentium G840. And you're gonna need a new mobo as well. I'd recommend AsRock B75M DGS, and (no pun intended from prev. posts), DDR3 RAM like Corsair Vengeance 4gb 1600.

You can afford these on very good prices, because I happen to have bought them not higher than $160 here in our country. Good enough as a budget gaming enthusiasts' build. (y)


..Why on earth would he buy into a whole new platform and stay with dual core? No personal attack intended, but your post is terrible advice.

Either OP finds a cheap quad-core to fit his mobo, or he's gonna have to pony up a bit more cash and get him something else that'll last a while - i5, 8GB RAM.
 
..Why on earth would he buy into a whole new platform and stay with dual core? No personal attack intended, but your post is terrible advice.

Either OP finds a cheap quad-core to fit his mobo, or he's gonna have to pony up a bit more cash and get him something else that'll last a while - i5, 8GB RAM.

I'd like to note that this is just a "budget build". Compared to his bottleneck of a CPU, that Pentium is pretty fast and suits his new graphics. Okay, maybe just scratch my post from above, just my first time recommending things.
 
TS-56336: That's cool, we both have our opinions. :) I just think with a 6870 he's got a lot more power and money than a pentium!

I actually thought about an i5 in the first place, but I gave the cheaper approach because money is my major concern to the topic starter assuming he's in a tight budget.
 
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