Is my CPU the bottleneck?

[terroh8er]

Hello,
I'm in the process of upgrading my HTPC to a gaming computer. Here are the specs:

AMD Athlon 64 x2 @ 2.1ghz
Abit AN52
4GB DDR2
Radeon 5770
Samsung F3 1TB
Antec Earthwatts 500w

I know the CPU is pretty old, but in my experience with my Phenom II x6, there isn't much load on the CPU in most games. I'm playing at 720p resolution. I just installed The Witcher 2 and it auto-detected my settings to be "low spec", which I thought was a mistake. Texture memory size was set to "very small", which I thought was strange considering the 5770. However, even when playing at "low spec", the game is unplayable. The same is the case with Duke Nukem Forever, although Portal 2 runs quite well.

Should it be this bad? I assume it is the CPU because everything else is pretty decent. Would I see a significant improvement if I upgraded to a Phenom x3 (not Phenom II)? They are pretty cheap if I get it second hand. Is it worth ditching the motherboard and getting an AM3 processor? I'd prefer not to spend a ton of money on this if I don't have to. Thanks

 

[Procyon12]

heres a quick check you can do.
play the witcher 2 with the exact same ''effects'' settings but different resolutions and AA/AF options.
if the framerate scales, then your biggest bottleneck is the GPU.

if it doesnt, the bottleneck could be anything else, most likley the CPU.

remember to disable all AA/AF options in CCC to test this properly.

 

[terroh8er]

So you're saying that if the framerate more or less stays the same when I raise the resolution, AA settings, etc., it is the CPU? That seems to make sense. I'll update in a little bit.