Hi, i play bf3 on ultra setting (MSAA off) and most of the time i get a stable 50-70 fps, but i have noticed sometimes my fps will drop as low as 25, i have a gpu usage display on, and my GPU is only working at 60%-65% most of the time(lowest 35% highest %75). i was thinking that my cpu may be bottle necking my gpu but after searching online alot people are saying the i3 wouldn't bottle neck the 7850.
So what i want to know is why is my gpu only running at 60% and why am i getting as low as 25fps but then as high as 70fps, is this big drop in fps normal? (obviously different parts of the map are more demanding than others) but why such a steep drop?
Gpu: Radeon 7850 2gb (OC'd core clock: 1050mhz - Memory 1250mhz)
Cpu: i3 3220
Psu: Coolmaster 550watt bronze 60+
Ram: 2x4gb
It will be the i3 I think. BF3 is a game that is written to take advantage of more than two cores, and shows quite large improvements when played as such. I recall reading somewhere that the game actually removes some features at points when using a dual core CPU to improve performance (I can't remember if it was Logan or another tech video type, but they mentioned that one of your AI teammates is actually removed if you play with a dual core or something along those lines).
BF3 is designed to take advantage of 4 cores if im right, so yeah the i3 is only a dual core with HT so that might could be the bottleneck here.
maybe a good idea to upgrade the cpu to a i5 2500K, or a i7 2600K if you can find one for cheap.
I would have to Agree with MisteryAngel.
You could buy an i5 3470 at Microcenter for $150 before tax.
I would agree - move to a higher spec cpu for the same socket you already have. Problem solved.