Is my CPU bottlenecking my GPU?

[Sleeven88]

Running on a 460 768mb and Phenom 955 at stock.

Getting only 30ish fps on Skyrim. Would a cpu overclock help or is it time to upgrade my card?

 

[TheRealDeal]

Give your cpu an overclock and see if things improve. If they do then your cpu was a bottleneck. What resolution are you running? as the lower it is the more cpu horsepower you will need. When you lower the settings on skyrim do you see a frame increase? If not thats another sure sign that you are cpu limited.

 

[Sleeven88]

Give your cpu an overclock and see if things improve. If they do then your cpu was a bottleneck. What resolution are you running? as the lower it is the more cpu horsepower you will need. When you lower the settings on skyrim do you see a frame increase? If not thats another sure sign that you are cpu limited.

Ive been lowering everything and fps stays the same...

Running at 1920 x 1080

 

[Marine-RX179]

Isn't Skyrim only uses two cores due to using a dated game engine?

With only two cores on a stock clock Phenom II X4 955 the chances are it WILL bottleneck the card.

 

[Sleeven88]

Ahh right, theres me about to purchase a new card!

Any suggestions on what speeds to aim for?

 

[TheRealDeal]

Anadtech reached 3.8ghz on stock voltage so that would be a good start. I imagine with more volts over 4ghz is possible. If you can get a nice overclock on your cpu then if you havent already done so overclock your gpu as the gtx460's get some nice gains. Just make sure to monitor your temps.