Gaming computer plays games horribly?

Your biggest problem (by FAR) is the low-end graphics card. The CPU is mediocre, capable of handling light to medium gaming if paired with a decent GPU.

The Radeon HD 5450 is a $35 budget card for everyday work, it's not designed for gaming. Even a $50 Radeon HD 6570 is over twice as fast.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_G...

The Radeon HD 5450 is about equal to a GeForce 210:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diablo-iii-per...

I recommend upgrading to a GeForce GT 630 (which is a renamed GT 440) or Radeon HD 6570. If you can spend a little more grab a Radeon HD 6670, GeForce GT 640 or Radeon HD 7750.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...

I downloaded Razer Game Booster which apparently improves the performance of any game if you run the game through it, however it made a minimal difference, however maybe it could help take you to the next quality/smoothness level.

In terms of what you can upgrade there to make it faster, you can spend money on a decent graphics card but to get the most out of it you would have to improve the ram and cpu, something which you might not be able to do unless you install a new mother board, so in terms of actually upgrading, there isnt a major solution to your problem unless you are willing to spend a decent amount of money.

Have you tried using the catalyst control centre? you can set default rules to be followed by games such as disabling the AA, which I would recommend on your setup. Also like some one else said running the game at the lower resolution in your aspect ratio would be a good solution to the game having better quality effects but still running smoother as sometimes the total pixel count can by halved just by going down a resolution, but obviously lower than 720p isnt the most pleasurable gaming experience.

I'm sure you have already looked into over clocking, the differences won't be massive again but the there could be an overall decent increase in performance if you run the game through the razer game booster, after over clocking the gpu in the Catalyst control centre and changing the default settings that ever game should follow.

There is a useful ram checker online...http://www.crucial.com/uk/systemscanner/

which tells you what you can upgrade your ram to, however you would find more notable differences changing the gpu and cpu.

It sounds like you might have an OK core to almost make a frankenstein computer, still using the case you have, PSU, dvd drive sound card, possibly cooler if you havent got the stock cooling cpu fan installed, build a new computer with these old parts and over time buy the new cpu, graphics card, a mother board that can support a better processor graphics card and more ram. As your running 64 bit, although not making a massive difference to the gaming, you will see some benefits from having 8gb ram.

In terms of someone saying for you to get a Solid State Drive, yes these do improve system performance but unfortunately not in the area you were wanting the increase in speed.

Summary...

temporarily use Razer game booster, Catalyst control centre and possibly purchase a slightly better graphics card (i recently got the radeon hd 6 series for around £45 for my friend and it runs game better than an xbox but not at any where near the level you would be wanting a gaming computer to run the games at.

for the future...look into replacing each part over a period of time and build yourself a cool Frankenstein PC

EDIT...You dont need 8gb of ram to run games at 30fps, a really high speed 4gb ram would do the job no problem like someone else answered unless you were trying to reap the benefits of the monster processor you are planning on purchasing.

Also avast anti virus comes with an option for disabling it untill the next restart, so as long as you remember to restart your computer after playing a game you can actually get a slightly better FPS just by doing this.

Also, i know its not ideal, but i have found shadows are the thing that I can cope without having on full quality if it benefits the overall play, and eventually you get to the point where you forget you don't even have shadows enabled. Just another temporary solution to your problem

Generally speaking you have a low end processor, non gaming video card, and too slow ram. Though it may not be in your budget, just get a new machine capable of playing the games you want at the fps you want to see.

Hey there,

I downloaded Razer Game Booster for free here: http://j.mp/1m5WORs

it's a perfectly working link!

One of the best things about the download of this program is that it allows you to automatically carry out this process and improve the state of your system with just one click.

you need a new graphics card, more ram, and a better cpu. Minimum of gtx 660 orradeon 6000 series, minimum of 8gb of ram, and minimum i5 processor.

check this website

this tells you how to run games on setting http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri

you should really sell this pc i dont think it would even count as a gaming pc.

the graphics card is old and you dont have much memory

you should look for a graphics card that is 2gb or even 3 to 4 gb..

this website should help you ;]

http://ironsidecomputers.com/

You should throw that PoS away and buy a gaming laptop, like an Asus G75VX or an Asus G53SW. The G75VX is a lot better.

the processor is not fast enough for most games. at least a core i3 processor and a little more ram would solve your problem.

Get ourself more RAM and SSD drive, or change your processor(Corei7 is recommended!)

ummmm

turn down the resolution on your screen!!!!!!

and also make sure there isnt any other programs running (antivirus)