I have an i5 3.4ghz dual core CPU, a Geforce 650 GTX 1gb, and 4gb of ram, Windows Vista, and I am running on a solid state drive.
On multiplayer I am running the game on med/low at 720p with no AA and 4xAF and my performance is great until the explosions start going off. I will get 30+fps on Gulf of Oman when flying over the water, but ~15fps when I am in the city. Games like CS:GO or TF2 run lighting fast on all max with AA and AF. I expected better from BF3. I know it a resource hog, but I should be able to get a fast framerate at low settings. Is this a known thing? Does the game chug at times for everybody, or do I need an even beefier desktop?
Best Answer
Well obviously you need a "beefier" system. What you need to upgrade is another problem.
The problem is really to vague to answer here. Make sure you have updated all drivers, monitor alternate programs. You could try uninstalling/reinstalling.
You are not exactly rocking a beast, I would guess your drops are quite common. 650 ins't a particularly powerful GPU. A GTX560 is recommended, you can see a comparison between your GTX650 and the recommended 560 here:
http://www.hwcompare.com/13473/geforce-gtx-560-vs-geforce-gtx-650/
(The 560 is about 30-40% more powerful than your 650).
I have: AMD 6950 Intel i5 2500 Kingston 8GB 1600Mz Ram 128GB 830 SSD
The game runs smooth for me, 60+ on ultra @1920x1080, drops to ~45 under heavy load (64 players, ultra res, explosions etc.etc.)