FPS problems in games

[MindEraser]

It's not that it's a problem, it's just I think my computer should be performing better. Basically, I ordered this computer from Dell about two years ago. It's a smaller tower than usual, and the mobo can only fit a single gpu, which is fine. However, I'm running with 8gb DDR3 RAM, an i7 2.8ghz processor, and recently upgraded from a GTS240 Geforce to a GTX550ti Geforce. The game in question where I'm experiencing the problem is, of course, Skyrim. My friend, who pretty much has the same setup as I do, same graphics card and everything (except he has an i3 3.1 ghz CPU), can play on ultra with mods up and everything at 60 fps. My computer, on the other hand, is lagging around 30-40 FPS and can even dip below the 20s in some areas of the game just playing on HIGH. I asked what he may have been doing differently, such as overclocking his gear, but he's said he hasn't changed or done nothing more. My drivers are up to date (I'm using the newest NVIDIA beta driver). Could it be my CPU?

I'm wondering if it could be a software issue, but I'm hoping someone on here may know what my problem could be.

P.S. I'm not sure if the issue is related, but I noticed that some objects in the game are sometimes rendered transparent (especially when my AA is above 2x), Khajiit's heads, for example, are see through (!?!?!?!?). Not sure what that's all about but any replies would be great!

Edit: Can't post detailed specs at the moment. Keeping getting an error saying I can't post any kinds of links, images, or videos until I post a few times . I'll try and give more spec info if its required.

[Nellah]

The strangeness in the video artifacts would suggest a driver issue, but you mention you're running the latest drivers. Did you do a "clean" install? If not, some fragments of older drivers could still remain; I'd recommend trying that.

It's also possible, though unlikely, that the Dell case itself may be causing problems. What's the wattage on your power supply, and how hot is your video card running during games? A program like MSI Afterburner can read GPU temperatures (and clocks, which will tell us if the GPU is throttling.)


Have you witnessed your friend playing the game at said framerate and settings? Is he running at the same resolution as you are too?