Problem with EVGA GTX 680, very worried.

I bought my new computer about 1 and a half years ago. This "problem" has been going on from when I bought it... I find my GTX 680 to lag at points that it should not lag at. For example at the moment I am playing Dead Space 1 and whenever I shoot the monsters with a flamethrower, the game lags. When those exploding monsters come and I shoot them, it lags. It used to do this in some other games too but I forgot which. I also play World of Tanks, no lag at all. Am I exaggerating, might it be the game, badly optimized? Dead Space was not downloaded illegally, it was bought from the Humble Bundle Thanks...

paulpicks21 said:

Hi bud, can we assume your GPU drivers are up to date?

Yes, they are. And I forgot to tell you, it is an EVGA GTX 680 Superclocked 2GB if it helps. Might my card be defective or somethin'?

paulpicks21 said:

I would say if the problem has been going on since you bought it then yeah it sounds like you might have a bad card. That card should run any game smooth as silk. You could check the settings in game, AA is a big hit, try lowering them a little and see how you get on.

I know this might be silly, but may dust affect performance?