I just built a PC with the hopes of playing Witcher 2 and cannot get the framerate above 20 during gameplay unless I minimize all the graphics settings including the resolution. (Which leaves the game looking like an early PS2 title and most of the text illegible) I'm a bit confused, because everything is well above the minimum specs and I should be able to play the game at medium to high settings from what I understand.

SPECS
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VII
CPU: Intel i7-4790K (4.0 GHz)
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws (8 GB)
GPU: AMD Radeon 5450 (1 GB)

The GPU is the only thing I took from my old PC, everything else is new. Is the GPU just a junker despite its gigabyte rating?

I've updated all the drivers fully and ensured everything is working in BIOS. The PC runs great until I start playing a game. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Pretty much yes, enough memory doesn't mean enough power, your GPU is too weak to play The Witcher 2 in HD resolution. Even your iGPU integrated in CPU is probably stronger, so you can try to play via Intel GPU. ;)

Thanks for the quick reply, triock! I suspected as much, but was confused by the recommended specs that have been listed. I'm going to purchase a more powerful GPU to go with the rest of the machine.