Can a New GPU Rejuvenate a 5 Year Old Gaming PC?

MojoKid writes "New video card launches from AMD and NVIDIA are almost always reviewed on hardware less than 12 months old. That's not an arbitrary decision — it helps reviewers make certain that GPU performance isn't held back by older CPUs and can be particularly important when evaluating the impact of new interfaces or bus designs. That said, an equally interesting perspective might be to compare the performance impact of upgrading a graphics card in an older system that doesn't have access to the substantial performance gains of integrated memory controllers, high speed DDR3 memory, deep multithreading or internal serial links. As it turns out, even using a midrange graphics card like a GeForce GTX 660, substantial gains up to 150 percent can be achieved without the need for a complete system overhaul."

Comments

Re:Older = how old?

[Anonymous Coward]

A new card with 32 Mb of ram

When was the last time you were shopping for a graphics card? 1998?

Re:Older = how old?

[MrBippers]

He's a hardware architect that's been out of work since 3dfx closed down, you insensitive clod!