In Thresh's FiringSquad's low-end system videocard guide wordt onderzocht wat de prestatiewinst is als je je inmiddels bijna obsolete geworden low-end systeem uitrust met een nieuwe (high-end) videokaart. De algemene conclusie is vrij voorspelbaar: een GeForce2 MX geeft bv. je 2 jaar oude Celly 450A bak een flinke performance boost voor relatief weinig poen. Als je graag Quaked in 1280x1024 of hoger heeft upgraden naar een snellere CPU sowieso weinig zin omdat uiteraard de videokaart dan de limiterende factor wordt:
First off, let me say that upgrading your CPU usually helps more than upgrading the video card. Cost-wise and performance-wise the CPU/MB upgrade would be the much better choice. Depending on your motherboard and RAM all you may have to do is swap out your CPU.
For others, it may be a bit harder, getting rid of the motherboard, RAM, and CPU takes a lot more of your time and money.
If we toss out all resolutions higher than 1024x748 in the Quake3 tests it becomes very obvious what a person with a low-end CPU should purchase. The GeForce2 MX keeps pace with its bigger brothers and some of the high-end competition. Bringing in the 3DMark tests, we see the same result. The GeForce2 MX does take hits, but at low resolutions the card keeps up very well.
Both the Celeron 450A and P3 600 machines benefit greatly from a GeForce2 MX. The GeForce2 MX costs next to nil, tapping your wallet for a mere $100, this card performs right up there with the big boys - ATI Radeon, GeForce DDR, and GeForce2. The margin of performance it has over the TNT2 Ultra and Voodoo3 is to great to make either of those cards a contender. The GeForce2 MX may be a low cost solution, but it sure is a good one.