Tino Kreiss

We're back with Part 2 of our bottleneck exploration in a mainstream gaming PC equipped with a Core i5 and GeForce GTX 460, ready to dive into test results from ten additional games. All of the results are summarized and analyzed in our conclusion.

Wondering if your favorite game wants more CPU or GPU muscle? We tested 20 different titles using a GeForce GTX 460 and a Core i5 processor (one of our favorite configs) in order to figure out where a solid mainstream machine gets hung up.

Motherboards with multiple PCIe slots are becoming the norm these days, and the trend is being fueled by multi-GPU configurations. Configuring Nvidia's SLI and AMD's CrossFire technologies is easy, but how much more performance can you expect from them?

In order to set their products apart, third-party vendors take reference GPUs from AMD and Nvidia, then make their own tweaks to layout, cooling, and performance. We're comparing a tuned-up card from MSI to AMD's reference Radeon HD 5870 to measure value.

We dissect the power consumption of 106 different graphics cards in single- and dual-board configurations to help you pick the right PSU.

How far are PC graphics away from reality? Tom's Hardware takes a second look at the effects and tricks used currently by game developers to achieve more realism than ever before.

How close do PC graphics and effects get to the real world? Tom's Hardware takes a look and shows you the progress that’s been made so far, along with the tricks of the trade used by game developers.

How much extra performance can you get from a simple graphics driver update? And what sort of gaming gains can you expect from a high-end graphics card when you overclock your CPU?

Manufacturers really love the first Geforce 9. The graphic chip is fast, the cards are inexpensive, and some retailers offer more than ten variations.

Our VGA Charts are updated for 2008 and now include 101 different configurations and more than 6,700 results. Needless to say, it's the biggest collection of scores we've ever compiled.

What brings better results, purchasing a faster graphics card or investing your cash in a more powerful processor?

While graphics drivers and third-party utilities allow you to overclock your graphics card's GPU and memory, pixel shader clock speeds can only be increased through the card's BIOS.

We compare ATI HD 2900 and 2600 cards from MSI and HIS with Nvidia 8600 cards from MSI and Colorful. Can you guess the winners?

It's truth time. The first DirectX 10 games have appeared. We ask the question: Which Nvidia Geforce 8x00 or ATI Radeon 2x00 card performs best under Vista?

April showers bring May flowers, and new graphics parts that require new VGA charts...