PC CPUs have not really got that much faster in the last ten years compared to the previous decade. Each new Intel generation of the i- series was maybe 10% fas

PC CPUs have not really got that much faster in the last ten years compared to the previous decade. Each new Intel generation of the i- series was maybe 10% faster than the preceding one. A fast Core2 or 1st gen i7 is perhaps half the speed of a mid-range system today, and will probably beat some of the budget chips. Upgrading an oldish system with an SSD can make a big difference. Obviously, GPUs have also got a lot faster too. Hopefully, the recent competition from AMD will make us see better progress again.