10 bit graphics card

I have a 10 bit wide gamut monitor. I use a Firepro 5100 graphics card. Are there any cards that would significantly improve performance with photography apps, like Lightroom and Canon DPP? My PC is a first generation Core i7 950 , 3.07 GHz, 24 GB memory.

My monitor is a NEC PA301 WSV. It requires connection via Displayport for 10 bit color. Is Displayport going to be around in the future? Does Thunderbolt do 10 bit color (with other 10 bit monitors)?

Lightroom and Canons DPP make NO use of the GPU, so it really doens't matter what your graphics card is if performance is an issue.
Photoshop does make some, and it is a very limited some, use of the GPU, but even the most basic consumer card has more processing power than is needed.
If your doing anything in 3D, or video then things change and having the right GPU for the software your using is very important.

Displayport is the new standard and is replacing VGA and DVI, so it will be around for a long time.
Thunderbolt in theory passes displayport over the thunderbolt cable.
From what I could find from a quick google, whether that is 10bit or 8bit will depend on the GPU passing the signal through the thunderbolt connection.

Moppie wrote in post #17465213
Lightroom and Canons DPP make NO use of the GPU, so it really doens't matter what your graphics card is if performance is an issue.
Photoshop does make some, and it is a very limited some, use of the GPU, but even the most basic consumer card has more processing power than is needed.
If your doing anything in 3D, or video then things change and having the right GPU for the software your using is very important.

Displayport is the new standard and is replacing VGA and DVI, so it will be around for a long time.
Thunderbolt in theory passes displayport over the thunderbolt cable.
From what I could find from a quick google, whether that is 10bit or 8bit will depend on the GPU passing the signal through the thunderbolt connection.

Thanks for the response. Now that you mention it, I think I do remember reading that Thunderbolt carries Displayport.

Lightroom 5 is frustratingly slow sometimes with my 7D2 and 5D3 files. Jumping back and forth between images for example, takes several seconds to fully render each image, which makes comparisons difficult.

I just reinstalled Windows 7 on a new SSD a year ago, and overall computer operation is relatively speedy.

Lightroom 6 is supposed to making use of your graphics card, but like Moppie said, you won't see much difference using a new graphics card. Displayport is the future and should eventually take over VGA and DVI, but its a slow process, look how long VGA has managed to hang on for.

Best way to speed up lightroom, if putting your cache on an SSD, and if you can afford it, the library on an SSD to. Theres a few settings you can use to optimise lightroom as well, check your preview sizes are appropriate for your monitor, and that your cache length is at least 30 days if you have the space.