What gpu would you suggest for this rig?

[flay]

Hey guys, Im building a rig for someone as a present. She just uses it for general home use (listening music, watching films, word processing) and playing a select few games.
At current she plays Titan Quest and the Witcher (on my pc) - thus the purpose of buying her own one is so she can play these games, and DiabloIII when it comes out. I was going to get her a 9600gt or equivalent card, as they can easily play TQ and Witcher, but then I realised that Diablo III could take sodding ages to come out, in which case that card probs wont cut it.

I know you can't 'futureproof' a pc, but I need this one to be able to play Diablo III when it comes out, on high if not maxed out graphics. I reckon if i bought a gtx280 that would probs survive until D3, but its complete overkill atm. So do you guys think it would make more sense for me to go for a 9800gt/4830-50ish card? they can easily handle the two current games, and I could drop in another one in sli/xfire when D3 rolls around. Does the stablility of xfire(or so I've heard!) make it preferable to the possible PhysX applications of nVidia cards?
Could one of you knowledgeable sorts comment on whether you think that this is 'Diablo III-proof', I know you can't know for certain but your thoughts would be very helpful.
All replies are most appreciated!

 

[aevm]

Diablo 3 supports Havok (i.e. ATI), not PhysX (i.e. nVidia). That means I'll have to dump my trusty old 8800GTX and go with whatever ATI has available when D3 is finally out.

 

[Outlander_04]

what resolution will the monitor be?


This is the question people buying gfx cards need to ask first

 

[flay]

thanks for the replies guys, sorry about my delayed response - time differences!

the moniter will be a 20" samsung, so I guess that means it will run at 1680 x 1050.
so with that resolution, how much gpu power do you guys theorise will be needed to run D3? Thanks!

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I'd say under the circumstances a 4870 would probably be your best option. The prices have really come down on them lately.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000048%201067940678&Description=4870&bop=And&Order=PRICE

You might even want to pick up the 1GB version just in case D3 is one of the games that has a considerable increase over the 512MB version.

 

[flay]

thanks for the help shortstuff. I was afraid you would think I would need a 4870, this is becoming an expensive present!

 

[flay]

Do you think I could get away with two 4850's (512mb or 1gb) in crossfire, or would you still recommend a 4870? I wasn't sure whether you meant that one 4870 should be enough, or whether you think I'll need two 4870's in crossfire.

thanks!

 

[3lvis]

Its always best to buy a one card solution. So one 4870 or a 4850x2.

 

[aevm]

Or, if those are too expensive, you could get a HD 4850 now and add another one for her next birthday, if necessary. Titan Quest for example will work just fine on a single HD 4850. I played it a lot on an 8800GTX, which is slightly slower than the HD 4850.

If you like this idea I recommend a GA-EP45-UD3P or Asus P5Q Pro for the MB.