Appropriate gaming video card for a core 2 duo (65 nm)

[gam0reily]

hi,
my non-techie friend has got this following configuration -

processor - intel e4700 @ 2.6 GHz
mobo - intel 945gccr (@800 MHz) mATX
RAM - kingston 1gb (@533 MHz)
monitor - 22" (1920X1080 native res.)
video - nVidia 8400gs 512 MB DDR2

h won't upgrade his PC for about 1-2 years, so he has asked me to find an appropriate video card for him. The mobo has got 1 PCIE x16 lane.

He is kinda gamer who plays mostly first person shooters and other adventure sandbox types- POP, Assassins creed, etc.

I was thinking about the bottleneck problem with his system, so I could not exactly recommend a particular card appropriate for his needs.

please suggest some suitable cards compatible with his current system. nVidia recommended, although, he won't mind ATI 2.

Thx !

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Hey Gam0.
GTX 460 plus 3G extra ram.

 

[jessterman21]

Eh, pop in an HD 5670 for cheap playability, an HD 6870/GTX 560 for gaming on max settings - all are excellent performance in their price ranges right now. And definitely 3GB more RAM.

 

[gam0reily]

@rob and jessterman, much appreciated. I will tell my guy 2 get the RAM ASAP.

 

[gam0reily]

Best answer selected by gam0reily.