Minimum GPU required to power two 1920X1080 24" monitors not gaming

[bigbearboy144]

I have been tasked with designing a computer for my brother. He does no gaming. He watches movies, surfs the web, listens to itunes music etc. I have no idea about HTPC's, especially for this request. For the answers, could you please provide three options; a low tier, medium tier and premium tier. Thankyou in advance

 

[bigbearboy144]

Also, other aspects of the pc are immaterial, as they will be chosen to be compatible with the gpu

 

[Redheadsrule13]

Okay, here is what my minimum build would be:

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/3fuqN
Price breakdown by merchant: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/3fuqN/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/3fuqN/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($63.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: GeIL DRAGON 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ CPL Online)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card ($139.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($69.00 @ PLE Computers)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Essential 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.00 @ CPL Online)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($115.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $694.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-24 22:10 EST+1100)

This would be my midrange:

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/3fusP
Price breakdown by merchant: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/3fusP/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/3fusP/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4340 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($179.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: G.Skill Value 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($92.00 @ CPL Online)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($199.00 @ CPL Online)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($69.00 @ PLE Computers)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($97.00 @ CPL Online)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($115.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $925.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-24 22:12 EST+1100)

This would be my premium:

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/3fuvY
Price breakdown by merchant: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/3fuvY/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/3fuvY/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.00 @ PCCaseGear)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($95.00 @ PLE Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: G.Skill Value 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($92.00 @ CPL Online)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 4GB Video Card ($365.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($69.00 @ PLE Computers)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($97.00 @ CPL Online)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($115.00 @ CPL Online)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($28.00 @ CPL Online)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($28.00 @ CPL Online)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($28.00 @ CPL Online)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($28.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $1368.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-24 22:16 EST+1100)

Obviously, the premium build is unnecessary, however, it does allow for multiple monitors, some gaming and some processor heavy work if it ever arises.
If you're really tight for cash, you could downgrade to 4GB of ram, get a super cheap case and remove the DVD drive. (Plus you could use a copy of any OS you have around.)

 

[Wisecracker]

"Minimum GPU required to power two 1920X1080 24" monitors not gaming"

Any AMD APU graphics engine will easily push multiple monitors.

Here's an A8-5600K APU quad-core combo build with an FM2+ motherboard for $376.

Throw in an SSD for your OS/Apps and off yah go ...

 

[EdgeT]

I have been tasked with designing a computer for my brother. He does no gaming. He watches movies, surfs the web, listens to itunes music etc. I have no idea about HTPC's, especially for this request. For the answers, could you please provide three options; a low tier, medium tier and premium tier. Thankyou in advance

There is no minimum for that. My old Pentium G620's integrated GPU was fine for 2x 1920x1080.

The only thing that would matter is how many tabs he's got open, then you need some more RAM and CPU power.

But even with something as lame as a G620, he could easily open 20-30 tabs, you don't really need to think about tiers. Web browsing doesn't take much of a toll on any modern CPU.

My advice is to go with AMD, the 5800k is an unlocked quad core with a a good enough integrated GPU for lower-settings gaming if he ever wants to for about 100 bucks. 4 gigs of RAM would be the minimum, 8 gigs if he opens a lot of tabs tho.

Other than that, by far the best way to go would be an SSD, even a small one as system, programs disk and a large HDD for movie/music storage.

You could get all of this for around 500$-600$ easy (talking about the tower only). And as far as optical drives go, ask him if he needs one first, I haven't used one in years, since all my entertainment is acquired via downloading (legally, but I'd rather have 400 movies on 1x 3 TB HDD than 400 DVDs laying around all over the place).

 

[EdgeT]

"Minimum GPU required to power two 1920X1080 24" monitors not gaming"

Any AMD APU graphics engine will easily push multiple monitors.

Here's an A8-5600K APU quad-core combo build with an FM2+ motherboard for $376.

Throw in an SSD for your OS/Apps and off yah go ...

Good point, I had completely forgotten about the 5600k
*Edit sorry, typo