Help with video card purchase

[kenpomasta]

Im building a system for one of my friends. He just purchased a 42" 1080p LCD TV. So he wants a computer to go with his Xbox 360 so that he can play every game he wants to play. He is currently playing games like BF2, fear. HL2. He doesnt need to run Oblivion on the computer cause he has it on the 360. The only prob is that he wants to run Crysis when it comes out. He is a stickler on IQ. He wants to run everything @ 1080p (1920 x 1080) His TV handles that the best since thats the native res. I dont have any experience with this high of res. Im running a 20" LCD. I wish DX10 cards were out, but from what ive read. we r looking @ atleast this fall for them. so thast not a option to wait on.

I was thinking about getting him a Amd dual core.. or maybe the Conroe when it come out, with the normal stuff 2GB mem, etc. However then comes the video card. Which video card should I be looking into. any experiences @ higher wide screen res's without dropping 1000+ into a SLI or crossfire setup. Or for this type of res. is SLI or crossfire really the only way to go to pull High res with eye candy on? Any suggestions would be welcome. Currently I have about $500 budgeted for the video card.

 

[newls1]

I would say the 7950GX2, wouldnt you all agree? Single slot SLi card, doesnt need "much" power, and is really meant for high res gaming. The prices on these cards seem like there getting cheaper by the day. You can buy one from newegg now for 540.00 I belive. This card will give you awesome frame rates, and stability for the future.

 

[RavenD]

If you're dead set on single card, 7950GX2, or possibly an X1900XTX. However for that kind of resolution, you would probably get more out of a 7900GT SLI setup, or an X1800/1900 CF setup. Either of the last two would put you over budget, but only by like 50 bucks in case of 7900s, or about 150 in case of X1900s (this is based off of prices on Pricewatch).
With DX10 around the corner, it would probably be a wiser investment to go with a single card if it can produce satisfactory framerates, then when DX10 cards come out, sell it off and upgrade. All depends on when the G80 and R600 actually come out, and on what your friend considers to be an acceptable upgrade cycle for the video card.

 

[mentok1982]

If your friend plans on installing a Blu Ray or HD DVD drive into the PC in the future he will need a card
that is fully HDCP compatible. Right now all the 7950 GX2s and the MSI 7600 GT are the only cards that
are 100% HDCP compatible.

More and more cards will soon be released with this feature though.
Wikipedia's HDCP page

Oh and make sure he uses a DVI-HDMI or DVI-DVI cable when connecting to the TV.