Will this run?

[Aries_Split]

Avoid the 280, it's a piece of shit.

Actually, the GTX 280 is the fastest single-GPU card currently available. The priceerformance ratio doesn't really make it feasible unless you have cash to burn, and it takes tons of power, but it's an awesome card despite all that. There are faster cards available, like the Radeon HD 4870 X2, but those are also dual-GPU cards that run in SLI or Crossfire mode, generate more heat, take more power, and don't have quite as good driver support (as you're limited by SLI/Crossfire support for specific games and thus may not see any improvement over single-GPU cards).

As for CPUs, most modern games these days do take advantage of multi-threading, but fast clock speed and cache size still have the greatest effect on performance. Don't downplay the importance of a dual-core processor over a single-core one, but it's true that the GPU is going to have a way bigger impact on how smoothly your games run, especially at higher resolutions (i.e. 1650x1080 or above).

2 GB of DDR2 RAM, preferably DDR2 800, is pretty much a requirement these days for gaming as many games use over 1 GB. However, even fairly low-end RAM won't effect average framerates in most cases (if it does, it won't be in a very significant way) and will have the biggest impact on load times and stutters during gameplay.

It is one of the fastest cards around, but the difference between it and the 9800GX2 is so barely outside the Margin of error it is not worth the extra 200 bucks.

Not to mention the fact that the 9800GX2 outshines it in most benchmarks.

Although I'm sure the fact that the 280 is using very cutting edge chipsets and architecture would adversely affect performance at first. It is possible that as drivers for it mature, it might very well become a competitor to the HD4870. As it stands now, it's a waste of money.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

Get a better processor first. Without a dual core, you're screwed. Period.

You don't need a core2duo, just get any dual core if you want to be a minimalist.

Actually, your wrong.

A 3.5 single core will run most, if not all modern games fine. It might struggle with CPU intensive games, but otherwise as long as it's paired with a good GPU and isn't choked by ram, there's no reason why he won't be fine.

I stand corrected I suppose.

I still don't see why you would keep a single core over a dual core though, they are around the same price nowadays.

 

[Aries_Split]

Get a better processor first. Without a dual core, you're screwed. Period.

You don't need a core2duo, just get any dual core if you want to be a minimalist.

Actually, your wrong.

A 3.5 single core will run most, if not all modern games fine. It might struggle with CPU intensive games, but otherwise as long as it's paired with a good GPU and isn't choked by ram, there's no reason why he won't be fine.

I stand corrected I suppose.

I still don't see why you would keep a single core over a dual core though, they are around the same price nowadays.

No shame in being corrected, I am all the time.

To your second point, a lot of single core users are single core because they have a motherboard that won't support a dual core.

 

[Jumplion]

Ohhh!! Areis_Split with his tech talks! This 'ought to be a good read, I always enjoy Areis's tech speaks!