Help choosing a video card

[DoubleHelix747]

Hello, I am buying a Dell XPS 9000 (i7-920, 6GB DDR3 RAM) machine that would be used primarily for watching/streaming movies (SD and HD) on a 24" HD monitor, and office work. No gaming. Dell offers following four choices (no other information provided about the cards on the website) and I am wondering which one to choose to future proof my machine for 2-3 years:


ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB DDR3 [Included in Price]
Dell Recommended

nVidia GeForce GTS 240 1024MB [Add $80.00]

nVidia GeForce GTX 260 1792MB [Add $180.00]

ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5 [Add $280].

Another alternative to buying an upgraded card from Dell is for me to buy this XFX card that I can get for about $48 and has a lifetime warranty - would this be a better option (cost/value/functionality dimensions) than the above for my purpose:

XFX GeForce GT240 Video Card - 512MB DDR5

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...?EdpNo=5753614

TIA.

 

[Qbah]

No gaming? Take the Dell Recommended HD5450. This card will do everything perfectly fine except gaming. Uses hardly any power too. The other cards are gaming cards.

 

[RussianSensation]

5450 is good for what you need.

 

[blanketyblank]

Take the 5870 then sell it since they retail for around $400 you can probably get 350 or more. Buy a new 4550 or something for $20AR if you're not gaming.
That's $50 profit.