1080p wow - which gpu?

[the boar]

my girlfriend's pc is rocking a gigabyte windforce 550 ti, it is kinda impressive what it can still run, but i have seen it occasionally sputtering in hfc. also it is just old and one of the fans is getting squeaky.
other than that, her i5 2500k is going great at 4.6ghz, so just want to get a new graphics card as a surprise.

so, for literally just wow at 1080p - what'd you get? 480, 470 or 460? we're in the uk so £'s ahoy!
i think an aftermarket 470 would be great, and may be out just before legion raiding opens up.. but ah. share your opinions if you'd be so kind!~

(also, nvidia's 1060 is too much money and 1050 is too far away. 550 ti could probably limp into legion raiding but it'd be nice if she didn't have to)

[Aggrophobic]

I bet you can get the Geforce 970 dirt cheap now, won't that work? With the 1060 coming and all.
I have one at work and the beta runs great on that machine (don't tell anyone I play at work!).

[the boar]

960s and 970s used on ebay are at around £140 and £170. i'd rather grab something new for some full warranty at those prices.

[Triggered Fridgekin]

I don't mind buying used hardware so long as it's a) under warranty and b) the warranty is transferable which does not apply to all manufacturers. You can score some sweet deals through local listings (kijiji in canada for example) and even ebay so long as you don't get smashed by the bullshit import charges eliminating any savings you may find if you make an out of country purchase.

On the other hand, if you come across a 4GB RX 480 for as close to MSRP allows in your currency (with the extra VAT, of course) then that'd be the best case scenario if you are on a budget. If that's not available then I'd start scouting for a deep sale/used + warrantied R9 X80X (280X is marginally better than 380X), R9 290 (only aftermarket), or a 970 if their price drops due to the 1060. I wouldn't go with a 960 unless it's priced 20% less than the X80X and even then I wouldn't.

As always, it's best to ensure your power supply is up to par if you go AMD. A site such as this can help you out.

[Thunderball]

Get GTX 1060 if you can find it below 300 euro. Wait if you can. If you cannot GTX 970 is still a competitive pick for WoW, especially for that kind of price.

[Deleted]

For WoW anything will do. Even like a 750 Ti or something should have no problem if you got a nice CPU.

[Deleted]

Don't buy anything less than a RX 480 or GTX 1060 new, otherwise it will just be a waste as you probably can get like a GTX 970 or R9 390 used for the same amout..