if you want only single card and money doesn't matter buy :

ati radeon hd 4870 / 4850

or

geforce gtx 295 / 280 / 260

i have ati radeon hd 4850 ( its damn fast enough, burnout paradise runs with 70 fps in best graphic settings and in burnout 70fps looks very fast ) .

wrote:

AM2 1x2.2GHz

cpu is the prob, i have ati 4850 too but with dualcore 2.8 ghz x2 @ OC, i can have stable 333 fps without any probs.

I have Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz + Ati Radeon HD4870 512GB + 2*1GB DDRII

And I can play Crysis etc..
But if you chose the 1GB version you'll get a bit more fps.

Anyway, to play Quake you don't need such hardware xD

Gonna post my fps soon

But.. does it really matter to have loads of fps on quake ? I don't think so.. plus does not really matter if you have a good screen.
Also, most of server only allow you to have 125fps max..

But if you want good benchmarks -> http://canardpc.com/dossier-50-900-comparatif___conclusion.html

(it's in french sorry but number are readable right ? )

wrote:

how many background processes u guys run in the background? because turning 4-5 off can gain me +50 fps.

too many + plus vista

quake 3 is made for singlecore cpu , bc 1999 there was no dualcore or quad, there is some cfg command that should be able to make dualcore support possible for quake3 , but tested it , doesnt work !

and for example a dualcore with 2.8 ghz at one core is faster in q3 as a quadcore with 2.4 ghz , bc quake 3 only use one core, but anyway to be future ready you should buy a multicore cpu .