It's fine for running crysis 3 at ultra with 20+ fps.... cant remember the exact number, but basically, you can run anything at that res.
Yes he can run anything he should get a 1080p monitor cause nowadays it is the most commonly used res.I am not saying the 7970 can't outstand that but you cannot maxed out on 2560x1440 resolution
Define hardcore, are we talking skillful, or are you talking people with a hardcore pc that are bad at games?
I play games with an fps of 9 on my old pc and still get high in the leaderboards. 25 is pretty respectable, and thats 25 on that title, of all titles, so they can still run at more fluid fps just on high. which is more than enough unless your going to tell them that they absolutely must have a SLI config to play games.