$90 card? I got a HD 5670 for $50 that has DX 11 for my dad. Not the greatest card ever made but it would run circles around any DX 9 card out there. And there are cheaper cards than that out there that would run this game decent. Say a HD 5400 series for about $30 @ Newegg and those have DX 11.

Is DirectX 9 easier to program for? not a programer so I would not know. But DX 9 seems like a waste to me.