What case is it ?? That's a big expenditure just to accommodate a gpu upgrade imo.
The MSI card may actually fit .
Also if he's buying an evo there's no need to buy thermal paste - you get a big tube of silver based compound with it & its as good as the arctic silver stuff IMO.
A 970 & an over clocked 6300 makes a decent gaming setup - a huge upgrade over a 270.
I know this because there's one in my sig below
Regarding the monitors he needs to make sure the card he buys supports the 3 connections he's going to be using.