Dual display and choosing a 7970

[nolanb13]

Hey guys,
As I'm sure you're aware there is an absurd amount of 7970 cards on the market and I was wondering if you could outline the main differences between them?
What is the best brand to get?
What do i look for when buying it?
My budget is ~$400 but I can go slightly over if it is worth the cash.
It seems like the perfect GPU for me, but there are just so many choices, its hard to decide which one is right.
Any help on this would be great

Also, on the dual displays...
How do I know if the card can have dual displays?
What determines if a PC is able to run dual displays (ie, 2 screens/monitors) ?
I'm a bit of a rookie in this area, but I've done some research lately, so any help on this would be fantastic 😀

TL;DR:
What is the best 7970 card?
How do I know if my system can run dual displays?

THANKS 😀

 

[nolanb13]

For instance...
http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/r797oc-gigabyte-radeon-7970-ultra-durable-p-56144.html?sort=2a

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/r797d5-gigabyte-radeon-7970-p-55960.html?sort=2a

What is the difference between these two?
Why is the one with more fans cheaper (and apparently more durable)?

 

[Dude496]

First card you posted has an aftermarket cooling system, second card has a refernce style cooling system. Reference style can be better in some regards because it will force all of the air out of the back, whereas most aftermarket coolers tend to dump the heat back into the case. On the flip side, aftermarket coolers tend to do a better job at cooling the GPU. So, as long as you have a decent cooling system/case, I would recommend the gigabyte with the windforce fans.

One other point...Gigabyte, XFX and a few other companies have locked the clock voltage, so you will be rather limited if you try to overclock. If you plan to do moderate to extreme overclocking, you will need a card that is unlocked. Older gigabyte cards are unlocked, you will just need to do some research on which are locked vs unlocked prior to buying.

 

[nolanb13]

Best answer selected by nolanb13.