Good $300 Range Video Cards?

[ii aM DippY]

Hey, I'm looking for a video card in the $300 range. I had initially gone with the Powercolor Radeon HD 7870XT PCS+ Myst.

(http://ncix.com/products/?sku=78372&vpn=AX7870%202GBD5-2DHPPV3E&manufacture=PowerColor)

I feel like I want to up to the 7950 or the 660ti though. Is there a 7950 that you guys prefer and would recommend over others? And do you guys prefer the 660ti or the 7950? Overclocking is an option, but please don't base your responses solely on the "Overclock-ability" (If you will) of the cards. (Although I have read that the 7950 OC's very well) I have an i5-3570k and an MSI Z77A-GD65 Mobo if you need to know that, but I've been told that this setup can easily handle powerful video cards.

Thanks guys and if you have any additional information it is all helpful.

 

[djangoringo]

Well, the 7950 is a better card, if you can afford it, get the 7950 over the 7870XT, it offers crysis 3 and bioshock infinite, you might want crysis 3 over the tomb raider game.
As for a good 7950, there's this one in ncix : http://ncix.com/products/?sku=67546&promoid=1139

 

[bigcyco1]

Both cards are pretty much toe to toe, with some games better optimized for the GTX 660 Ti and some games better optimized for the Radeon HD 7950 so it'll depend on the games you play. I'd recommend looking up some benchmarks on the specific games you play, but overall either way is a good choice and either way you should be able to play all of today's games at high/ultra settings at 1080p.I'd recommend Sapphire's HD 7950 Vapor-X comes with a large dual-fan cooler that uses the company's famous vapor-chamber technology. On the Vapor-X you will also find a "Lethal Boost" button which switches to a second BIOS with higher clock speeds. With this BIOS, clocks are increased to 950 MHz GPU and 1250 MHz memory.If you prefer NV the GTX 660 Ti provides top notch performance with extremely high efficiency, so you’re guaranteed to be getting a ton of performance without a lot of energy or creating a lot of heat either. With MSI’s Power Edition GTX 660 Ti, you’re also getting MSI’s legendary Twin Frozr IV cooler, which will provide excellent cooling along with MSI’s triple overvoltage design that allows you to do a little overclocking to improve performance if you’re feeling adventurous.

 

[ii aM DippY]

I have seen a couple benchmarks on the 7950 and it does suit my games better. I was picking up Crysis 3 anyway so the 7950 was almost a given. Should I look at 2gb or 3gb 7950's?

 

[djangoringo]

There's no 2GB versions of the 7950, all of them got 3GB of vram, the 7950 gigabyte windforce 3x in ncix is under your budget with the games and has a good cooling system.

 

[ii aM DippY]

Sorry, the 2gb was in my head from the 660ti's. Do you recommend the powercolor? its on sale from $424 for $260 and comes with crysis. So far its between the Gigabyte and the Powercolor.

 

[djangoringo]

The gigabyte is better, it has a better cooling system, i'd get that one, it has the two games in ncix.

 

[ii aM DippY]

K thanks for the help

 

[ii aM DippY]

Best answer selected by ii aM DippY.