Help picking a GPU by today!!THNX!!

[singhie01]

Hey guys,

Need some help picking a video card for my new/old build. So first off about my build:

New - Case: Corsair 650D (with side panel window)
New - Modo: Asus ROG extreme-z (Z68)
New - CPU: i5 2500K (will be overclocking and cooled with Corsair's H100i)
Old - PSU: OCZ Modxstream 600watt (I will be purchasing a new PSU about 6 to 7 months when I will be Xfiring or SLI)
Old - RAM: GSkill 2x4Gb 1600 (red)

So that is what I have.

I am not a fanboy of AMD or Nvidia just as long as they are good. I would like to get a GPU that I can overclock. So it will need to run cool on stock heatsinks. I did some reading and I liked the AMD HD7950 because of the cheap price an oc ability so high. I like the XFX black edition DD becuase of the red on top. I am trying to do a red theme. I will be sleeving the new PSU red.

Also I do live in Toronto Canada. I shop online and retail stores (canadacomputers, tigerdirect, NCIX and bunch more.). I will be
traveling to the States (Pittsburgs, OH), on Jan. 2. So I do not mind picking one up from the states. But it will need to be at a retail store like microcenter or tigerdirect or any one they you know of.

XFX Double D Black Edition FX-795A-TDBC Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150589

Because of the price I was thinking for going with the XFX 7970 DD
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5736415&csid=_61

and I get three free games with it. Which I was going to buy anyways.

So should I go with the XFX HD7970 DD or anothing brand of card? I do not mind spending the $384. Does the BE make the card better other than the factory oc? Which I will be modifying anyways? Should I go with a HD7950 another brand and save money and just oc to stock 7970 spec.

I am soo confused, what to do. Please help!!!!

 

[unreal9400]

7970

 

[singhie01]

Best answer selected by singhie01.

 

[Ammar321]

i also think 7970 is good.

 

[bigcyco1]

i would go for AMD's HD 7970 and its more powerful brother HD 7970 GHz Edition have been on the market for a while now. MSI has also launched their HD 7970 Lightning in June. Now ASUS has released the HD 7970 Matrix - a card that will directly compete with MSI's HD 7970 Lightning.ASUS has increased clock speeds to 1100 MHz. That is 50 MHz more than the GHz Edition and higher than any other HD 7970 card, including the MSI Lightning. Memory clock is, with 1650 MHz, also higher than any other AMD card.




The card comes with a powerful triple slot cooling solution and adds many features for hardcore overclockers like support for VGA Hotwire, voltage control, and three buttons for direct GPU voltage control. You will also find voltage measuring points and a Turbo-fan button to set fan speed to 100% on the card.


Price-wise, the HD 7970 Matrix comes at $480, which is quite a price increase given AMD's recent price drops for the HD 7970.The other cards i would recommend are 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.
Pricing of the Sapphire HD 7950 Vapor-X is $330 which is a 10% premium. Also,MSI's GTX 670 Power Edition uses the famous Twin Frozr IV cooler from the MSI Lightning and comes with a large clock speed boost out of the box, making its default clock speed even higher than GTX 680 stock clocks.That would be a solid choice for the price imo they currently are going for $359.99 a piece that doesn't look unreasonable, given the improved cooling and higher clocks but it's up to you.