Which 7870 to get?

Bosco91

Honorable
Apr 25, 2013
15
0
10,510
I finally decided to go with a 7870 instead of 660 for my first PC build. However, I don't know which 7870 to go with (LE/XT/Tahiti) and which manufacturer?

My budget is ~$200-$250. I will not overclock (I'm a noob and would have no idea how to go about doing that) and I would prefer max FPS and performance for gaming even if I had to sacrifice some visuals.

Can someone give me a few options with the pro's and con's for each? Thanks a lot.

EDIT: Here are my specs

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($226.99 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($104.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.49 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($97.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.50 @ Vuugo)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.88 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Memory Express)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.79 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.99 @ NCIX)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($119.99 @ NCIX)
Keyboard: AZIO Levetron Wired Gaming Keyboard ($26.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $978.58
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-26 09:30 EDT-0400)
 
Solution
you have 2 options these days its either powercolor or sapphire
i'd prefer sapphire.

the model is called the 7870XT (LE) which is the recent tahiti board. this one comes with the same board as 79** series so its superior to its predecessors. (xt/le/tahiti are all the same)

the former versions are called:
7870 (reference amd version of 7800 chipset)
7870ghz (overclocked version of 7800 chipset)

n1ghtr4v3n

Honorable
Feb 27, 2013
738
0
11,360
you have 2 options these days its either powercolor or sapphire
i'd prefer sapphire.

the model is called the 7870XT (LE) which is the recent tahiti board. this one comes with the same board as 79** series so its superior to its predecessors. (xt/le/tahiti are all the same)

the former versions are called:
7870 (reference amd version of 7800 chipset)
7870ghz (overclocked version of 7800 chipset)
 
Solution

Bosco91

Honorable
Apr 25, 2013
15
0
10,510


I just found out that the store I want to purchase all my parts from doesn't carry the Sapphire. Would settling for the powercolor be a big mistake? It's also a little bit cheaper. The reason I want to purchase from this store (NCIX) is that I can drive there to pick it up instead of having to pay/wait for shipping.

Thanks