Looking for GFX card suggestions for i7 ITX build

Hey guys, I'm hoping to get some suggestions about what would be the best price for performance GFX option for this ITX build. I'd also be interested in any better ideas about the CPU cooler you might have. I don't need a PSU suggestion, as I'll pick an appropriate wattage Seasonic PSU once I get the GFX card figured out.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z87I AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($138.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($131.75 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($44.99 @ Mwave)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $950.68
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-21 12:59 EDT-0400)
 


Yeah the "price" doesn't concern me, it's more about the value, I could get a $2000 GFX card, but will it perform twice as good as a $1000 dollar card? Does the $1000 dollar card perform 2x as good as a $500, a $500 2x as good as a $250? I'm looking for the sweet spot where performance and dollar value meet.
 

Rammy

Honorable
You don't need a short graphics card, that case will fit basically any card on the market, so you can shop pretty confidently and you shouldn't have any issues.
The question is what you want to do with this machine? You have an i7 and 16Gb of memory, which suggests it's either A) not a gaming build or B) not exclusively a gaming build. If you are looking to do some occasional gaming (plus whatever else), then something like a GTX660 is still pretty competent at 1080P gaming, even in current games, though you'll have to tweak settings as applicable. If a primary purpose of this system is gaming, then you are probably going to need to look more towards a GTX760 or GTX770. For a single 1080P monitor, this is about as much as it makes sense to spend about now. A GTX760 is pretty sufficient, but a GTX770 will give you a bit more lifespan - at your budget level the gap between their pricing isn't enormous. If you are looking to run higher resolution monitor(s) then you can look to the GTX780/780Ti, it just depends on what you need, and the types of games you want to play. In general, FPS type games are fairly graphically demanding, strategy games much less so.

Graphics card pricing is (very) roughly an exponential curve. The best price/performance will be the cheapest card on the market which will run whichever game/app you need at whatever settings you deem passable. Once you get to the high end stuff, you are paying quite large sums for what amounts to diminishing returns.

CPU cooler options in an Elite 130 aren't great. It's perhaps not the greatest choice of case if you want to push the overclock, as it's overall airflow isn't amazing and you are limited to low-profile air coolers and 120mm radiator closed loop coolers. This includes things like the Corsair H55/H60/H80i, though fitting a thicker/2fan solution will likely remove one of the HDD mounting points which may limit expansion.
There are other ITX cases on the market, and while I really like the Elite 130 for value, you have a pretty large budget and it might not be the best option for you.

Shopping amongst Seasonic PSUs is by no means a bad idea, but it's worth keeping in mind that you can often pick up a quality Seasonic unit from another brand (all XFX, some Antec, a few Corsair, a few Coolermasters) for cheaper.