Which GTX 580 Model should I go with?

I'm looking to upgrade my rig, but unfortunately since we're buying a new AC unit soon, I don't have the immediate cash to do the entire thing right now.

However, I have The Witcher 2 on my plate now, and I'd like to play it at a higher capacity than I have at the moment. So, my plan is to get a new graphics card now, and replace the rest of my rig in November. New processor, new motherboard, everything.

There's also a possibility that in November depending on what prices are like, I may buy a SECOND GTX 580 and SLI them.

My old favorite graphics card company, BFG Technology, is out of business. I loved their service and lifetime warranty on their cards.

Right now I have no brand loyalty, and I don't have experience as to what brands are best in terms of quality, customer service, reliability, and warranty.

Some friends of mine have seemed pleased with EVGA, I've seen some nice ASUS cards, and I've seen some interesting things from MSI.

So my question to you - which model GTX 580 should I buy right now, keeping in mind there's a possibility I might SLI it down the road (although that isn't a certainty.)

Right now my top choices seem to be:

EVGA - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130590 - $489
3 Gig memory version from EVGA: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130655 - $589 I'm not sure the extra 1.5 Gig memory is worth the increase, but I"m thinking about it.

PNY http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814133395 - $504

MSI http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127579 - $524 - This seems to be the most overclocked out of the box

ASUS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121429 - $499 - twin fans might be best if I go with SLI, but from what I've read about the GTX580, heat even in SLI mode isn't really a large issue.

Thoughts? Is there another model I should be looking at? Advice greatly appreciated. Thank you!

The regular 1.5 gb version is perfectly fine. Don't waste the money on the 3gb version.

Regarding which brand, I also prefer EVGA. XFX and MSI are also good brands. Asus is good too, although that opinion is more related to what I've read and not personally experienced.

I can vouch for PNY, with it's lifetime warranty and a very good vapor chamber cooler. It also comes with a free 10' HDMI cable, which can be worth about $50. If you might want to go with SLI, then a reference card which vents hot air outside the case is better than one with a custom cooler that vents hot air inside the case.

Single GTX 580 w/reference vapor chamber cooling:
http://www.behardware.com/articles [...] stics.html

GTX 580 in SLI (reference cooling)-note minimal increase in case temperatures:
http://www.behardware.com/articles [...] stics.html

"After the catastrophic results of the GeForce GTX 480 SLI, NVIDIA has managed quite a feat here by containing the temperatures on these similar and more powerful GeForce GTX 580s. Of course, in such an extreme system, a lot of heat is produced, but it stays within reasonable limits."
http://www.behardware.com/articles [...] stics.html