Need Advice. 7770CF or (1) 7870

[essdot84]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Tomorrow 3/23/12

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming! MMO's, Diablo3, SC2

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: No GPU as this is a new build, Corsair AX650

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: I already purchased all of my parts minus the GPU. Intel 2500k cpu, Asus Sabertooth P67, 8gig Corsair Vegeance
Corsair AX650psu. the main components.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg, Tigerdirect, Amazon

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: North America

PARTS PREFERENCES: Interested in Radeon. Mainly XFX Double D Black Editions, and HIS IceQ iturbo. But open to Suggestions

OVERCLOCKING: Possible slight overclocking unless it already is out of the box. CF is also a possibility.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

So I am Looking to buy a GPU tomorrow to complete my first PC build and I have a few questions.
Ran into a bench last night on youtube with a pair of CF 7770's and I was impressed. I originally
planned on purchasing a single 7870 but am now confused as to what i should do. Should I just
purchase a pair of 7770's or purchase one 7870 now with the option to upgrade to CF in the future.
Also, will my Corsair AX650 PSU be able to support the CF 7770's? Im pretty sure it wont have enough
power for CF 7870's, or maybe I'm wrong. Im confused and need help

Another question. Does anybody know when the HIS 7870 iceQ iturbo's will be available for retail?
how about the xfx 7870 Double D Black Editions. See the products on the manufacturers websites
but nothing on Newegg. These are the Cards I am most interested in.
Thanks guys

 

[jryan388]

Turbo and factory overclocked cards usually aren't worth the extra money. Usually a cheap version of a better card will give a higher perf/price.
Although if you only play d3 and sc2 (most mmos don't have very good graphics anyway), then you don't need a 7870. Those games can be maxed by much, much cheaper cards (probably a single 7770).

Also, know that if you can get a 7950, you can overclock it more than the 7870s can be overclocked. 800mhz vs 1000mhz base clock means much more headroom.

 

[samuelspark]

7870.

 

[Zero_]

Get the HD7870. The AX650 can easily suppost CF HD7870's in the future if you need more power. All these new graphics cards are exteremly power efficient, and a great PSU like the AX650 should have no problems whatsoever.

What you should look is not the factory overclocking, but what kind of cooling the card has. If it has a better cooling solution, you can overclock it better.

The HIS IceQ was available on Amazon, but currently out of stock.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007HYIRES/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=banforbucga08-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007HYIRES