Radeon HD 7970 or Geforce GTX 680 gaming/3d modeling

[josh7331]

I am buying a new GPU, my MSI 5830 isn't cutting it anymore.
So my price range is just under $700 for a new GPU.
I game a ton witcher 2, skyrim , dark souls, dota 2, BF3 ect. but at the same time
I like to 3d model in blender and zbrush.
I've seen benchmarks for both cards and they appear neck and neck.
What is the thing about CUDA cores Nvidia has got going on, I haven't used Nvidia since
I ditched my 6600gt for a radeon 3850.

My system specs are as follows
AMD B25 3.2ghz
12gb DDR3 1333mhz
Corsair 650w
MSI 5830

Which do you guys recommend? I appreciate all responses, and for taking the time to read my post. Thanks!

 

[Deemo13]

I would definitely go the the 7970. They are much more rounded cards. The 6xx series is mainly for gaming, as the other capabilities have been stripped, like those for video rendering and 3d work. The 7970 is the much better choice.

 

[josh7331]

Ok with that said, I did some research looks like Nvidia just threw the GTX 680 out there to compete with the 7970 with no real planning.
So now I just wonder what brand to go with for a 7970.
Is the gigabyte 7970 as solid as their 6850/6870s?
Sapphire is known for never having DOAs, like XFX does. Well that has probably changed since the 3000/4000 radeon series.
Hows VisionTek these days? I have no brand loyalty I am just interested in the best product for what I need.

 

[festerovic]

Definitely go with the 7970.

This thread visited this question a few months ago:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/354804-33-7970-gtx680-maya-zbrush-effects

 

[festerovic]

Oh I forgot to add this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121560&Tpk=7970

That card is top notch.

 

[josh7331]

Best answer selected by josh7331.