Is this the right video card for my needs?

[beegeepee]

I am trying to make my first gaming build for around $1,200. I would ideally like to spend less than $400 on a GPU. I bought a 750W PSU in case I want to upgrade to two GPU's in the future.

For the time being, I will be using 23" monitor at 1920 x 1080. I could easily see myself adding monitors in the future.

The games I play most are: Starcraft 2, Civ 5, TOTAL WAR games, RTS's in general, and would like to be able to play FPS's such as battlefield 3, Skyrim, etc. Basicially any game that is good no particular genre that I love or hate.

here is the build I was going to go with (don't worry I got the PSU for $90 after a rebate so please don't freak out :lol: )

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kywH

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($100.84 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($387.86 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 600T ATX Mid Tower Case ($133.56 @ Mac Connection)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Pro 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($159.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1395.18
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

I have heard good things about the sapphire and it seems like it is a good price. However, I stumbled upon this awesome deal but I do not know anything about this Galaxy 670 GPU for $334: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=2577833&sku=G458-0670&SRCCODE=WEM3292TT&cm_mmc=email-_-Main-_-WEM3292-_-tigeremail3292&utm_source=EML&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=WEM3292&cm_lm=mrseasonsaltz@yahoo.com

Please, let me know what video card would be best for my needs. I want one that can run most games on the highest settings now and will be relatively future proof (especially if I do upgrade at all).

THANKS GUYS!

 

[mace200200]

I know that Starcraft 2 works better on Nvidia cards, but both of them are powerful enough that it shouldn't matter for that game. I think the 7970 would be the better option unless you'd rather save the money on the 670, the performance difference between the two aren't all that big. As for Galaxy cards, they're cheaper than most other ones but the one I had, a gt 220, I bought from a friend who had used it for, a little over a year. It eventually died because I OC'd it to hell, this was before I knew what I was doing and I didn't know that would hurt it :/

Oh yea and theres this for you to look at: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/508?vs=598

 

[beegeepee]

I know that Starcraft 2 works better on Nvidia cards, but both of them are powerful enough that it shouldn't matter for that game. I think the 7970 would be the better option unless you'd rather save the money on the 670, the performance difference between the two aren't all that big. As for Galaxy cards, they're cheaper than most other ones but the one I had, a gt 220, I bought from a friend who had used it for, a little over a year. It eventually died because I OC'd it to hell, this was before I knew what I was doing and I didn't know that would hurt it :/

Oh yea and theres this for you to look at: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/508?vs=598

Haha, sorry about your old video card . Is that link the base models of the two cards? Is it possible to chose the exact model of the card I want to buy?

 

[emperor piehead]

the gtx 670 is pretty similar to the 7970 if you want to oc go amd. the up with nvidia is better software and v-sync which is great. Both cards can probably play all games on ultra for the next 2-3years

 

[mace200200]

Haha, sorry about your old video card . Is that link the base models of the two cards? Is it possible to chose the exact model of the card I want to buy?

What I linked just shows the reference models, besides heat, noise level, and sometimes power consumption the performance will be about the same, unless you OC your card (which I don't recommend ) or it comes factory OC'd (which is alright). I don't know any where off hand where you could compare two exact models together.