Best option for Graphics Card

[Seneca Raine]

I'm looking to update my current Radeon 5770 with a new setup, and am looking into what is the best option here: Either Crossfire another in, Grab a brand new card (please be specific about which, I've been out of the PC game for a bit), Grab two new cards to Crossfire, or even whether or not the system is worth updating (moving it to a media player role and building a new one).

At this point I largely play GW2, but with a few friends picking up new PCs I hope to get back into being an avid PC gamer again.

So here's the basic specs:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Processor 3.4Ghz
4Gig DDR3
Radeon 5770
Windows 7 64-bit
::edit:: Motherboard is an Asustek M4A77TD
Very roomy case with extra fans and liquid cooling, and ample leftover power (have a 750 watt supply, I believe)

I tend to only want to update the system every couple years or so, so I've really not been following cards lately, and just looking through reviews it's hard to tell what's actually my best bet at what price points.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[refillable]

Pretty hard to Suggest You a card without an exact budget but take a look at these?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127687 ~$120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131482 ~$175
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202024 ~$260

(I personally say that AMD Radeon cards are better in almost all price points. Expect ~$220.

 

[Seneca Raine]

Yeah, I realize I should've put in the budget, but honestly it depends on how much of an improvement I'd be seeing--I'd easily spend up to around 400 if the difference is noticeable and it allows me to not have to worry about it for a couple years, but really there seems I always be that price point where you get the most bang for your buck, and that's what I'm looking for.
Thanks for giving me a few to look over!

 

[timnswede]

The 7870 is probably one of the best "bang for your buck" cards. You could go one step further and get a 7950 for $300. I was looking at buying this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161420 but I decided to get a 7970. That one is actually one of the quietest ones and it exhausts heat out of your case which is always good. The 7870 that refillable recommended also looks good.

 

[refillable]

The best bang for your buck is the 7870 I suggested. It's performance is just kissing the 7950 and of course for $50 cheaper. This card is actually a promotional card in the holiday but doesn't go that well... Because of bad marketing from AMD. This is the best price/performance ratio card.

You inform me about the 7970. I don't know but it depends on what you do... Sometimes if you never play extreme games there is no reason to get it. I know it could be very 'future proof' but you should think about the $150 you save when getting a 7870XT, which you can get a card that performs just like a 7970 about three or four years ahead.

But I appreciate if you get a 7970. It's fine if you feel like it's best.

 

[Seneca Raine]

Thank you both for the info, it's hard to find this information without getting outdated info. I'm definitely leaning towards the 7870, but it's sold out--is that exact model the one that's worth getting, or will any model 7870xt do as well? It's sold out on newegg.

:::edit:::
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon-GDDR5-Graphics-11199-03-20G/dp/B007JCNOY6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361594665&sr=8-1&keywords=sapphire+7870

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon-PCI-Express-Graphics-11199-20-20G/dp/B00AWKYB1M/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1361594665&sr=8-3&keywords=sapphire+7870

Those seem to be the two I can find, but I honestly don't know if the price gap is worth for it for what seems to be only OC.

 

[timnswede]

At $280 you're better off getting a 7950 for $20 more. The model that refillable suggested is the new "LE" card. It's an improved version of the old pitcairn (I think that's what they're called), so I think it's worth the price premium if you can find it at around $250. BTW the 7870 has 2 GB of vram, if you mod your games a lot you might want to pick up the 7950 with 3 GB. My skyrim reaches 2.7 GB on a single 1080p monitor, but if you don't mod then it probably won't make a difference.

 

[refillable]

You are supposed to get this:

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon-PCI-Express-Graphics-11199-20-20G/dp/B00AWKYB1M/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1361594665&sr=8-3&keywords=sapphire+7870 (The bottom one)

Don't get the other one it will get you ripped off. It's just a 7870 (normal one) OC'd. The benefit of $7950 is just more free games and 1GB extra memory. Some games might need them but others doesn't. This means it is not worth it to pay $50 more.