I'm ITX so I don't have a choice but for smaller cards. I still prefer them but also needing it as a necessity? Yeesh it's hard to find normal 2 slot cards these days that don't suck. So I'm with you on being over it
Exactly. GPU is usualy the most expensive part of the rig. I would always go with the best performance that i can afford and then tune the looks around that. It is much less stressful for the wallet.