New GPU Recommendation Needed

[Sleyth]

Hi, I am in the process of choosing the components of a new gaming and productivity build, so fare my spec list is as follows:

Intel Core i7 4770K
Asus Maximus VI Hero Motherboard
Corsair H100i
G.Skill Ripjaws X 16GBs (2x8G 1866)
Corsair AX760i
WD Black 1TB 7200RPM HDD
Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD
NZXT H440 Mid Tower Case (Black and Red)

I am having some trouble deciding which GPU I should choose, and right now I am following the philosophy of allocating the same amount of money for your GPU and your CPU. But, I am really quite torn on what I should invest in. Keeping in mind that SLI or Crossfire is a possibility, and also that I would like to keep with my red and black color scheme. I am comfortable with spending up to $400 for the graphics card, but, in my opinion, that is pushing it. Currently I have my eyes set on either an MSI or Asus GTX 770 with either 2 or 4GB of RAM, but now I am starting to doubt my choice. Does anyone have a recommendation? Personally, I really like the color scheme and style of MSI's Gaming line up and Asus's Direct CUII Cards, but I am also a bit interested in XFX's designs and also EVGA's super-clocked cards. Thanks, in advance to anyone's advice.

 

[notcool]

I would usually just go for the cheapest one but if I had to choose I'd probably go for the Asus but they're all fairly similar with the 2 fan design. How about the Gainward Phantom? If you're gaming at 1920x1080 the 2GB will be good enough and I don't see the point in the 4GB cards, by the time you're needing that much vram the 770 will be on its knees anyway so a bigger card would be needed.

You could save some money also by going for the 4670k if you're not doing anything overly cpu intensive, they're just as good for gaming.

 

[NeverBackDown]

an Asus 280x DCU2 is an extremely good card and has red accents which will match your theme. My brother has the card and its very very quiet and OC's very well.

MSI Gaming 280x is also a good card but from reviews i have read is more loud than the DCU2 version. Either card is fanatasic though and as fast or faster than a 770.


Now unless your using specific productivity software that needs certain technology(like OpenCL or Cuda) than your hardware changes will change.

 

[barnsley]

The 770 vs 280x is ridiculously close to call. As with every AMD 'card these days, the most powerful one in a model is the Sapphire Toxic card. I did a build with two of them relatively recently and they are by far the best 280x. They can OC to basically 780 performance, albeit at the cost of increased power draw. I had the xfired build (pretty similar to yours, 4770k and 16 gb ram) runnng at 1200 on each card with only a 3-5 c increase in temps! Its a shame they're yellow though.


For 770 I'd go for the gainward at it looks interesting, is quiet, and thanks to removeable fans is a dream to clean. I think MSi do a 770 lightning but I'm not too sure if its good value.

-edit- what games do you play?

 

[Edge]

If you were going to get a 280x, I'd say get the Toxic, but that doesn't fit your scheme. Can you squeeze an MSI 290 Twin Frozr into your budget? It will decimate everything you throw at it.