ive decided to upgrade my 6870 to a 7970 & i would like to know witch brand of the gpu would be best im trying to stay under 400 but alil over isnt a big deal i just wana know witch brand is best. noise isent a big issue (but still should be consiterd i dont want a jet takeing off in my bedroom) i game with headphones and a soudcard so i can just crank that shit if needed. i do want to keep the card cool with out water cooling though so i want a good heat sink.
Grab a used MSI 7970 Lightning (they don't make them any more). Fantastic cards.
i would take the Radeon HD 7970 royalAce van Club 3D
Lightning is great, but may be hard to find now a days, that or the MSI Twin Frozr has probably one of the best coolers for overclocking.
New 7970 lightnings on newegg (so many 7970 questions today)
I'm gonna recommend this one...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007LFV7RM/?tag=pcpapi-20
It's cheaper than most, and it's a solid overclocker. Also, don't forget about AMDs Never Settle Forever bundle. You can save it for later (and possibly for better bundles), or you can redeem it for the current games that are in the bundle.
Also a great choice.
go with ares' suggestion