HD 6870 upgrade for 2-year-old system; XFX vs. Powercolor?

[Rattlin Bones]

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CANADIAN. Your Newegg etc. links are welcome and helpful, but I'll be unable to order from them directly. Will likely use NCIX.com.
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Use: General gaming. I don't overclock.

Here's what I have right now:

PSU: Antec Earthwatts EA650
CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 720 Processor
Mainboard: Asus M4A785TD-M EVO
Memory: 8GB DDR3
Video: GeForce 8800 GS
Monitor: Will be upgrading to 24" or larger soon, likely 1920x1080. Will possibly add a second, smaller second monitor later but it will not be used for gaming.
Case: Cooler Master Cavalier 3

Size issues? Current GPU's length is 9 inches. There are no other cards in my mobo, but there's very little additional clearance horizontally. Looks like I could fit a card that's 11" long max.

Power issues? PSU obviously has enough juice, but it's a couple of years old. Anything it's lacking? Has 1 x 6-Pin, 1 x 6+2-Pin PCIe connectors.


I'm building a system for my wife right now, so I thought I'd see what NCIX has on sale:

Powercolor Radeon HD 6870 900MHZ 1GB 4.2GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI 2xMini DP HDMI - $154 ($174 before rebate); 9.5" x 4.38" x 1.5"
XFX Radeon HD 6870 Dual Fan 900MHZ 1GB 4.2GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI 2x Mini Display Port - $159 ($179 before rebate); 10.3" x 4.4" x 1.5"

There's also a Gigabyte for $160, but it's a whopping 11.42" x 4.96" x 1.50" so unfortunately out of the question.

I don't really have brand loyalty (or knowledge) between Powercolor and XFX. I like that the Powercolor us about an inch shorter, giving some extra breathing room. Other than that, what do you think?


Thanks for your advice!

 

[jacktesterson]

Just want to make sure your aware of www.newegg.ca ?

Stuff ships from USA (Edison, NJ) but I get stuff in 2-3 days in New Brunswick using Purolator from them. Never any brokerage or taxes either!

I just say that as I've spent close to $20000.00 at NCIX in the past 2 years and am tired of there Customer service. I build and sell regurilariy and Newegg is just that much better at dealing with issues with me.

ANYWAYS!

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131378

$149.99 AR with free shipping.

Either will be fine.

Powercolor generally feel flimsy, but they work.

 

[cherrytwist]

I have the dual fan XFX (several actually) and couldn't be happier with the card. Great performance, great looks, great warranty. Dual fans make it quieter and IMO one of the better copper heatsinks.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...vbzLCQ&usg=AFQjCNFV058uLNu1sn98yoVmJLanW8vxpw

haven't watched the link but same card.

 

[7earitup]

Between the two, you definitely want XFX.

 

[GoStumpy]

I've bought 3 or 4 XFX cards, all have been beautifully packaged, work flawlessly... I effin love XFX.

Always thought of Powercolor as a lower-end brand...IMHO