thing is do you want to wait ?
a 6950 now or wait like two months for a release of another card which will be more expensive than a 6950 and probably a little faster
bf3 a 6950 plays it 1920x1080 all on high for 60fps
its replacement will probably cost 30-50 quid more on launch and get about 5-10 fps more at same settings
Why would it get 5-10fps more, we're talking about a 70-80% boost from its replacement, and it WILL NOT be £30-50 more, firstly he's looking at a £220-230 flex version, secondly, the 7950 will NOT be £250+ on launch, the 6950 launched at £200, and is £200 today, the 5850 launched at £200, and was £200 up till the 6950 launched.
Thirdly, so what if a 6950 will play BF3 at X fps, it makes no difference, if you can get the same fps at half the power and 30-40% lower cost, or significantly more FPS for the same cost and similar power, simply by waiting a month, that will also mean in two years when BF4 is out, and the 6950 is only giving you 30fps, the 7950 will be giving you 55fps.
Most importantly, especially as the thread is asking about power supplies and high end gfx, a 7870 is likely to be FASTER than a 6950, cost £60-70 LESS than the Flex edition he's looking at, use half the power, and would be fine on a 450W PSU saving him a further £60. Faster, less power, saving £120 total without the need for a new PSU......... yeah, why wait.
Worst comes to the worst, new cards come out, he can get the SAME 6950, for £120-130. Now you buy this card 12 months ago, you pay £100 more but get 12 months usage out of it, you play 100 hours of games, that £1 an hour, play 1000, etc, etc. Buy that card today, play a few hours a week, the card is worth £100 less in a month, how much value are you getting out of it.
its a horrible time to buy. There will be new cards, and new deals on all the current cards, no matter the card you want, the market will look infinately better in 6 weeks, and from then, nothing much will improve for likely another 18-24 months. If performance doubles for the same power and price every 24 months, buying literally weeks before that new 24month cycle is madness. Buying moments AFTER that cycle starts gets you the best value possible.
The only exception to this is if there are some mental EOL deals on current ranges before the actual launch, as in a 6950 for £130 now, or in a month won't matter. With black friday this week and more and more e-tailers doing silly deals for it..... well 50% off a brand new SB-E would be strange, a very slightly early 30-40% off deal on a 6950, which will get 30-40% cheap anyway only weeks later........ is a LOT more likely.
