Upgrading GPU

[mof]

I'm planning on upgrading my PC in next two weeks and I'm struggling to choose which GPU to get. I play games @ 1920 x 1080 and I'd like to be able to run games at max settings including 8x MSAA and with a minimum framerate of 40FPS (ideally 60).

I'm going to be getting bioshock infinite, Metro Last Light ,GTA5 (if and when it comes out) and watch Dogs (could be a long wait). Some of the games I currently play are: Battlefield 3, Crysis, Starcraft 2, Far Cry3.

I'm not planning on OC'ing anything or using SLI/Crossifre.

I'd like the card to have a good, quiet cooler.

I've been looking at 7970s and 670s and I'm not sure which to go for. I would consider a 680. I've also noticed that you can pay £280 - £400+ for 7970 with different clock speeds and coolers. Are the more expensive models really worth the price difference?

My budget for the GPU is £400.
I know it's the wrong place but I'd appreciate advice on what CPU to get too. I'm considering the i7 3820, i5 3570k, i7 3930k.

 

[mof]

Unless you need the extra cores, I would go for the i5 3570K paired up with a 7950 and if need be, you can overclock it past 7970 speeds. The 680 and 7970 are faster at stock, though imo they aren't worth the extra expense for around only an additional 5 - 10% performance.

As for the model of gpu, check this out :

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-065-HS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1673


Edit : I would have thought your cpu would suffice for now? As far as I'm aware, it's a high end one. Still, if you want / need to upgrade, then my suggestion remains the same : go for the 3570K.

Thanks for both your responses.

Initially I only wanted to get a better GPU but I wasn't sure if the CPU would cause a bottleneck. Would a 7950/670 be used to its full potential with my current CPU(and RAM)?

Is it possible to buy a 7950 that has been OC'd already to 7970 equivalent speeds? With heat and noise kept down too?

Edit: I've ordered the 7950 HIS Ice Boost. I'm going have a look at the GPU usage on games so I can decide whether or not to replace the CPU.

 

[mof]

I haven't started a new thread because this is related to the previous posts.
I got the HIS iceq 7950 and used it with my 1090t and I noticed a lot of spikes in the gpu usage when games were running. I assumed that this was due to the cpu causing a bottleneck.
I've since upgraded my motherboard, cpu and RAM and I'm now using an i5 3570k. I've just run a heaven benchmark and I noticed that the gpu usage was spiking again jumping from 100-64% and staying at 99% for short periods. When I ran the benchmark again in windowed mode I looked at the cpu usage in speedfan and it didn't seem to go above 50%.
If the gpu usage spikes aren't caused by the cpu being inadequate what else could be the cause?
Also is there some better software for monitoring cpu usage over periods of time than speedfan?

 

[mof]

I take it your running latest drivers and not the ones that come with the GPU?

Yes I'm using the CCC 13.1 - 9.012-121219a-152192C-ATI driver package.

EDIT: I'm getting similar results on the Crysis 3 beta and battlefield 3 multiplayer.Edit2: I installed the 12.11 CAP but it didn't make any difference.

 

[mof]

http://www.overclock.net/t/1353203/what-does-power-limit-do-in-msi-afterburner

I followed the advice from the post in this link and by increasing the power limit to +20 in afterburner I was able to a get a solid 99% gpu usage during heaven benchmark and increase the benchmark score by almost 100. My max temp didn't change (62c).

Is increasing the power limit potentially harmful to the card? I haven't increased either of the voltages and it is only slightly overclocked by using the "iTurbo" function which makes the GPU clock 932 MHZ and the memory clock 1262 MHZ.