Not to rain on anyone's parade, but I have (2) 6870 cards -- a Sapphire and an XFX -- and the XFX doesn't overclock as high, runs hotter, and the fan is MUCH, much louder. You can hear it over everything else in your room. There are many threads on the 'Net about how to cool them -- mostly desperation. I re-applied arctic silver paste which helped a BIT, but it's only 5 degrees cooler. The fan is still loud. I borderline regret I bought it.

With what I know today, I'd pay $20 or even $30 more for an equivalent Sapphire card over an XFX one.

Just my personal experience.

Matthew