I am currently waiting for my tax return and I am excited to be building my first rig. Although I do not have much to spend off the bat but I plan on investing more over time, of course pending results. I have read a lot of reviews, and got many different opinions and I am really stuck on my decision. I am planning on buying 4 cards total for now and I am wondering, is the cost difference worth the difference in hash rate. I find my self stuck because I read on some forums that some people will successfully overclock 7950's and get near the hashrate of the 280X and not have to pay for the difference. I am sorry if these seems like a stupid questions but I just want to be sure of my decisions before spending this sum of money. All help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!
The 280X is essentially a rebadged 7950. So they are basically the same cards. The 280X uses more power to achieve the same mining speeds, so the only question you should have is the price of the cards. Whichever is cheapest is your answer.