BeanX wrote:
-Radeon HD 7850 1 GB ~ again outside my comfort zone, usually always Nvidia here, but I'm told the Radeons have more "bang for the buck"
This is the common wisdom and I've been very happy with my Radeon purchase (a 3GB 7950) and found it largely trouble free. It was also a hundred bucks less than a comparative GTX 670. This is with an Intel CPU (i7-860 oc'd to 3.8GHz). Naturally, the lower you go down the ladder, the smaller the dollar range differences will be. Most of the Tom's Hardware "best value" recommendations are AMD cards for what it's worth.
Speaking of overclocking processors, consider dropping the extra $15 for the "k" version of whatever i5 you're thinking of, assuming it's available.
Also, AMD is running another "Never Settle" promotion and the 7850 should come with Bioshock: Infinite and Tomb Raider: No That Wasn't Supposed To Imply Rape. Not that you should buy a card solely for the games but rather, if you decide to go with an AMD card, make sure you're getting your goodies.
Edited, Feb 3rd 2013 4:08pm by Jophiel