The SAPPHIRE PULSE is a great option if you can get one. It offers an overbuilt cooler with cool and quiet operation under load, bulletproof 8-pin power connectors, and an understated aesthetic. It may be a “stock” card when it comes to GPU clocks, but it still looks and feels like a premium product. Now you just have to find one in stock…
Of course, there’s still the topic of pricing to consider, as finding a card at – or at least near – its launch MSRP is just about impossible right now (even before the latest tariffs go into effect). I really have no idea where pricing is going, and online availability is still mostly limited to the occasional Newegg Shuffle or the joys of inflated third-party Amazon sellers (I won’t even look at eBay listings). Yes, there is the possibility of Micro Center purchases, which are in-store only, when available, but when only 38% of states have a Micro Center, I have a hard time considering it when discussing wide availability.
