I would have gone for the 590 myself, if it had been within my budget.

Seriously, this is the most powerful and efficient card out there, and it is ultra stable. It uses two liquid nitrogen tanks (onboard the card) for cooling. It should last a long, long time, it has the kinds of processing power for screen renders that Vue will reach late next year (as opposed to the old tech 450's, which Vue 9.5 has already passed by), and it will draw less power on your system.

By the way, I've been building my own machines for about 25 years - I agree with Rich. If it is possible for someone you know to build you one, you probably could save a $1000 or so, and still end up with a fantastic machine.