If they were the same price, I'd say get the ASUS . It's better, but just barely. It's not $20 better though. Get the XFX.

Could you please explain how/why it is better? Trying to gain an understanding of all these PC parts. Thanks

Short version: a 480 is a 480. Basically differences are that some are goosed slightly faster than others (aka overclocked out of the box). Based on your question, I don't think you do overclocking (make it run faster/hotter - WHICH CAN DAMAGE THE CARD IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL) so it's pretty much a wash as the differences are minor at best. I grabbed the XFX last week, and I'm happy with it.

Well, now they both are the same price on Amazon, so makes the decision tougher. And no, I do not plan on overclocking the GPU

Which one runs cooler? Even if you don't overclock a cool card is a happy card

@wonderva: I think the ASUS has passive cooling while the XFX card has active cooling. (unless i'm looking at the wrong ASUS card)

This means that the Asus card will be silent and use a larger heatsink to disperse the heat. The card will be hotter, but the system will be more silent. A decent case with proper ventilation will handle this heat. The XFX card is actively cooled by fans. The fans will be spinning which keeps the card cooler, but also makes it louder.

Seems like the Asus card is a bit longer than the XFX card because of the heatsink (298 mm vs 254 mm) so you might want to make sure that the ASUS card will fit. At similar price and provided you have a decent case with fans installed, i would go for the ASUS card.

My first build will be a Mini ITX setup in the Fractal Nano S case with 2 intake fans, and 1 exhaust fan

@wonderva: That's a pretty open case and supports GPU's up to 315 mm. So it seems fine to me.

Basically every 480 will be the same. You pay the price premium to have overclocking capabilities.