Midrange cards in SLI/CROSSFIRE or a single high end card ?

what do u mean ? u mean 2xMidrange cards in SLI/CROSSFIRE or a single high end card ?

well your resolution is one of those which i recommend SLI or CROSSFIRE, but not 2x midrange cards , for example 2x8600GT wont perform very well in SLI , if u can get 2x8800(GTX-GTS 640) then go for it , if not , go for a SINGLE 8800GTX, dont go for ULTRA, its overpriced also in fact 8800ULTRA = 8800GTX OC'd , u can OC a 8800GTX to make it ULTRA or even further also the difference between 8800GTX and ULTRA isnt noticeable

Bad news: for that resolution you will need two 8800 GTX cards. Forget mid-range cards. You could get one now and add the other one later if you're not happy with the performance. What kind of motherboard and power supply do you have? You will need something based on 680i, like P5N32-E SLI, for best results. A PSU like Toughpower 850W would do nicely.

Experiment with these benchmarks to get an idea. I didn't find benchmarks for 2560x1600, but 1920x1200 is useful. You will get a bit more than half the fps shown in those benchmarks, at your resolution. For example if you see 58 fps at 1920x1200 it means you'll get about 30 or 32 fps at 2560x1600 in the same game with the same card (or pair of cards).

http://www23.tomshardware.com/grap [...] &chart=358
http://www23.tomshardware.com/grap [...] &chart=298

Thanks a lot for the links the test in 2600X1800 res are very handy

effectively mid range card wont do the job, but as i m only planing to buy the new rig in january the price will drop a bit until then .

As for the Psu concern don't worry i take good care to feed the baby

Probably best to go Xfire with the 1GB ATI's for that resolution.

Anyone else miss the days of gaming in 800x600 too?

I am still playing Diablo 2 at 800x600. It's an insult to the overclocked 8800 GTX but I still think it's the best game ever