Which is better 3 9800GTX or 2 9800GX2??

its too early too tell

It also depends on monitor resolution and AA settings. But if I had to say one or the other, I would imagine tri sli would beat it slightly.

thats what i would say but as of now they both scale horribly the drivers are terrible

Ok, What about 2 9800GTX vs 1 9800GX? which one would be a better buy and faster?

http://www.anandtech.com/video/sho [...] i=3275&p=6

Another link to benchmarks:   http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/ [...] index.html  
 
I am building a new rig but I think I will  just buy one EVGA 9800gtxSSC
and wait to play crysis untill I can get something that can run it  everything maxed on a 30" monitor, like 2 9900GX2's or 3 9900GTX's. I never play a game unless I can turn it up all the way just to make sure I don't miss anything.

Both are currently buggy solutions compared to just dual card SLI.  See this different page to a link already provided for you.  http://www.anandtech.com/video/sho [...] i=3275&p=5

I think people are thinking about it too soon. I'm happy with just 1 9800 GX2 lol I dont see why I would need more power than this for now:S

Agreed, a pair of 9800GTXs is as high as I would want to go. Anything above that will draw an obscene amount of power for marginal at best performance gains. Maybe Hybrid Power and better drivers will change that, but personally I would rather just wait until a better single card solution is available.

Well the only good Single card solution is the 9800 GX2, but its over priced. I think the price should have been around 400$-499$, and 1 gig per PCB would've been beneficial.

if you're thinking about getting either i would hang on for the 9900gtx.sounds like it will whip a 9800gx2 .i was about to get a gx2 but i'm going to hang on til i hear more news about the next cards.  

I doubt it will be that powerful lol judging by it's specs, plus it won't be out till about Christmas I'm betting Theres no point for Nvidia to release it right now
 
Since I can exchange my video card for it if it proves to be better, it doesn't affect me

Two 9800GTX in SLI beats one 9800GX2. However, the one 9800GX2 is more energy efficient. Three 9800GTX in Tri-SLI is actually slower than two 9800GX2 in Quad-SLI, especially in games that handle it better. At high resolutions, the Quad-SLI can get over 10 frames higher in COD4.
 
The thing is, these are both at stock speeds; I have no idea for overclocked. Clearly, the 9800GTX overclocks substantially more. However, I don't really think it would surpass it, rather than just close the gap.
 
Overall though, three 9800GTXs is cheaper, but only the 680i, 780i, and 790i can use it. Two 9800GX2s would cost more, but any SLI capable board can use them.

yes but remember that they run on the same boards. only diff is that 9800 GTX has 675 (Gx2 600) and 1100 (GX2 1000) so the GX2 can match it. I managed to Oc it to 740 and 1200. I don't want to go higher because I really see no point.