Tomshardware is confusing me... HD4850 or GTX 260?

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts [...] s,795.html

if you look here it shows the GTX 260 outperforming the 4850 CF (under fps totals)

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 064-4.html

and when you look here they are recommended getting 2x 4850's....

The price difference is roughly $100 and the gtx 260 performs better and is cheaper???

can anyone clarify

but why do the benchmarks say otherwise then?

the gtx 260 is beating the 4850 CF because the benchmark where its winning isn't yet optimized for dual cards... so your basically getting the performance of a single card... get the gtx 260 for more performance over a single 4850 and 2 4850s in CF for more performance over a single gtx 260... but with all CF/ Multi-card solutions take into account that it might not always scale well

The HD4850 is currently a good deal money wise

If you have a CF mobo, Id get the 4850s. Theyll beat the G280 in most games

Only 1 board currently supports both, and you wont want that, as its expensive. CF mobos are for XF. SLI mobos are for SLI. Single cards can be used on any mobos, but using 2 or more cards requires either a nVidia SLI mobo or a CF mobo requires a ATI CF setup.

Well, the new gen from ATI has caught fire, and shown to be really nice, and came in at low low pricing as well, it surprised everyone, especially nVidia. Make sure youre looking at a PCI-2 mobo, one that has 16x on each rail.
As for upgrading, it just depends on the next gen, and when you want to buy. Therell be product out there thatll compete, and if current lines hold, decent pricing as well. The next gen from either company looks promising. I dont see a huge jump again like we saw in the G80 series again anytime soon. Both companies are in great positions for their next gens