GTX 260 vs ??

[uberthegreat]

I'm building a new system, but can't decide on the graphics card. I will be using an X58 motherboard with 3 way SLI and CrossFireX support. The cards I'm trying to decide between are the EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 55nm and the Sapphire Radeon 4870 1GB with a non reference cooler. In the past, I have stuck with ATI because of CrossFire support on Intel chipsets, as I am not a fan of Nvidia chipsets. I will be playing Crysis and other games that are optimized for the Nvidia architecture. I will be adding more GPU's in the future, and after looking at benchmarks, performance in Crysis and Far Cry 2 don't improve much using CrossFire compared to SLI. Which card is right for me? Right now, I am leaning toward the GTX 260. My resolution is 1680x1050 and I am currently running a and a half year old Radeon X300 SE

Thanks!

ps: Will the Corsair HX 1000 power supply run 3 GTX 260's in 3 way SLI? I want to get it because I want to eventually upgrade to 3 way SLI.


The build-
Core i7 920
MSI Eclipse
6GB GSkill DDR3
WD Caviar Black 500GB
Corsair HX1000 power supply
Vista Home Premium 64 bit
GTX 260 or HD 4870

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

I actually got some great scaling with 2 4830s in crossfire on Far Cry 2, I'll go and read some reviews. It seems you already have your answer. Maybe you should try for a GTX 280 to really decide things for you.

On another note I LOVE YOUR BUILD. The RAM and the mobo are the exact ones I would pick, good job! The only thing I see is that you should drop that Corair 1000w, since it is overpriced as there are other similar quality 1000w PSUs for cheap now ($200). Try the Ultra X3 1000w (decent) Antec Quattro (Great unless you have 8800s) or the PC Power and Cooling 1000w (basically the same inner components as the Corsair without modular cabling). Maybe with those savings you can get a GTX 280.