I have to say LOL - at this stage we dont go higher then 4850's in CF ???

I mean thats weak a lot of people are willing to spend more and to even think for a second that 2 x 4850's is the best option if you are focused on performance over value is silly. What does a top of the line Quad core CPU cost?

Next you will be telling people to get an A3 over a 911 turbo as the value doesnt make sense, performance costs - how fast do you want to go?
2 x GTX280's looks nice to me until dual gpu cards are out, there is no way i would go 2 x 4850's over it.

Not everyone can have sli/crossfire graphics cards, maybe spliting the catagories would be more usefull to those who don't wish to buy a new motherboard - defeating the entire point of a value list.

The 260 sells for 299, and the 4870 sells for 299. When you calculate in the Step up program from eVGA, the best bang for your buck in my opinion is the 260 from eVGA. Untill Radeon brands start offering a simular program, Nvidia will be the only way to go.

Looks like the cheapest GTX 260 in stock at NewEgg now is $330. It's 6% more expensive and on average 6% slower. I think the choice is pretty clear here.

Clearly it would be stupid if ati didnt make 4850X2 this time I mean for 450$ it would be a steal. BTW I heard on other websites, 4870X2 is 20% faster than 2 4870s in crossfire. Well if 4850X2 could show similar benifits, it would rock @ 400$ price point. BTW, how much do you think is a fair price for 4870X2 and 4850X2.

Unfotunately not everyone lives in the US.

i liked this sentence
and becomes a devastating force when paired with a second 4850 in a Crossfire configuration.

I agree with randomizer. Believe it or not, 8600GTS here still costs about $120, which is the same price as the Radeon 3850 here. And.... I thought the 4870 was generally faster than the GTX260?

Why does Tom's not go with "street pricing" in these...suggestions? Is this just to try to screw the noobs who visit this site into buying old/overpriced hardware? I mean come'on, this is an ENTHUSIAST site = best value for the dollar (or bleeding edge price is no object for the rich few).

For instance, with a small rebate, Newegg has: a 256mb 8800GT for $77, 8800GT 512mb for $120, HD 4850's for $145-165 w/promo code and rebate, 9800GTX for $175.

And here's one that's even more pathetic and that I never thought I'd see, BestBuy beating the Egg on the upper-mid-range 4870 ($299 free shipping vs $310 + $9 shipping)...pathetic NewEgg.

Yea i agree the 4850 are priced at 200 but you can get them for less then 160 why even talk about a GeForce 8800 GT 512MB @ 160 when its a bad choice from the start.

Considering if you already have an SLI mobo, AND considering you can use eVGA's step up program to buy a nicer GPU 3 months down the road for almost nothing. The choice is clear. You want to piddle over 6% and go with a low-rep company, go for it lol.

Also, doing research on mobo's, a solid name brand CF Mobo is on average $50 more expensive than a solid SLI mobo. You might not care about quality when it comes to GPU's and mobo's, but I do. Maybe i'm picky, but personly, I like it when my PC boots up.

The GeForce 8800 GT 512MB is a $120 Card and its 256mb friend is a 100 card but hey that's for people who are running at low res and don't have the money to spend on a decent card.

Ah.. so many nVidia fanboys trolling around...

I wonder if some of the peoples that make comment even bother to read the 1st page...

This is really funny. I swear Americans think they live in the only country in the world.

We do. Everything else is just future states.

There do appear to be quite a lot of Nvidia zealots sticking their fingers in their ears, closing their eyes and going 'La la la la! I can't hear you! This is not happening!'

Is this some sort of misplaced post-Independence Day zeal?
You do know that the only reason you won is because you teamed up with the *French*?

That's commendable. You acknowledged the existance of another world. Maybe one that doesn't have Newegg and MIRs even?

^haha, agreed.