Hi, I'm building a new computer and was hoping for some opinions.

Here is what i was thinking about getting.

Option 1,

XFX nForce 780i 3-way SLI Motherboard. ($419.99) -- maybe pony up for the 2.66GHz processor, undesided.

XFX GeForce GTX 280 1GB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0 ($449.99)



Option 2,

I haven't researched actual parts yet, but a Crossfire mobo's. Look about the same price. 50-100 bucks difference. (under researched statement) (~$400.00)

Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 (~$250 - $300)


So,

Do you think the extra cash is worth it for the GeForce option? I'm trying to keep in mind future upgrades. I definatly want to start with 1 top of the line video card, and add more as needed.


Biggest question is, will the Radeon option keep me gamming well into the future? Slowly upgrading to 3 videocards seems like the way to go. Do they make a Crossfire Mobo that allows for 3 video cards?


Thanks for you 2-cents. And i also apoligize if this thread was asked a million times already. Sad to say, i just found Tomshardware forums today and haven't had time to read through it yet. (stupid work, is it 5pm yet?)

I really don't think the Nvidia cards are worth it right now. I'd go with a 4870, and then if you think you need it, you can buy another one and Crossfire. I don't think there's a Crossfire mobo that allows for 3. You should be fine with two though. If you really want to be sure, I'd wait for the $4870X2, you can even use two of those on one mobo.

Yea They do not support Direct x 10.1 which isn't a big deal now but in the future next gen NIDIA cards are going to support it and that means games will use the new feature to enhance the performance.

If money isn't a problem, then the GTX 280 is the way to go for top performance. That said, the 4870 is only a little slower and gives a lot more for the money. Last I looked, you could get two 4870s for the price of one GTX 280, though that may have changed. With two 4870s in Crossfire, you probably could top a single GTX 280.

If for no other reason I would go with the 4870 is that I feel the Intel chipset boards are a better quality board with fewer problems and compatibility issues. As far as 3-way x-fire I believe that are some that do Like the Foxcon Black Ops http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813186144. I would think that to go x-fire adding a 4870x2 as the second card would be a better option (I believe that 1 4870 + 1 4870x2 will perform much better than 3 4870) since so far scaling past 2 gpu's has shown diminishing returns and would give a much larger selection of Motherboards to choose from.

From what little has been show on the 4870x2 it's performance it is pretty much the same as 2 4870 in cf but in some circumstances when there is poor scaling with cf the x2 still does very well which is why I think it must be seen more like a single gpu so should scale well in a 2 card cf setup (that is just a guess and won't know till there are more tests and reviews with various cf setups).

Over the years I have always favored Intel and Nvidia, not to the fanboi state but beyond buying what was best the best value at the time. But right now if a multi gpu setup is planned from the start I would have to go the Ati route. If sli were a feature of the x48 chipset I personally would go the GTX route if performance was the goal (for me now multimedia is my main concern so a single Ati card is best fit).

If you do go Nvidia, get the 790i board, even though you have to spring for the DDR3. It is FAR superior to the 780i.

Having said that, and being a Nvidia guy for the last few cards, (7800 GT, 7900GTO, 8800 GTX, now SLI'd), I would probably go for the 4870. The 280 is still overpriced in my opinion.

But I do love the ability to unlink my ram from the fsb and crank it up to 450 or so, very easy and hassle free.

Great time to be a consumer, as it is a target rich environment.