3870 Crossfire vs 8800GT

[Nagrath]

So, I'm finally making the jump to the world of DX10 graphics, my 7900GTX has and actually still is serving me reasonably well, but I'm getting that itch to spend some money on my PC. Up to now, it'd been basically a no-brainer to go with an 8800GT. However, I started reading about the ATI HD 3870 and got to thinking; my motherboard (an Asus P5W DH Deluxe) supports crossfire, so maybe it'd be a better idea to go with the 3870 with the idea of picking up a second one a couple months down the road. I've never done a dual GPU set-up before, so I'm not entirely knowledgeable on all the facets of it. So, here's my question:
Given my motherboard (which I realize is not only somewhat outdated, but may not be the optimal one for a crossfire rig), would I be better off performance-wise running dual 3870's, or should I just get a single 8800GT and be done with it?


I suspect I know the answer, but I always appreciate an outside opinion before plunking down a couple hundred of my hard earned dollars.

 

[kumquat]

So, I'm finally making the jump to the world of DX10 graphics, my 7900GTX has and actually still is serving me reasonably well, but I'm getting that itch to spend some money on my PC. Up to now, it'd been basically a no-brainer to go with an 8800GT. However, I started reading about the ATI HD 3870 and got to thinking; my motherboard (an Asus P5W DH Deluxe) supports crossfire, so maybe it'd be a better idea to go with the 3870 with the idea of picking up a second one a couple months down the road. I've never done a dual GPU set-up before, so I'm not entirely knowledgeable on all the facets of it. So, here's my question:
Given my motherboard (which I realize is not only somewhat outdated, but may not be the optimal one for a crossfire rig), would I be better off performance-wise running dual 3870's, or should I just get a single 8800GT and be done with it?


I suspect I know the answer, but I always appreciate an outside opinion before plunking down a couple hundred of my hard earned dollars.

The Crossfire setup will be faster, but up to $200 more expensive.

 

[aFive]

Crossfire will be good indeed for you. What resolution do you game on?

 

[LGabrielPhoto]

It all depends on what resolution you play at. In my case for 1600x1200 I am perfectly happy with the 8800GT (Crysis I run at 1280x1024 to use Very High).

 

[Nagrath]

Crossfire will be good indeed for you. What resolution do you game on?

My current monitor supports up to 1600x1200, but I'm planning on upping to a nice LCD in the near future as well, so that may be another consideration.

 

[aFive]

My current monitor supports up to 1600x1200, but I'm planning on upping to a nice LCD in the near future as well, so that may be another consideration.

I used to be all about getting AMD and ATI back in the day. They have been a major letdown so far. If you have the money grab yourself a new mobo and SLI 8800GT instead of crossfire, will see more benefit @ that resolution.
@ the guy that said he runs crysis on 8800gt on very high, how's the power point presentation?