Figuring out best vid card config

[nbrikha]

So I have building options and I want to know whats worth the money or not.
What is coming is dual ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 gb crossfirex enabled. The upgrade to dual ATI Radeon HD 5870 is $315. I haven't played crysis yet and idk if I'm going to, but CS, CSS, L4D 2, COD6, and games like that I am going to be playin on this machine. Is the 315 dollars worth it?
Also, what about the ATI Radeon HD 5970 2gb. That is a 180 dollar upgrade. From what I can tell it's faster on its own than a 5870, but is it better to have two GPUs or one faster one...they both end up with the same amount of memory, that's why I ask.
So the three configurations I have are: dual 1gb ATI Radeon 5770, dual 1 gb ATI Radeon 5870, or single 2gb ATI Radeon 5870.

 

[sniperviper21]

get a single 5770 and you can run all those games just fine.

anything more then that your just throwing your money away for no reason.
could always add in another card down the road for cheaper.

 

[Mutant Corn]

^ True. Some people like to upgrade it all at once though.

The 5970 is very expensive, but it'll give the best results in the end. Once the price comes down on it you can add another later, but in the meantime it'll pwn any game that comes out in the next couple of years.

The best balance of price and power would be to get a single 5890 now, and another one when the prices come down.

What motherboard and PSU are you getting? You need to make sure they can both handle crossfire with cards like that. One that only runs xfire in x8/x8 isn't going to cut it, I don't think, and your PSU will need to be ~750W with plenty of amperage.

 

[foothead]

Don't get anything more than a 5770 unless you are playing at a huge resolution. If you are, then get a 5850. By huge, I mean more than 1920x1200.

My brother has a 5770 with 3760x1080 monitors and it plays crysis warhead on gamer with mainstream physics and gets good framerates. I was shocked actually.

 

[nbrikha]

I got the money for an Alienware. From the research I've done, they're still the best, last the longest, best support, and easily upgradable. CrossfireX enabled and more than enough room to handle everything. Plus, not really that much more to buy it than to build my own, and I get the extras and minus the headache.
I was gonna do the Area-51. Intel i7 920 2.66ghz, 6gb 1333mhz ddr3, and then the 5970. I had the same idea Mutant Corn had, about eventually adding on another 5970 when I need the power or if it gets cheaper. I want the bragging rights and to be able to play games like Warhead and Crysis 2 when it comes out. I figure dual GPU cards are the future, so if I get the 5770, I'll probably end up getting the 5970 eventually anyway, why not now?

 

[foothead]

Alienware is a ripoff. Build your own. You will end up with non-crap parts.

Meh. If you are gonna buy something, don't buy it for bragging rights. Warhead plays fine on Gamer settings at 3840x1080 resolution on a single 5770.