Yes and no, same against the GTX 295. Bare in mind both those cards are dual GPU solutions, so the fact the 5870 is beating them in quite a few cases is impressive, not to mention it uses less power at peak and idle. Also bare in mind the 5870 is the only one out of those which supports DX11, so its ready for the new DX11 titles coming out end of this year/2010 and beyond.

4870X2 is already EOL, meaning they aren't made any more, so they are hard to come by new, the GTX 295 will be following suit in a few months.

Driver maturity is also going to play a key role in the 5870's performance, so we should see improvements as new Catalyst drivers are released.

Price wise, if you are looking to pay GTX 295 money for a card, you can't not avoid the 5870.

If you can find a cheap second hand 4870X2 for say around £140, then grab that!

 

those are all top end cards for hardcore gamers, you may want to save £100 and consider a radeon 5850

 

I agree with the second part, but top end cards aren't for hardcore gamers, as most hardcore gamers do weird things, they play their games at low settings, low res and high contrast.

But yeah, currently, I don't think the 5870 is worth its price, the 5850 is much better value.

 

crossfire 5850, I got sucked into the 5870 hype and bought the 5870. Crossfire 5850 actually out perform single 5870 and better value for money.

 

Look for a new 4850x2 or used 4870x2, or just get 5850 and enjoy the new technology.

 

Ooooo. ouch.

 

Well what I mean is that hardcore gamers are like an anti-climax. You'd think they would love the high-end hardware and so on, but most of these hardcore gamers don't care about graphics, they sit playing low-res on CRT monitors with low details and high contrast to make spotting other players easier.

I on the other hand, am not a hardcore gamer, but I love the high end hardware and playing games with all the eyecandy on.

At least, that's the definition of hardcore gaming to me.

It's like extreme ironing, what's the point?

 

On the topic though, I'd say wait until the 5870X2 comes out, then make your decision.

The GTX295 has been a waste of money since release to be honest, just like the 285 too. Anyone who buys a 295, especially now, is crazy.

 

He's right, I know many pro cs+css gamers who have terrible computers!

 

They don't have much time to earn the money for a new rig.

 

Would not rely on quadfire with two 4870x2 as the scaling is a bit hit and miss I think. Would probably get more stable peformance with less cards.