utter utter crap people talk sometimes.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2008/12/18/first-look-nvidia-geforce-gtx-295-1792mb/8
THis is just one review, please someone tell me where the 280GTX even comes close to the 4870x2. The 4870x2 in most of the benchmarks , in farcry 2, in Fallout 3, its got a roughly 50-80% MINIMUM framerate lead over a single 280gtx, with the former clocking in around £280, and the later at £330 price performance is easily with ATi, as is all out performance.
THat review is Nvidia's best 5 games where it has the best advantage over ATi, which is why Nvidia made all reviewers use those 5 games only. In not one is the 280gtx anywhere close to the 4870x2. Every review, because they are the same 5 games(+1 they can choose though mostly deadspace as it was recommended but Bit tech don't use, and thats the one game Nvidia have a huge lead in sli, over crossfire.
Unless you're sitting on the card or waving your wang over it, heat doesn't matter. Its not perfect, but its pretty damn quite, silent idle, can be loud in games but me, like many others took the shroud off and stuck a silent 120mm fan on it, cooler, silent at all times and overclocks quite well. THere are newer 4870x2 3rd party models without the crappy blower fan which are silent at stock without messing around, though a £5 zalman and the cheapest 4870x2 is a much cheaper option than an asus/pallit 4870x2(from what I've seen).
Sli is a real option and 2x260's come WAY closer in price and performance value to a 4870x2, though personally I'd still go ATi because once you've spent £330 on one theres very few games that can't run on it. ARguably you'd get better performance from 2x260's, but at a decent amount higher cost right now and once you hit a certain level, more frames for more money aren't really needed.
IE the 280gtx 1920x1200 Crysis very high and 2xaa is 20fps average, 11fps min. The 4870x2 gives 31fps average and 20fps min, 50% higher average and almost 100% higher min, its actually playable at 30fps, at 20 its not, the 33fps the 260SLi gives you isn't a huge difference.
