HOLY CRAP! ATI takes the lead!

I gotta say, I was worried about AMD/ATI for a while. They still have some ground to cover (the new video cards run a bit hotter than we'd prefer) but they finally took the performance crown off nVidia's head. The ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 is THE card to use on a 30" monitor, and in most cases outperforms nVidia's high-end GTX 280 on smaller monitors too.

The Reactor's possible options became thus:

nVidia
1. GTX 260 $315
2. GTX 280 $450
3. 2 x GTX 260 $630
4. 2 x GTX 280 $900

ATI
1. HD 4870 $310
2. HD 4870 X2 $560
3. 2 x HD 4870 $620
4. 2 x HD 4870 X2 $1,120

(Prices are for overclocked versions where possible.)

The first tier is a draw, since the GTX 260 and HD 4870 oveclocked perform about the same. (The 260 is better at some games, the 4870 is better at others.) Then things go downhill. We knew for a while now that the GTX 280 didn't always beat out a pair of 4870's in Crossfire mode, but since the GTX 280 cost $70 less, that was to be expected. The arrival of the 4870 X2 changes everything. It consistently beats out the GTX 280, a pair of GTX 260's, and in many cases, even a pair of GTX 280's (for $340 less!) It is especially adept at handling antialiasing at 1680x1050, 1920x1200, and 2560x1600.

Consequently, the nVidia line no longer makes sense for the Reactor. As of today, you'll only see HD 4870 variations on the configuration page. You'll notice there isn't an option for a pair of 4870's in Crossfire mode. That's not because the Reactor can't do it - if you buy a single 4870 now, you have the option of adding another one in down the road (without having to change the power supply.) But as an immediate option, it makes more sense to go for a single 4870 X2 - it's less expensive and performs better across the board.