CPU-bound applications do not gain performance from increases in GPU compute power, except at extreme graphical settings.

Yes depending on the game at

Yes depending on the game at "extreme graphical settings" like with high levels of AA at high resolution that I run, but like I said again trying to force AFR did nothing with the majority of the games I have. Lol, here's the point; nothing new, dual GPU video cards are useless for FSX. By the way what's your point? Do you even have any experience with the hardware in this discussion?

I've given you all the pieces of the puzzle. Do I need to put it together for you as well?Piece 1: FSX is CPU-boundPiece 2: extra GPU horsepower allows for higher levels of detailPiece 3: SSAA is very graphically demandingThe extra GPU means you can run high levels of SSAA.

The extra GPU means you can run high levels of SSAA.

You

I have quite a bit of experience with the 4870x2 as two of my closest friends (including my roommate) run them in their gaming PCs, both of which I assembled. As for micro-stuttering attributed to AFR, this is only an issue with fast-paced shooters and mis-matched graphics configurations with the slave card being significantly slower than the master, neither of which are true in this case.So yes, the extra GPU will help with SSAA.

I have quite a bit of experience with the 4870x2 as two of my closest friends (including my roommate) run them in their gaming PCs

So your extensive experience with the 4870x2 is with someone else

So your extensive experience with the 4870x2 is with someone else's card?

If you read carefully you'll notice that one of the two 4870x2's I've dealt with is my roommate's. Guess who gets to troubleshoot every problem on that system.

My 4870x2 has exhibited the micro-stuttering (and major stuttering) issue with every racing sim I own as well as FSX and FS9. GRID Racing and Half Life 2 are about the only two games that the 4870x2 has been of any use to me.

Sorry to hear that. I haven't observed any stuttering on either of the x2's I deal with regularly, nor have the users complained about any sort of performance issues akin to stuttering. Have you submitted a support ticket to ATi's Catalyst team, or spoken with other 4870x2 users on sites like Rage3d or DriverHeaven?

Again if the game has a profile in the Catalyst driver then yes maybe the extra GPU will help, if not it can make things worse.

And again, executable renaming generally just works in my experience. If yours is different I'd suspect the apparently multiple issues you have with your system to indicate a serious problem.

If you read carefully you'll notice that one of the two 4870x2's I've dealt with is my roommate's. I haven't observed any stuttering on either of the x2's I deal with regularly, nor have the users complained about any sort of performance issues akin to stuttering. Have you submitted a support ticket to ATi's Catalyst team, or spoken with other 4870x2 users on sites like Rage3d or DriverHeaven? If yours is different I'd suspect the apparently multiple issues you have with your system to indicate a serious problem.

What

I'm sorry your luck with x2 cards has been poor. Have you ever tried one of NV's dual-GPU cards? It's difficult to find a cause or solution to PC problems without extensive troubleshooting, in this case including changing to a completely different card altogether. As for exe renaming, I provided more details in an earlier post. If you have issues with a game not running properly in CF mode and that game uses the same (or similar) engine as another game which does have an AFR profile, renaming said game executable to that of the other game with a working profile works for most games. There are always exceptions though, if it worked every time the driver would just profile games and do it for the user automatically.

I'm sorry your luck with x2 cards has been poor. Have you ever tried one of NV's dual-GPU cards? It's difficult to find a cause or solution to PC problems without extensive troubleshooting, in this case including changing to a completely different card altogether. As for exe renaming, I provided more details in an earlier post. If you have issues with a game not running properly in CF mode and that game uses the same (or similar) engine as another game which does have an AFR profile, renaming said game executable to that of the other game with a working profile works for most games. There are always exceptions though, if it worked every time the driver would just profile games and do it for the user automatically.

Not the GTX 295 but I have experimented with Nvidia

I also ran dual X1900s in CF back in the day. Bought an XTX the day before launch and the master card 3 months later through ATi's retail partner program at a significant discount. Drivers were a mess back then so I never really got it working right until about 6 months later with the Cat 6.9's and 6.10's. That system certainly was the envy of all my nerd brethren. I spent as much on video hardware alone (including monitors) for that PC as I did for the entire system in my sig, including the plasma tv. Good luck with your CF adventures. I've stuck with fast single GPU cards ever since my first mis-adventure with CF back in '06. I wouldn't turn down a 5970 though :(

I also ran dual X1900s in CF back in the day. Bought an XTX the day before launch and the master card 3 months later through ATi's retail partner program at a significant discount. Drivers were a mess back then so I never really got it working right until about 6 months later with the Cat 6.9's and 6.10's. That system certainly was the envy of all my nerd brethren. I spent as much on video hardware alone (including monitors) for that PC as I did for the entire system in my sig, including the plasma tv.

I was able to get Cross Fire to work with some games. At the time I had the two 1900

Back to the discussion, how does the new ATI card perform with the new drivers in comparison to the NVIDIA cards?

Back to the discussion, how does the new ATI card perform with the new drivers in comparison to the NVIDIA cards?

The performance with FSX is great, better than my GTX 285. It

The performance with FSX is great, better than my GTX 285. It

So is image quality equal to or less than the Nvidia cards? Can you post a high res screenshot?

The 5870 is capable of higher IQ than any Nvidia GPU at this time but the problem is the getting the needed options in the Catalyst drivers. I can post a screen shot but I doubt that it would be any use in telling the difference in IQ between the GTX 285 and the 5870, it certainly won