1. If the TC believes that the extra $50 is worth the extra 10-15% in performance (average), then by all means, he should go ahead with the 8800 GT. Matter of opinion in how much value he places in PC parts.Wesker776

Yes, but what Im saying is if you have the money for the faster card(8800GT), why not get it. Think of it as cars, if your racing, the Mustang has a better price/efficency ratio, but if you have the money for the faster viper, why not get it? You should get the 8800GT if you can afford it because its better, but if you cant afford it youll still get a good deal with the HD3870.

2. In some games and situations, the 3870 does match or beat the 8800 GT.Wesker776

Maybe, but 99% of them the 8800GT wins, by a good margin too. Its hard for me to come up with one game that the HD3870 is better in(Im sure theres at least one), let alone five. The HD3870 will never be the better card performance-wise(excluding crossfire), its just not as powerful as the 8800GT. If I go back to the cars analogy, you can tune-up a Mustang all you want but itll never be faster than a viper, unless you change engines(which means its not really athe same thing anymore).

3. I suppose it's opinion if your glasses need adjusting. Some hardware sites have stated that the HD3870 does have better image quality than the 8800 GT. This seems very odd, since the 8800 GTX often had slightly better image quality than the HD2900 XT.Wesker776

I don't wear glasses and my eyes are 20/20, but thank you for your concern. On the other hand you are wrong, it is a matter of opinion. Some people think Plasma tv has better image quality than LCD and vice versa, same goes for these two cards. Honestly I cant even tell the difference though, my friend has two HD3870s in Crossfire, I have a single 8800GT, and I dont notice any difference, but maybe its because theyre both so good that I could care less about which is worse.

4. Don't use Tom's Hardware VGA/CPU charts.Wesker776

Why not? It seems reliable to me, I get around the same frames they have. If its because it only proves Intel>AMD and nVidia>ATI then grow up, because thats a childish reason and every other reliable website shows the same.

Well if it comes down to 3870 vs. 8800GT, that must mean you can afford an 8800GT. So, if you can afford the 8800GT, why not get the faster card. And no matter what ATI fan boys will say, the 3870 will never match the 8800GT in performance., and all that better image quality is BS, its a matter of opinion, not a fact.

Also go to tomshardware guides.com, click graphics & displays, then click VGA charts. Whoever said the 8800GT only gets 2-5 FPS more was incorrect. I averaged all the games they tested and the 8800GT gets 15 more FPS on average. Which is a good amount mind you :p .