Did a quick search and the general consensus is go for a single GPU, but... I can pick up 2 GTX 570s from a friend for £250. A new GTX 670 or Radeon 7970 would set me back about £300 - £350. Is it still preferential to go for the single GPU option? Thanks EDIT: Btw I am currently using a GTX 560 Ti.
What games/res are you playing? A single 670 can pretty much max out most games and it's a lot less hassle. I think the dual 570s would outperform though. If you can max out with a single card I'd say go with that. SLI means heat, noise and excessive power draw. Sent from Bittech Android app
the 570s will be faster assuming the game you play has good SLI scaling the sli 570s will draw nearly 2x the power of a single 7970 though, and they'll run pretty warm because they're fermi... i'd take a new 7970 out of your options
The 570's would have a shorter lifespan with the 1.3gb of vram on them compared to the 2 or 3gbs on the newer cards. For now though, the 570's are very capable.
If you bought a 7970 and overclocked it you would essentially match the performance of SLI 570s for a lot less heat, power and noise. I also think £250 is a bit excessive for a pair of 570s unless they come with waterblocks. £200 collected or £210 delivered is as high as you should be willing to go.
I'd probably have a look for a reasonably priced 7970 (or if that's a bit steep at the moment, a 7950). Heck, you can always chuck another one in later!
7950 for £170 to £185, preferably one that's known to overclock like a monster, and you have 680 performance (or better if you're really lucky) for half the cost.
My ref. Sapphire 7950 clocks like a b*tch, and now retails around the £200 mark IIRC. Yes, fewer shaders than a 7970, but fast clocks = cheesecake.
Right guys thanks for the advice. I think the consensus is pretty clear: Go for the single GPU solution. In which case I can wait to see what Computex brings... Thanks again!