HD 5850 crossfire or one HD 5970?

If you can afford it, I'd go for 1 5970 now and another next year.

Wouldn't 2 5850s have microstutter too

Two 5850s, in my opinion.

You don't need more power than that for ANY game.

hd5970 is the best choise

Isn't the micro stutter a significant problem with the HD 5970?

no, its just a minor problem with all multi-gpu setups. its not simply limited to the 5970

5970, as "microstuddering" would be less, than with 2 5850s.

5970. It's basically a down clocked 5870 CF.

In terms of performance 5970 will be a bit faster but only about 1-2fps in most games. 160SP don't make as much difference as many people think. Also the 5850 run a bit cooler because they are 2 cars so they will overclock a bit more and ending up faster then HD5970. Personally i would get a 5970 because when you are ready to sell it you will get like 300$ but for the 5850 you would be lucky if you get 250.

Will you just buy something already....

What resolution are you gaming at? If you're just at 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 pickup a 5870 now, and xfire later when the price drops. You get plenty of performance for most anything now, and you have the perfect upgrade path for the future.

I really enjoy overclocking, and the problems getting the most out of the 5970's (VRM temps) kind of takes the fun out of that. Yes, it's not really an issue with actual games as of today, but in the future some games may stress just as much as the benches which are causing the problems. I'd be much happier personally getting xfire 5870s to see the max the chip can do.

I am at a similar dilemma as the OP. I would also like others input on this matter. I bought 2 HD5850 from Amazon when they were out of stock for approx $270 each (amazon is still out of these). Together its about $540. Right now, the 5970 are selling for about $650. The difference is over 100 so my question is do you guys think I should drop the 2 5850s and get a 5970 or wait? The 5970s are out of stock as well and I'm in no hurry.

I will be primarily be using it for gaming and in high resolutions, 1680 and above.

The question really depends on what system the OP has and his intentions/screen size/case really. CF 5850's will definitely stand their ground in every game out there if he runs them on an i7 rig, for example. So will a 5970. Bah. Conclusion: Doesn't really matter. Both setups kicks ass.