Good review SKY,
The outcome with the 480 left me with just a "Meh" feeling. If this had come out the same time as the HD5800 line, it might have been a different story. Sure the 480 knocks the 5870 (which has been out for 6 months already) around, but not by much really to justify a higher price. For reviewing games with TWIMTBP (isn't Metro 2033 one of them?), well that would take an obvious hit for ATI, but the 480 comes with more memory for the frame buffer especially when AA is applied. So I am curious to see what the 2gig 5870 would be like against the 480 with AA on.
So far, I haven't been wowed by Nvidia since the G80 introduction. Before the 5870, I wasn't wowed with ATI since the 9800pro. Both the 8800gtx and 9800pro stood the test of time during their hayday compared to other cards that have come out in the past 5 or 6 years. I have a feeling the 480 won't be part of this elite group. With all the reviews that I have read so far, it would seem to prove my thought as I have yet to see anyone highly recommend this card, give 2 thumbs up, gold seal of approval...etc, etc.
Even with owning a 5970, and being a dual GPU which is unfair to review with the 480 (although nice to see a comparison nonetheless), I'm glad I bought one as I fell in love with the 5800 series due to Eyefinity that only requires one card. If I had to get Nivida, I would have to spend on 2 cards which would cost more than my current setup to accomodate my needs.
Of course, everyone has their own needs, which my perception for this forum the majority is folding. So the 480 maybe the way to go.