A stock 8800GT is better than a stock 3870 for gaming, hands down. And I also wouldn't consider SLI or Crossfire, after specifically buying a board for Crossfire then discovering that (as above) by the time I could afford a second card, the performance/price ratio had moved far beyond that.

Also, I wouldn't touch an Athlon 64 x2 in a new computer right now. Sure, if you're going cheap, go with a really low end Athlon. But the Core2Duos are much faster.

I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!