Thanks for the results, guys. It seems like the 470 triple SLI is an even better option than 2 480s as long as scaling is working properly. I wonder if it'd be significantly hotter than 2 x 480s though. Now, I'm really going to have consider my options because my local Fry's has a bunch of 470s.
Btw, I just came across this interesting blog about triple SLI with the 480 GTX.
http://www.maingearforums.com/entry....GeForce-Part-2
The results are awesome. It even owns 2 x 5970s in many tests. I wish they would run some tests @1920x1200 because I'm never gonna use a 30" monitor on my desk. At the resolution they're running at, it seems like the 5970s' relatively small frame buffers would be a bigger issue than processing power. Another thing I"ve noticed is that Nvidia's scaling seems to work much better in tessellation is involved. I wonder if it's an architectural thing or software issue.