Which combination of graphics cards would you choose?

Question

I have a minor dilemma. Due to some strange circumstances I ended up with 2 GeForce 8800 GT's and 1 Radeon X1900 XT.
I use a 30" monitor and 2 additional 20" monitors, thus the need for 2 cards. I certainly don't need 3, and frankly, I don't think the mac pro would handle a 3rd high power card very well in the 3rd or 4th slot anyway.
So now the decision is:
1) Dual GeForce 8800 GT's or
2) 1 GeForce 8800 GT and 1 Radeon X1900 XT
It seems that for gaming there is no question the 8800 GT is better, but the X1900 XT is better for core image performance. What I need to figure out is if core image performance matters at all for any of the programs I use. These programs are used on a daily basis and are usually all open at the same time:
Adobe PhotoShop CS3
Adobe Illustrator CS3
Adobe LightRoom 2 or Bridge CS3 depending
Adobe Dreamweaver CS3
Microsoft Entourage
Microsoft Remote Desktop
Safari
iTunes
Cyberduck
About a million finder windows (OK, 5-10)
(and occasionally) Fusion with Windows XP to test things in Internet Explorer 7
Now, as far as I know, the only real programs that take advantage of core image (or would be slowed down by an 8800 GT) are Apple's Pro Apps like Final Cut Pro, Aperture, etc. I use a different machine for Final Cut Pro and I ditched Aperture for LightRoom so I basically don't use any "Pro Apps" on this machine now.
Do you think I would even notice a difference while working using the 8800 vs the 1900? If not, would it just make sense to go with the Dual 8800's? They're smaller than the 1900, use less power, and run cooler. If someone knows for sure if Adobe CS3 apps run poorly on the 8800 that would probably make the decision for me.
Thanks!

Answer 1

You wish I said that I read the benchmarks at barefeats even though I very clearly said:
"It seems that for gaming there is no question the 8800 GT is better, but the X1900 XT is better for core image performance. What I need to figure out is if core image performance matters at all for any of the programs I use."
Why, after reading that, would you post benchmarks that tell me the 8800 is better for gaming and the 1900 is better for core image. I don't really understand...
Then you went on to talk about ATI 2600's and 3870's so I'm starting to think that maybe you just didn't read my post... I'm not considering a 2600 or a 3870. I tried to explain in my post very clearly that I am in possession of:
2 x 8800 GT's
1 x X1900 XT
Of those 3 cards, which 2 would you put in your computer if you ran the programs I listed above.
Am I really that unclear?
As for your choice of going with a 2600 and a 3870 -- even though that wasn't one of the options and I don't have either of those cards in my possession -- I wouldn't put the 2600 in my computer just because of the noise. The 3870 seems like a great card (almost as good for gaming as the 8800 and amazing core image performance) but I'm not going to go spend $200+ when I have 3 cards sitting on my desk right now that I can use for free. The X1900 was too loud for me and I ended up modifying it with an Arctic Cooling silent kit, and from what I've read the 2600 is even louder than the X1900.