[pest]

The ATI is a far superior all round card.

While the nvidia will beat the xt in synthetic becnhmarks, such as 3dmark, and games based on the Q3 engine (directx8 games), it has some very serious issues about running directx9.0 games. Teh nvidia might get an extra 10-20 fps in call of duty, but when the xt is running it at 90+ fps anyway, who cares. The FX cards very well might not even run HL2 or doomIII at playable speeds due to poor design for dx9 games.

I've always had nvidia cards until recently. I have no complaints about my 9800pro. In a related note, the xt is pretty costly. You are going to pay close to $200 more for the xt than a regular 9800pro and the gains in performance are marginal. There is definately more bang for your buck with the regular 9800 pro.