I need a new pixel poppin pixel shaker

Wow its been along time since Ive been here and the quality of the site has grown! Just lookin for some honest opinions on the latest lines of video cards I have no loyalty to the manufactures.

Though I used to and the voodoo 5500 let me down, but I do find it funny that the nvidia fans bashed it because of its girth and now they defend the size of the 5900fx.

Im spending a grand to update. I currently have a

Asus A7v
Radeon 8500 128mb
sound blaster audigy
384 sdram pc150
1300 t-bird
pioneer 16x dvd
kenwood 72x
plextor 24x rw
3com nic
klipsch 4.1 speakers
sony 19inch monitor
hollywood decoder
60gig/40gig hard drives

Upgrading to:

asus a7v8x deluxe
768mb 3200ddr
athlon xp 2600+
Video card 9800pro or 5900fx ultra

Im still stuck on the video card. They seem to run pretty close together, from what ive read the 5900 ultra is a little faster but
the 9800 pro has better image quality?

9800 Pro.

The last few cards I've had have been nVidia. The only times I have dealt with ATI cards, I didn't like it at all. (This was back in the GeForce days / Radeon original days, when ATI's drivers blew major chunks.)

That said, if I had cash for a top of the line video card RIGHT NOW, It would be a 9800 Pro.

Apparently ATI has licked all of their driver problems, and realized how important this is to return customer sales... And they also are delivering kick *** products.

athlon xp 2600+ -why??
and asus a7v8x deluxe - why?

get a 1700+ tbred from svc they overclock like mad... or a 2100+ or a 2500+ barton. They all OC well and are cheaper than a 2600+. CPU in my sig... cost me 60 bucks.

The NF7-s is a better all around board, and has better Oc options.

Of course if you dont plan to OC.... then your choices are fine... But I assume you do want to OC because your getting 3200ddr.
Unless you plan to run your memory async... which I hope isnt true.

9800pro 128 mb or the 256?

It seems in the benchmarks that the 256mb is not worth the extra $100.

Will it OC better because of the ram?

Ive had nothing but luck with Asus and alot of reviews seem positive on this board.

I will look into the 2500+ Barton processor.

Its hard to know whats going on when you don't keep on things.
I used to try and keep up on the latest and greatest but found more intrest in weightlifting and muscle cars. Im ready to get back into the first person shooter arena again. And want an upgrade that will hold its own for at least a year.

KT400 boards don't exactly enjoy haveing all three dimm slots filled. I would go for 2x256MB or 2x512MB. That way if you want a nForce mobo later on you are all set memory wise ahead of time. Keep it PC3200 or better.