Keep in mind the system behind these cards is a 3.2GHz P4, so they are getting plenty of vertices
the Last time I was Talking to myself . I got into such a heated argument . that is why I swore I never talk to that guy again. you know what it worked now no buddy talking to me.
Well, alot has to do with what card you use for what game. Different cards handle different game engine quite...well , differently. Doom3 will favor the nVidia based cards and games like 'Farcry'
and Tribes:Vengeance will play a bit smoother on ATI based cards.Some of the newer games will feature a splash screen at the opening of the game to push the card it plays better on.
Its really coke vs. Pepsi. Many people swear by one or the other when in actuality..they taste pretty much the same.
Regarding D3 and FarCry, I'd say anything from 9700Pro on up would give you an excellent gaming experience. Heck, I'm running HL2, D3, and FarCry on one of my lowly backups still using a 128mb R8500 and it hasn't really detracted from the fun of playing these games.