I believe this all lowering of prices is a marketing strategy
. It all began sometime in fourth quarter 2003 when the Radeon 9600XT was release. Then, to counter, nVidia secretly released its GeForce FX 5900XT (SE). Performance wise, it was about the equivelant to the Radeon 9700 Pro, and so, ATI lowered the price on the Radeon 9700 Pro to near, then under 200 USD prices. Now, the FX5900 and Radeon 9800 are coming down in price.
It seems to me that when there is competition, one strives to outdo the other, and that is how you get quality. nVidia made a horrendous move, in its scandelous benchmark reports that hinders their current reputation. I believe that is why ATI VPUs are better liked here...and ATI has amazing graphics.
To tell you the truth, I would say both the FX5900 SE and the Radeon 9700 Pro seem good to me. I would personally go witht he PowerColor Radeon 9700 Pro which is really nice.
Hope that helps (and sry about the long lecture
),
kram