"I don't think the MAXX will be out for another six months. Get the Radeon 8500, it's potentially faster than a Geforce3 Ultra."
I don't mean to sound like an ass.... but benchmarks with the Radeon reference boards look like they're getting schooled by the regular Geforce3. "Potential" performance is nice, and ATI may very well have the potential with the 8500 to outclass the imminent arrival of the Geforce3 Ultra, but how long is it going to get them to produce that full potential? 6 months after release, a year? If so, why not just buy a Geforce3 and have the guaranteed high performance of one of Nvidia's top selling points - timely and efficient drivers.
I'm no Nvidia nut, but I bought a Geforce2 GTS a good while back because it was not too expensive (was around 200 back then), had great drivers, and delivered fantastic performance over what I saw the Radeon offering. I'm waiting for the 8500 to give it a chance... but if they're not performing on par with Nvidia upon release, chances are Nvidia is going to get my money on the next upgrade.
I don't buy based on promises of potential, I buy based on what actually performs - Which is the reason I bought AMD over Intel
Screw the potential for "possibly" having great performance on optimized apps, I want a processor that kicks ass with whatever it has to chug through.
"Laziness is a talent to be cultivated like any other" - Walter Slovotsky