goates,
The 9800Pro does have the extra horsepower over the 9600XT, but the 9600XT is still a good card. I see the 9800Pro 128Mb dropping another $30 to $40 in the near future, but the 5900XT is already a bargain. It is priced at the level of the GeforceFX 5700 Ultra and outperforms the 5700 Ultra. nVidia cannot drop the price of the 5900XT any more or it will completely kill the 5700 Ultra.
Take Care,
Richard
P.S. Ever since ATI came out with the Radeon 9700Pro they have made and effort to get rid of their one weak spot, the lack of Driver Releases. So far they have done a great job with Drivers. (Which up to now was the sole domain of nVidia.)