> Has anyone had any excellent experiences with PCI cards for X?

I've been pretty happy with my Diamond Viper 770 (I finally decided to
get a decent PC video card).  The performance isn't what I expected, but
I think that's more a function of my cheap ol' socket-7 MB with K6/233 
than the video card.

> I figured I'd eventaully end up with an ATI card, but if anyone wanted to
> persuade me to another, I'd certainly be appreciative.

If you plan to run any 3D stuff, I think the Matrox G400 or TNT-based
cards are your best bets.  ATI has volume, but I don't believe their
performance really comes too close to the others.

Disclaimer: I'm no expert...  ;-)

-allen