Actually no (Score 2, Interesting)

I was a die hard NVidia/Dell fan for years. Click, click I got my nice neat box in two days and watch as my roommates who built their boxes local with cards other than Nvidia chipset have problems. I quietly chortled in my dark room of Tribes while they rebooted.

But over the Christmas holiday, it finally came time to upgrade. I decided to save a few bucks (actually, this was more a mandate from the wife) and build the box myself. This actually meant that I had to do some research instead of the click and ship of my beloved Dell.

Cutting to the chase, I tried my hardest to find an Nvidia card that beat what most reviewers claimed was the cream of the crop, the ATI 9800XT. None really did. That, and I got a free version of HL2. Point, set and match.

I'm one of the converted. I will put my first list together of what I'm familiar with. Then, I'll do the research and see what's the best. The lists may not match, but I'm becoming geek enough to weigh loyalty vs what is best for me. Needless to say, I and the wife have been ecstatic with our little Shuttle/ATI monster and the extra couple hundred dollars in shoes. Respectively, of course :)