I don't know why people make such a stink about AMD and gaming. I've looked at plenty of benchmarks and compare prices, and the difference is negligeable.
Intel beats AMD in some games, and AMD beats Intel in others. But in most cases, the scores are very, very close, especially when you consider price and performance. IMO, you are better off looking for a good deal at the time you are ready to buy, regardless of brand. You'll end up much better off than the guy sticking with the same brand every time.
In regards to graphics cards, ATI would rule the world if they could get their drivers straight. I owned Nvidia cards for a few years, and I had never had to use a program like driver cleaner. I have never owned a single piece of computer hardware that took so much work to install/upgrade drivers. Not to mention, they can also be unstable.
I now own an x800pro, simply because it was time for me to upgrade and Nvidia had nothing on the shelf to compete at the time. With Nvidia's peformance of it's new series of cards, ATI needs to get back off their ass and fix their drivers. Nvidia got caught with their pants down as the ATI 9000 series blew Nvidia's FX series away, and if ATI doesn't get their drivers straight, they just may find themselves in the position Nvidia was in 12 months ago.