The Leadtek GF3 are supposed to have great 2d, while the other vendors still use poor quality filters. The GTS cards suck for 2d, the GF3s are far superior in 2d compared to the GF2s.
I still think the 8500 is the best overall card, it has a lot of stuff on the board, for a good price. Dual monitor and tv out is always useful for me.
Both cards have great 3d performance, and people claiming radeon driver issues generally don't own them, and are just spewing crap.