Either nvidia or ati is fine.. just check the warranty periods.. some cards give you 90 days, some give you a year, and some give you 5 years.

2 years is probably fine on a card.. also you can buy different brand versions of ati cards... in some cases, these are slightly faster then the "name brand". In my cases, HIS ati cards offered a better price, slightly better performance, and a better cooling system.

Way too many people take way too many things way too seriously.