If anyone can clear some of these points out it would bea GREAT, help
to me.

I won't clear up the points for you but I will give you some things to
think about and research.

1) What games are you going to be playing? The X800 vs 6800 question was
almost (repeat ALMOST) a HL2 vs Doom3 question. Nvidia worked with Id on
Doom, ATI worked with Valve on HL2. After all the dust has settled, both
cards are good on both games. See the reviews at Toms Hardware, HardOCP
and Anandtech for benchmark comparisons. Nividia does OpenGL a little
better than ATI. ATI does DX9 a little better and also seems to do AA
and AF a little better. Look for benchmarks for the games you play and
plan to play.

2) Heat and Power (noise) - the 6800 based cards are drawing a little
more power and generating more heat. The cooling tends to be a bit more
noisy. If your power supply is marginal, you may need a new one for a
new card. Heat, power, and noise are more important if you plan to
overclock.

3) Price - Both cards today are generally running $300-400 depending on
the bundle. Nvidia is on the high end of that, X800 pro can be had in
the low $300. How much do you really want to spend? Also, remember it
will become much cheaper immediately after you (yes, you personally -
they are waiting for your extra $50) buy it!

4) Drivers - both companies are releasing drivers frequently. ATI
officialy is releasing WHQL drivers on a monthly basis, Nvidia leaks
beta drivers almost weekly but only certifies them a couple times a year.
Both drivers have their quirks. How much are you willing to fool around?

All that said, I bought an Visontek X800 Pro from Outpost a couple of
weeks ago because it was on sale for $260 - I got a steal! I'm not
bragging, if you are willing to wait, there will always be a great deal
for the patient. I had been watching deal sites like Anandtech HotDeals
forums and TechBargains for 5 weeks. I was going to get a 6800GT but I
was waiting for a low $300s price. Now that I have the ATI, I'm glad I
did not spend more! HL2 runs like a dream and I'm happy with the quiet,
cool, card.

Good luck!

HTH,
P.