Weird with an x800xt on an intel 875 chipset and never had problems with games. I played bf:v, bf1942 DC, ut:2k4, far cry, doom3, tribes vengeance and a couple of car racing demos not a single issue. Had the performace hit at first on doom3 but the ferformance has gone up considerably with each driver release.

Not to say that your problems do not exist!
Even when i had my 9700pro i never had the problems i kept reading about. Sometimes i wonder if it's configuration probs or if I just tweak and OC so damn much i solve issues without realizing it. You even see daily reviews of video cards fro various sites and they do not seem to have so many issues.

No matter what the reason is, it's not good for ati that's for sure. Either Nvidia cards are easier to get working right or ATI needs help with their drivers.