ATI has problem with directX? I've always thought they were really good with directX, but poor with OpenGL. I think OpenGL is my main concern here since Maya runs on Open GL yes?

And I agree with ATI drivers, they were kind of frustrating to deal with when I had the 9800 XT back in the days. I've been using the FireGL drivers and they work really great to me.

I was also thinking of getting the lower end Quaddros, but not sure if that lower end would be better than a top end gaming card.

I think I might go with the ATI again. Benchmarks for Fire GL, Quaddros and any top end gaming card would be nice.