I can't really say the ATI cards were not good performers. I didn't see much improvement when I added the second one, but the main reason I went with the 285s is I put the 260s in my other rig, and had more fun with OCing -- probably also due to familiarity with nVidia products.

With the 285s, I don't have any complaints at all. Performance in Fallout 3 (my current gaming diversion) is excellent at 2560x1600 with max settings. Better than I had with the 4870X2 - but I'm not ruling out user error or driver issues.

The ATI cards will ultimately find a good home, so no need to feel sorry for them. Also ... I picked the 285s cause I was a little leery of the 295 - but so far people seem to be enjoying them as well.