this is the part of putting together a system that i never liked. I have never been impressed by any of the cards i have ever gone with, even ones others raved about. So, here i am again, seeking advice. I am a one-monitor-person, i have had duals and ended up with one big one over two smaller ones. Right now i use a 24" dell. It is fine for me.
mh
try software rendering for a while and then tell me your not impressed by hardware rendering 
with virtually every card i have used both at home and at the office for the last 15 years or so, i always end up using the software option after having display problems with the hardware options…if i was alone on this i would wonder about myself but it is a common story amongst other max users. The larger offices have purchased a variety of cards and found cost is no means a guarantee of peformance, in fact some really cheap cards outperformed the really expensive ones.
mh