You definitely want a +RW, and ATI 9700.
I didn't used to like the 9700. I thought the die size was too large and it would over heat way too fast. And the extra power it requires from the PSU

. But the performance IS there. Q3A is twice as fast, some games aren't. But ALL
ARE faster... it's the next gen card, it SHOULD be faster. It's not better than Nvidia's yet to be released offerings, but... those are yet to be released and won't be for 3 months (I think I heard).
I read the same article as Cameron, if THAT helps validate any of it. I actually got it on of my AvantGo channels. Probably MSNBC or CNN