Budget video card purchase

I am planning on getting a new video card to replace my older 64MB card..

I have been reading articles and such. most say to get either a raedon 9600 or a geforce 5700..

I have a few questions..

Do name brand cards have better performance?
I have seen name brand chips with 128 MB when there are 256 MB cards for the same price..

Which is better the raedons or the geforces.., I always see that the geforeces with higher ram speed and core speed but then everyone says that the raedons are faster..

thanx in advanced,
Byan

http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/index.html
Dig around here.

Scroll down and find yours on the chart and then see where you want to go.