ATI is still pretty much on top at the moment, but Nvidia's offerings are nothing to sneeze at. According to Pricewatch.com, a Radeon 9800SE w/128 from Sapphire Technology can be had for $155 w/ free FedEx shipping at Newegg.com.
Sapphire makes good, stable, reliable cards. The 9800 is clocked slightly higher than the 9700 and uses slightly faster RAM. I don't know what you'll be able to find locally, so perhaps there is a place that might have a better deal. If I were to upgrade from my GF4 Ti4400, I'd more than likely get at least a 9800.
Sapphire's Product page
I'll probably end up buying something from newegg.com, I usually buy from them.
So you saying the Radeon 9800 SE w/128mb is better than the 9700 128mb(non-pro)?