Yes ATI cards get hot. Period. That is why they had to include fan control.

Yet the only people this affects are people in small, poorly vented rooms.

The question of ATI vs Nvidia has been a long saga. Basically it boils down to this. NVidia tends to have the sharper image quality overall, with an average of VERY SLIGHTLY slower speed. With the current and new gen cards, this speed difference is either no longer there - or so small its irrelevant. Nvidia tends to be more expensive however.

In addition, you have to look at driver support. Both manufacturers have struggled with this at times, but it seems they both have gotten back on track recently.
If your looking at just what gives you "pretty" in SH4 - either chipset will do. However, if you play other games, I would suggest that given the current minimal price difference, I would go with Nvidia.

The heat issue of ATI is also one reason to avoid current cards unless you water cool.

**** In the interest of full disclosure - my current card and the 2 previous have all been ATI - prior to that were Nvidia. My next card will likely be an Nvidia for the reasons mentioned above.****