I agree that the special effects in Doom 3 are amazing. The distorted visual effects around heated areas add a lot to the realism.
Fragment shaders eh? I tried pushing the card with ATI Tool, 3DMark05, and Aquamark and never saw any issues. I guess those programs don't test the fragment...
I've got a 9800SE unlocked to a 9800Pro and have never had a problem with artifacts until I ran Doom 3. I only have artifacts when "High Quality Special Effects" is turned on though and it only happens around areas where special effects are applied (such as flames). I doubt there's anything I...