I wonder how video card manufacturers feel when they realise that companies like this are screwing them. Have no illusions, ATI and nVidia love new games like this that make people want to upgrade so they can play them.. cept... OOPS!
VAC is short for "VACation from proactive anti-cheat". Steam as a distribution vehicle is quite brilliant. Dedicated servers give games longevity in the market place. This is simply a bad idea.