Take a look at the following site for information about each type of windows.

http://www.efficientwindows.org/

You may want to see the main selection of the AMI window product line. There is a huge showroom in Davenport Iowa. The company name is Suburban Construction.

Here is a link that might be useful: Suburban Construction

A good triple pane patio door has better ratings than any wood patio door (Pella, Andersen, Marvin..........). Generally the warranty is better since you don't have to worry about the frame rotting or the clad surfaces leaking water.

Preservation by ami is an ok window. they have a "snap in sill" which is a bad design and the window is bulky which loses glass. you may want to look at the okna 800 series or Polaris Windows( Ultra Series ). these are both very high end windows.