ATI has been sneaking the lead from nVidia in the high performance category for quite some time and made themselves very noticeable in the mid-range cards and nabbing the occasional lead there too. NVidia seems to be making a strong move for king of the mid-range with their recent introduction of the low-priced 5900XT. Unfortunately for nVidia the ATI 9800Pro is now in the same price range. The 5900XT is a great card and great value but the 9800Pro is still more card for the money.

The never ending video card battles are what keep most enthusiasts wanting. It's probably my personal favorite battle in the industry. Unlike the processor wars, both companies have the need to make not only the best performing chip but an entire package with drivers and heatsinks and need to make it look and work well.

ATI has been the King of the Hill for quite some time now. In fact the XT is already King of the Hill but this is our first report on it. Today we're looking at the Power Color Radeon 9800XT and soon to follow is the ATI 9800XT. We'll be pinning them against each other in the next review to see if there is any performance edge for either company.

Power Color has been going since 1999 and distributes their cards to the US , Canada and Latin America . Unlike some brands, PowerColor has their own production area and is ISO9001 certified. They take a deep interest in what they distribute and have made quite a name for themselves as of lately.