Conclusion
All the cards in this test are based on the ATi reference design. All the cards have the same clock speed, making it impossible for any one of them to outdo its brethren. Even the hardware accessories are, by and large, very similar to one another. The only differences are in the software. If you're interested in a large game bundle, the Gigabyte Maya II GV-R9700 PRO may be the card for you. Hercules' 3D Prophet 9700 PRO has a striking design and a real sweetener in the current gaming hit Morrowind. HIS' software bundle is nothing to sneeze at, either. HIS and Sapphire take the cake in display quality.
If you can live without visual extras and game bundles, you'll be more than happy with Crucial, Gigabyte, Sapphire and ATi. As always, the main selling points for the cards include the price and the availability in stores. None of the cards was particularly bad. Radeon 9700 PRO cards offer the best 3D performance money can buy right now, assuming you have a fast CPU. So there's not much you can do wrong. The software is the only area that still has some room to expand. The TV-out and dual-monitor management functions have not been properly realized in ATi's core driver. This is an area ATi desperately needs to improve in order to make using the cards much easier.
