VGA Card Buyer's Guide 07/2003

PowerColor Radeon 9800 PRO, Continued

PowerColor doesn't offer much in the way of tools and applications. Only the bare essentials are included on the installation CD, in the form of drivers and the Hydravision display management software. The only other application in the bundle is Intervideo's WinDVD 4 software DVD player.

The gaming bundle includes two rather aged, but nonetheless entertaining games, "Summoner" (2000) and "Comanche 4" (2001). As a bonus, there is also a CD with several game demos. Lastly, there is a compact multi-language installation manual to help beginners set up the card.

Conclusion: The PowerColor Radeon 9800 PRO that we tested offers very good 3D performance, which is due to its higher clock and fast memory modules. However, we cannot guarantee that all cards found in the stores are equipped identically, so be careful when making your purchase. The bundled software is a bit too meager, but on the other hand, there are two interesting games offered.

+ Quiet fan
+ Software DVD player
+ TV-out
+ Video cables for S-VHS and composite video
+ Extensive games bundle
+ DVI output up to 1600x1200

- Bundled games are outdated