Confusion with vid card OEMs

[Gilthanaz]

Im considering getting a Radeon 9600 Pro/XT or a 9700 Pro, but im confused as to which one to buy. On newegg.com, there are Radeon 9600 pro cards by powercolor, saphire, transcend, and connect3d. Similar situation with the 9700, but considerably less choices. The prices definately seem to vary from each manufcturer, with the ones from ATI seeiming to be the most expensive accross the board. Could anyone assist me here? Which is the cheapest without sacrificing quality?Also Do only the ATI radeon 9600 cards come with HL2?

Edit- sorry, I revised this post after I realized it made almost no sense

[eagle1]

The Radeon cards that "bundle" Half Life 2 are the XT cards (i.e. Radeon 9600XT and Radeon 9800XT)

When you buy Powered by Ati cards (oem) you are buying the same card but sometimes the companies clocked the speeds lower (they buy cheaper ram etc.).

Now, if you are going for oem, go with SAPPHIRE!!!
They make great cards with great quality and components. In Fact, some of Sapphire cards overclock really well and are faster than BBA (built by ati) cards.

My order when buying oem would be: Sapphire, Powercolor, connect3d and transcend (which I haven't heard a lot from these guys recently).

[Kuasimodem]

I second the vote for the Sapphire cards. I'm running a 9200se in my main system, a 7200 in my second, and use Sapphire Radeons in all the systems I build