Are there any significant diffs between a radeon 9800 pro all in wonder built by ATI and one built by Sapphire, power-colour etc. thnx

not really, they are all based on same chipset........ one may save you some money

Sometimes different OEM manufacturers supply different software packages with their cards or have different features added on which work better with the OEM's drivers rather than the reference drivers. Other manufacturers cut corners by using cheap components to lower their prices. Since the basic chipset is the same, you wont notice a lot of difference, but sometimes a certain manufacturer's cards outperform anothers (by slightly overclocking the onboard ram or by using premium compinents). The only real way to tell is to look up benchmarks on any hardware review site that compares various cards. Personally, I got my AIW Pro direct from ATI and never have any problems with it, so if you arent sure about a particular company, just go with the ATI. You wont get a lot of the retail extras but you'll get a secure investment.

Make sure that all the same cabling comes with the OEM. I agree with most of what Jon above says but you don't have to go directly to ATI to buy a built by ATI retail card. Most vendors have access to them and they will be cheaper. You just have to make sure of what you are buying. I recently bought two different retail ATI products from two different vendors. ATI doesn't want to compete with its retailers, so they usually sell list price.