We are living in perhaps the most exciting time in recent history for PC graphics. What's particularly striking about this latest flurry of excitement is that it isn't tied to a new standard in performance set by high-end "halo" cards that few enthusiasts can actually afford. Instead, it's being driven at an almost grassroots level, fueled by the class of graphics cards that most of us seem to end up actually buying—cards in the $200 range. These cards don't incite as much geek lust as those higher up the line, but they're far more attainable and often boast a better value proposition than the latest flagships.

I speak, of course, of the GeForce 8800 GT and Radeon HD 3800 series—the latest mid-range contenders battling for sweet spot supremacy. Launched not long ago and finally available with some semblance of consistency and adherence to prescribed pricing, these cards are selling like hotcakes. Given the fresh bounty of quality—and more importantly, demanding—PC titles we've been treated to over the last few months, it's no wonder gaming-worthy graphics cards are such a popular upgrade item.

If you've read our extensive coverage of the GeForce 8800 GT and Radeon HD 3800 series, you probably have an idea of which one best suits your needs and budget. That puts you one step closer to settling on the right card, but there's another important decision to consider: among the 8800 GTs and HD 3800-series cards available from various add-in board partners, which are the best? There's more variety here than one might think, since manufacturers tweak clock speeds, board layouts, cooling solutions, and even bundled games and extras in order to separate themselves from an increasingly crowded pack of contenders drawing from the same bin of chips.

Set on finding the finest mid-range graphics cards on the market, we've rounded up an appropriately sweet 16 cards from the likes of Asus, Gigabyte, HIS, MSI, Palit, PowerColor, Sapphire, VisionTek, XFX, and Zotac. Read on to see which set themselves apart from the masses.