The card itself is heavier than you may have come to expect, because just like the reference model it sports a 100% copper cooler. Asus have done away with the large single fan of the reference 9800XT in favour of a two fan unit similar to the one they employ in their FX range of cards. The twin fan design promises the same or better performance, and of course a much more effective insurance should one of the fans happen to fail – a single fan may not keep the Asus 9800XT stable, but it will almost certainly protect it from catastrophic failure. Note the inclusion of heat pipe technology aids the heat on its journey from the core area to the peripheral fins.
Unlike the reference card, and all other 9800XTs that have been released so far, the Asus incorporates the Rage Theatre chip on board. This provides it with VIVO functionality not normally seen on any Radeon cards bar the expensive All in Wonder. This will be a very welcome addition to users wanting to record video from analogue sources such as a Playstation or VHS.
Like the reference 9800, and all high end Radeons since the 8500, the Asus 9800XT requires an auxiliary 12V Molex input. Without this connected, you will get a two tone warning note from the system speaker and a notification come up on the monitor.
The PCB itself is identical to the ATi reference board as far as I can see, except for the fact that it’s orange. This is a purely aesthetic difference as all of the capacitors, resistors and transistors are identical the reference model. In [H]ard|OCPs initial review of a beta card they found it to be incorrectly clocked at 405MHz, I am happy to report that our later revision card is clocked at the correct 412 / 365 MHz core and memory.
