I know what you are thinking. "This is just another run-of-the-mill review of the 9800XT. Everyone already knows that it is one of the fastest, if not the fastest card on the market today. Why on earth should I read this review?" I'll tell you why. This review is like a rollercoaster from hell. It is going to take you up 350 feet and send you spiraling towards earth at a 90? angle and then fling you back up again for a series of monstrous loop-to-loops and "I hope you like G-force" corkscrews. The only question being asked is "Can you handle it?"

Before diving into the goodness, lets put everything on the table just incase there are a few newcomers here. The 9800 XT (R360) is a turbocharged 9800 Pro (R350). The XT is able to run at a core frequency of 412MHz which is 32MHz? higher than its predecessor. The XT's memory speed also received a kick, landing it at 365MHz? (730MHz effective), which is a 7% increase in speed from the R350. Other than the those two increased clock speeds, there isn't any thing wonderfully new about the technologies that are featured on the XT.

Here are the digits (and some letters too):