Card II
Here's a shot from the top-left of the card. This is the first time we've seen extra passive cooling for components on the topside of the PCB. Touching those heatsinks when in full operation told us that they did serve a purpose; the whole PCB around that area becomes pretty hot.
The back of the Radeon 9800 Pro is exactly the same as the card that it replaces at the top of the heap in ATI's present consumer-level catalogue. A standard HD15 connector, a TV-out connector in the middle (which, incidentally, can output a resolution of 1024x768), and a DVI connector on the right. A provided dongle allows you use the DVI slot as a second analogue connection.
The Radeon 9800 Pro required a slight PCB re-design, and, as such, is a little larger than the Radeon 9700 Pro. A picture of the three main performance contenders should spell it out pictorially.
It's still far off the imposing stature of the GeForce FX, and has a far lower profile to boot. Where the Radeon 9700 Pro looks a little cramped and busy on the PCB front, the Radeon 9800 Pro has better component spacing, generally speaking.
