I'm going to half-guess that the fast-writes issue is fixed with the 9800.
Also guessing "earlier" production 9700s have this fast-writes issue with the board. I know, because I have PN 1-1 on my 9700 Pro, and I have to disable fast-writes under the ATI control panel on a P4G8X. Even the new Asus Canterwood manual says you need at least a 3-0 partnumber for your 9700 in order for stable overclocking, whatever that means.