Foreign key referential integrity in the fact tables (Oracle 11g)

Hi,

   I am working on designing a medium sized datamart using dimensional modeling. While designing fact tables i was planning to remove the FK constraints for better etl performance. But i also read that ORACLE query optimizer appears to be impaired when FK constraints are dropped in 9i or greater.  Release 10g R2 improves the optimizer, again relying on the existence of the FK constraints. Any pointers in this direction would help me take a decision, thanks...

Oracle allows you to define constraints but not enforce them. This allows you to have efficient loading as well as provide the information the query optimizer needs.

Thanks, Do you meant we keep the FK constraint with "Enable Novalidate" option?
Enable Novalidate Definition: When a constraint is in the enable novalidate state, all subsequent statements are checked for conformity to the constraint. However, any existing data in the table is not checked. This option would again check for conformity and affect the etl load performance.

Haven't worked on oracle in a few years, so I don't have a manual handy. I recall you can set it up as disabled.