HERCULESÂ® Introduces 3D Prophet 9600 256mb

***Veridian3*** · Aug 7, 2003, 10:05 PM

HERCULESÂ® Introduces 3D Prophet 9600:
256MB of DDR RAM for Support of All Upcoming Games

LONDON, August 6th, 2003 - 3D Prophet 9600, Hercules' new 256MB mid-range graphics board based on ATIÂ®'s RADEON(tm) 9600 chipset, is about to make a splash in the world of 3D gaming. 3D Prophet 9600 is the highly-anticipated newcomer in Hercules's celebrated range of 3D graphics boards, providing fast, high-quality rendering for a lifelike gaming experience with an excellent performance/price ratio.

ith 256MB of fast DDR RAM, 3D Prophet 9600 offers gaming enthusiasts the best-in-class graphics solution built on the RADEON(tm) 9600 chipset. Hercules recognized that the time was right to develop a 256MB graphics board based on this chipset, and the 3D Prophet 9600 responds to a need in the market thanks to its reasonable price and its ability to process and display all current and upcoming games under optimal conditions.

The first 256MB board in Hercules' range, 3D Prophet 9600 combines the super-powerful RADEON(tm) 9600 chipset engine with the vast potential of 256MB memory. This advanced combination allows gamers to get the most out of all upcoming titles, which will feature more and more high-quality textures and huge levels requiring greater amounts of RAM for fluid, enhanced rendering.

"True to our philosophy, Hercules is providing demanding gamers with yet another well-designed, innovative and solidly-built graphics board," states Philippe Pecheu, 3D Graphics Product Manager at Hercules. "Active cooling combined with cooper heat dissipation is the best way to achieve our goal of cutting-edge performance and stability. Keeping in mind the explosion in the market for 'barebones' systems, we have been careful not to waste any room - the 3D Prophet 9600 is equipped with both front and back RAM heatsinks plus a cooper cooling system and requires only one AGP slot. Demanding fraggers will enjoy high-quality rendering, fast framerates and unsurpassed stability, even with LAN gaming."

3D Prophet 9600

Based on the RADEON(tm) 9600 - the most feature-rich 3D chipset in its price range - the 3D Prophet 9600 graphics board features 256MB of high-quality DDR RAM, a 128-bit DDR memory interface and a 4-pixel pipeline engine for amazing 3D rendering in today's and tomorrow's hit games, as well as MicrosoftÂ® DirectXÂ® 9.0 and OpenGLÂ® hardware support, high core (325MHz) and RAM (200MHz DDR) clock speeds and advanced filtering technologies (Anisotropic Filtering up to 16x and Full Scene Anti-Aliasing up to 6x) for incredible rendering. Hercules' R&D teams have developed a set of customized features to improve heat dissipation and stability, even under extremely high-stress conditions.

Key selling points and benefits:

The most advanced technology available for all demanding users: a must-have for cinematic rendering.
256MB of fast DDR RAM.
Future-proof 3D architecture: Microsoft's DirectXÂ® 9 platform for increased speed in future games.
AGP 8X/4X: the highest standard available.
Hercules' know-how in innovative design.
Heatsinks on RAM to stabilize the design even at high clock speeds.
Cooper cooling fan.

Main features:

A top-notch set of technological advances for demanding users:

RADEON(tm) 9600 for cinema-quality rendering on PC.
4 pixel-pipeline architecture for enhanced rendering power.
256MB DDR memory to boost the latest games with tons of textures.
128-bit DDR RAM interface for fast transfer rates between the graphics processor and the onboard memory.
Hercules' know-how in innovative hardware design.
Advanced cooling system for better performance and increased stability.

Forward-looking architecture: full hardware support of Microsoft's DirectXÂ® 9 features:

Full DirectXÂ® 9 & OpenGLÂ® hardware accelerator. AGP 8X/4X support for maximum performance with the latest motherboards.
HyperZ(tm)III+: intelligent memory bandwidth optimization technology.
Cinema-quality 3D images provided by ATI's latest 3D technology innovations:
SMARTSHADER(tm) 2.0: Programmable Pixel Shaders 2.0 & Vertex Shaders 2.0
TRUFORM(tm) 2.0 and DX9 Displacement Mapping
SMOOTHVISION(tm) 2.1: hardware engine for 2X/4X/6X FSAA (Full Scene Anti-Aliasing) mode and advanced anisotropic filtering - no more jagged edges or speed compromise.

Advanced range of video & multimedia features:

High-quality TV display on CRT and flat panel monitors.
VIDEOSHADER(tm) engine: fluid playback of DVD movies on TV set or CRT and flat panels monitors.
FULLSTREAM(tm) technology for improved Internet streaming.
Dual display on VGA, DVI or TV-Out (HYDRAVISION(tm)). Dual integrated 400MHz RAMDACs, maximum resolution of 2048x1536 @ 85Hz.

Availability: August 2003

Price: Â£120.00 excluding V.A.T.

Alcofiel · Aug 7, 2003, 10:49 PM

well dit looks pretty impressive, but how is this card compared with the 9800 pro?

Vampyromaniac · Aug 8, 2003, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alcofiel
well dit looks pretty impressive, but how is this card compared with the 9800 pro?

Maybe 65-70% of the perfomance of the 9800 Pro . . . ?

I'm just guessing here

Nuke209 · Aug 8, 2003, 02:29 AM

still waiting for the 420 cores

Aug 7, 2003, 10:05 PM	#1
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 4,828 Rep Power: 174	HERCULESÂ® Introduces 3D Prophet 9600 256mb HERCULESÂ® Introduces 3D Prophet 9600: 256MB of DDR RAM for Support of All Upcoming Games LONDON, August 6th, 2003 - 3D Prophet 9600, Hercules' new 256MB mid-range graphics board based on ATIÂ®'s RADEON(tm) 9600 chipset, is about to make a splash in the world of 3D gaming. 3D Prophet 9600 is the highly-anticipated newcomer in Hercules's celebrated range of 3D graphics boards, providing fast, high-quality rendering for a lifelike gaming experience with an excellent performance/price ratio. ith 256MB of fast DDR RAM, 3D Prophet 9600 offers gaming enthusiasts the best-in-class graphics solution built on the RADEON(tm) 9600 chipset. Hercules recognized that the time was right to develop a 256MB graphics board based on this chipset, and the 3D Prophet 9600 responds to a need in the market thanks to its reasonable price and its ability to process and display all current and upcoming games under optimal conditions. The first 256MB board in Hercules' range, 3D Prophet 9600 combines the super-powerful RADEON(tm) 9600 chipset engine with the vast potential of 256MB memory. This advanced combination allows gamers to get the most out of all upcoming titles, which will feature more and more high-quality textures and huge levels requiring greater amounts of RAM for fluid, enhanced rendering. "True to our philosophy, Hercules is providing demanding gamers with yet another well-designed, innovative and solidly-built graphics board," states Philippe Pecheu, 3D Graphics Product Manager at Hercules. "Active cooling combined with cooper heat dissipation is the best way to achieve our goal of cutting-edge performance and stability. Keeping in mind the explosion in the market for 'barebones' systems, we have been careful not to waste any room - the 3D Prophet 9600 is equipped with both front and back RAM heatsinks plus a cooper cooling system and requires only one AGP slot. Demanding fraggers will enjoy high-quality rendering, fast framerates and unsurpassed stability, even with LAN gaming." 3D Prophet 9600 Based on the RADEON(tm) 9600 - the most feature-rich 3D chipset in its price range - the 3D Prophet 9600 graphics board features 256MB of high-quality DDR RAM, a 128-bit DDR memory interface and a 4-pixel pipeline engine for amazing 3D rendering in today's and tomorrow's hit games, as well as MicrosoftÂ® DirectXÂ® 9.0 and OpenGLÂ® hardware support, high core (325MHz) and RAM (200MHz DDR) clock speeds and advanced filtering technologies (Anisotropic Filtering up to 16x and Full Scene Anti-Aliasing up to 6x) for incredible rendering. Hercules' R&D teams have developed a set of customized features to improve heat dissipation and stability, even under extremely high-stress conditions. Key selling points and benefits: The most advanced technology available for all demanding users: a must-have for cinematic rendering. 256MB of fast DDR RAM. Future-proof 3D architecture: Microsoft's DirectXÂ® 9 platform for increased speed in future games. AGP 8X/4X: the highest standard available. Hercules' know-how in innovative design. Heatsinks on RAM to stabilize the design even at high clock speeds. Cooper cooling fan. Main features: A top-notch set of technological advances for demanding users: RADEON(tm) 9600 for cinema-quality rendering on PC. 4 pixel-pipeline architecture for enhanced rendering power. 256MB DDR memory to boost the latest games with tons of textures. 128-bit DDR RAM interface for fast transfer rates between the graphics processor and the onboard memory. Hercules' know-how in innovative hardware design. Advanced cooling system for better performance and increased stability. Forward-looking architecture: full hardware support of Microsoft's DirectXÂ® 9 features: Full DirectXÂ® 9 & OpenGLÂ® hardware accelerator. AGP 8X/4X support for maximum performance with the latest motherboards. HyperZ(tm)III+: intelligent memory bandwidth optimization technology. Cinema-quality 3D images provided by ATI's latest 3D technology innovations: SMARTSHADER(tm) 2.0: Programmable Pixel Shaders 2.0 & Vertex Shaders 2.0 TRUFORM(tm) 2.0 and DX9 Displacement Mapping SMOOTHVISION(tm) 2.1: hardware engine for 2X/4X/6X FSAA (Full Scene Anti-Aliasing) mode and advanced anisotropic filtering - no more jagged edges or speed compromise. Advanced range of video & multimedia features: High-quality TV display on CRT and flat panel monitors. VIDEOSHADER(tm) engine: fluid playback of DVD movies on TV set or CRT and flat panels monitors. FULLSTREAM(tm) technology for improved Internet streaming. Dual display on VGA, DVI or TV-Out (HYDRAVISION(tm)). Dual integrated 400MHz RAMDACs, maximum resolution of 2048x1536 @ 85Hz. Availability: August 2003 Price: Â£120.00 excluding V.A.T.

Aug 7, 2003, 10:49 PM	#2
Alcofiel electronic fantastic Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Rotterdam Posts: 51 Rep Power: 0	well dit looks pretty impressive, but how is this card compared with the 9800 pro? __________________ "i look back and i'm amazed, my thoughts were so clear and true and three words looped through my mind endlessly repeating themselves, like a broken record you're so cool, you're so cool, you're so cool...."

Aug 8, 2003, 02:29 AM	#4
Nuke209 DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: St. Paul Posts: 568 Rep Power: 0	still waiting for the 420 cores __________________ 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX