Hercules 3D Prophet 9600 256MB

[DR]

"The Hercules 256MB 3D Prophet 9600 isn't a bad card at all. It'll impress most onlookers if you choose to run the supplied DX9 demos, and it also produces reasonable scores in our benchmarks. We just feel as if the 256MB model is unwarranted, especially in view of the card's stunted pixel-pushing and bandwidth power. The 9600 Pro and FX 5600 128MB cards are clearly faster in every department and cost little more. That's the knowledge which stops us from recommending this particular card. Hercules has done an excellent job with a product that's going to find it difficult in marketplace where buyers know exactly how each card fares. It'll, however, do well in OEM systems where 256MB is the all-important selling point. There's better 'value' to be had elsewhere, but if you really, really need a 256MB 9600 Pro, this one sure looks the part."

http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews...lld19JRD02MDk=

[McEwin]

Given that the Hercules came with a copper heatsink on all the memory and VPU similar to the 9800 Pro, one would think that maybe, just maybe, they intended you to overclock this card so that you have a 9600 Pro+ performance with 256MB RAM *and* a lower price tag...

You obviously had some problems but didn't publish any results for the 380/430 setting that you did achieve. Not worth a re-visit?

Could Hexus comment?

[Zorlag]

These cards are not very good without overclocking and it seems that this particular unit didn't overclock well all all (380 core only). Probably needs a volt mod. Why didn't you test with Catalyst 3.6 or 3.7?

Z.

[Russ]

a very generous 7 i think.

presentation is nice, but im not keen on that fan, and why on earth is clock speed so low.

[Tarinder]

Given that the card only managed a feeble 380/430 overall overclock, its boosted numbers would still have put it some way behind a standard 9600.

The 256 of on-board RAM is a gimmick on a card that can't make use of it. Only top-of-the-range cards, like the FX 5900 Ultra and Radeon 9800 Pro, appear to possess the necessary grunt for making the extra 128MB tell.

The review was written over a month ago, and, as such, the later drivers weren't available.

7 is a little too generous, I agree. After a little though, a 6 is in order.