How's the HERCULES GEFORCE3 3D PROPHET III Ti 500?

[carma]

Is it worth the $325 price tag? I want good 2D quality as well, since I have a Sony F520. Thanks

 

[JackBurton]

I don't know about the Hercules card but the Leadtek is supposed to have superb 2D...and of course nice 3D.

 

[Rand]

If your looking for excellent 2D I'd pass on Hercules, their not as bad as some but their still not that great either.
Elsa, and Gainward are porbably the best choices for 2D in a GF3.
LeadTek and VisionTek are also quite good, but not quite comparable to Elsa/Gainward IMHO.

 

[Almighty1]

Where does PNY/MSI fit in? The PNY is made by MSI. Is there anyway to get the BlueOrb on the Hercules separately in the special 10mm version? Thanks.

 

[Pepsin]

I have the Prophet III Ti500. 2D quality is average, performance is awesome

 

[Newbie77]

Erm.. I am real newbie when it comes to graphics cards.. How exactly do you gauge 2D quality?

 

[Pepsin]

<< Erm.. I am real newbie when it comes to graphics cards.. How exactly do you gauge 2D quality? >>



Just jack up the resolution and refreshrate. If it's blurry, 2D is bad, if it's nice and sharp, 2D is good.

 

[Rand]

<< Where does PNY/MSI fit in? The PNY is made by MSI. Is there anyway to get the BlueOrb on the Hercules separately in the special 10mm version? Thanks. >>


My opinion:
MSI and PNY are maginally below average in terms of 2D for the GeForce line of cards. IMHO- 1024x768 is okay as long as your not working all day on it. 1280x1024 is okay after a bit of tweaking of the gamma etc. 1600x1200 is definitely not viable no matter what degree of tweaking.

 

[Rand]

<< Erm.. I am real newbie when it comes to graphics cards.. How exactly do you gauge 2D quality? >>



Sit at a nice monitor for about 8-10 straight with a Matrox G550 display adapter and run 1600x1200+ at a reasonably high refresh rate.... and then realize just how much every other card is lacking in comparison

 

[Almighty1]

<<

<< Where does PNY/MSI fit in? The PNY is made by MSI. Is there anyway to get the BlueOrb on the Hercules separately in the special 10mm version? Thanks. >>


My opinion:
MSI and PNY are maginally below average in terms of 2D for the GeForce line of cards. IMHO- 1024x768 is okay as long as your not working all day on it. 1280x1024 is okay after a bit of tweaking of the gamma etc. 1600x1200 is definitely not viable no matter what degree of tweaking. >>



Thanks Rand. Does the brand really make a difference in terms of quality/stability? I have the PNY GF3 Ti500 with a SGI 1600SW Flat Panel Display (1600x1024 60kHz). 21.88 works fine but can hang the machine solid in WinXP if the Fish Screen Saver runs or if something requires Shockwave Flash. 22.xx drivers don't have the problem but it generates a BSOD when going to a full screen command prompt. Windowed works fine. 23.xx has the same problem as 22.xx except it introduces a new one, DVI at 1600x1024 60kHz is sending out a 1280x960 60kHz signal which the SGI doesn't sync at all. Is there a possibility I have a defective card or would I be better off sending it back for a VisionTek GF3 Ti500 instead. Is the VisionTek any better than the MSI/PNY?

 

[Rand]

<< Thanks Rand. Does the brand really make a difference in terms of quality/stability? >>



In some aspects, yes. performance isnt going to change much at all between brands and 3D visual quality will be a neglibable difference at best.
The quality of the build and hence overall reliability can most definitely be a vast difference though, as can 2D visual quality.
As your using a DVI connection to your monitor, you won't have to worry about the variances of the RFI filters and so 2D should be decent on any card.



<< hang the machine solid in WinXP if the Fish Screen Saver runs >>


That's a known issue between the GeForceX and WinXP. Many cards have the same issues. You'll have to await a fix from MS on that one.

The other problems you me mentioned soun like definite driver compatibility issues, and hence would unlikely be impacted much by switching to another brand of GF3.

 

[Almighty1]

<<

<< Thanks Rand. Does the brand really make a difference in terms of quality/stability? >>



In some aspects, yes. performance isnt going to change much at all between brands and 3D visual quality will be a neglibable difference at best.
The quality of the build and hence overall reliability can most definitely be a vast difference though, as can 2D visual quality.
As your using a DVI connection to your monitor, you won't have to worry about the variances of the RFI filters and so 2D should be decent on any card.

Interesting. Would something like VisionTek or Hercules be a higher build quality than MSI/PNY? I noticed you mentioned that Hercules was below average for 2D so I am guessing that it's probably the same level as the MSI/PNY or it's between the MSI/PNY and the Leadtek/Visiontek?



<< hang the machine solid in WinXP if the Fish Screen Saver runs >>


That's a known issue between the GeForceX and WinXP. Many cards have the same issues. You'll have to await a fix from MS on that one.

The other problems you me mentioned soun like definite driver compatibility issues, and hence would unlikely be impacted much by switching to another brand of GF3. >>



Hmmm, I don't seem to have the problem with my GeForce2Go on my Dell Inspiron 8100 with the hacked 22.xx/23.10 drivers. I wonder if these problems are related to me running a Intel BX Chipset with a 133Mhz FSB CPU since the AGP Divider is 2/3 as there isn't a 1/2 divider so the AGP is running at 89Mhz instead of 66Mhz. My Matrox G400Max didn't have those problems but I only used the Analog out on the Matrox. I didn't test the 22.xx or 23.xx drivers for the machine solid hang issue with the screensaver since those would do the BSOD on a full screen command prompt so I went back to 21.88 from PNY which seems to be just the reference NVidia drivers. I know the issue with the 23.xx drivers with the DVI doing 1280x960 60kHz is right since someone with the Hercules Ti500 had the same problem with the same monitor in 23.11 so he went back to 21.83. He wouldn't test the beta drivers. I wrote to NVidia and did hear back from them. They somehow thought I was using a VIA Chipset motherboard and they said they are beta testing a new driver to fix the VIA issue but I wrote them back and haven't heard back from them as of yet. Could the problem with the screensaver be related to DirectX?