Experiences with Hercules 3D Prophet 4500

[NedHades]

Howdy! New forum member here...
I'm looking to upgrade my video card. Right now I have an ATI Rage Fury Pro on an Epox 8KTA3Pro m/b (VIA KT133A) with a 1.4 GHz Athlon CPU & 512MB. Win98SE O/S. Hercules cut $50 off the 4500's price. I'm trying to stay below $150 US since I'm on a budget. I was wondering if the 4500 is a good value. Any advice or card recommendations are greatly appreciated!!!

I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I like to run NFS, Starsiege and Heavy Gear. The Rage just can't keep up.

 

[12am]

Go Nvidia... any of the nvidia chipsets willnot dissapoint

 

[nemesismk2]

<< Go Nvidia... any of the nvidia chipsets willnot dissapoint >>



That's not strictly true, avoid all of the mx geforce2's, I've owned one and they are really lame. The only resolution they are any good at is 640x480, trying to run games at 1024x768x32bit with an mx turns the game into a slideshow. I run my kyro2 with a 900mhz Duron and it runs great and with your much faster cpu it'll run even better. I don't have the games you have but I run some very demanding games and my kyro2 is always really smooth at 1024x768x32bit so I recommend it fully. Being not a huge gamer I imagine 2D quality will be important to you and that's another strong point of kyro2 video cards. There's some Nvidia based video cards which have very poor 2D quality, obviously not the fault of Nvidia but it's something to remember when getting one.

Nemesis

 

[Teasy]

NedHades, I have the same sort of setup as you, a KT7A (KT133A) with a 1.4ghz Athlon (overclocked to 1523mhz with a 145mhz FSB) 512mb ram and Win98SE. I have a Videologic Vivid!XS Kyro II (same as the Hercules 3d prophet 4500) which isn't overclocked at all. It all works great, runs everything I've tried very smoothly, Q3 highest quality 100fps average and zips along at around 70fps average in Max Payne (Please nobody argue that Kyro II doesn't get this in Max Payne benches because those benches are cutscenes not ingame, in game it flies!). The card is also very very cheap and has great 2d. You can now get it for $77 on pricewatch.com (thats the Hercules 3d Prophet) and you can also get two identical cards (the Apollo Kyro II 64mb and the Inno3d Kyro II 64mb) for only $66 also on pricewatch.com.

 

[NedHades]

I should have listed 2D quality as one of my wants. I do home music recording and mixing and spend a lot of time in 2D. I guess I need a jack-of-all-trades type card. Looks like the Kyro II would fit the bill! (I wouldn't have to go bargain-hunting if I didn't spend big $$ on music equipment. ) Thanks for the help!

 

[AMDPwred]

Pick up a GF3 TI200. I've seen them on Pricewatch for around $175. Spend an extra $25 and get the GF3. It's well worth it.

 

[spoma]

I have been using the prophet 4500 for a while and I like it. I have the hercules prophet 4500 64mb with tv out. if you are interested in it email me.

 

[Teasy]

<< Pick up a GF3 TI200 >>



Since he's not a hardcore gamer and is bargain hunting and needs good 2d IMO it'd be better for him to get something that deffinately has good 2d (allot of the Geforce boards don't) and is very fast in games for a great price (Kyro II 64mb for $66 fits the bill IMO).

 

[richleader]

No Ti 200 has good 2D? Um, ok. FWIW, I agree with AMDpowerd, if you're going to spend $150--you might as well spend $175 for the Ti 200. IF you're not going to do that, I'd reccomend a GTS-V for $65.

 

[Teasy]

<< No Ti 200 has good 2D? >>



Its not that none of them do but at this stage who knows which versions have good 2d?, its a bit of a lottery until we see more reviews of these boards.



<< I agree with AMDpowerd, if you're going to spend $150--you might as well spend $175 for the Ti 200. >>



He didn't say he actually wanted to spend $150 though ($150 was just his limit), he just wants a card with good 2d and good 3d perfornance.



<< IF you're not going to do that, I'd reccomend a GTS-V for $65. >>



Yeah I saw that offer on Newegg, seems like a good deal as long as the 2d is ok, BTW what in the hell is a GTS-V?

 

[sash1]

<<

<< No Ti 200 has good 2D? >>



Its not that none of them do but at this stage who knows which versions have good 2d?, its a bit of a lottery until we see more reviews of these boards. >>

Well, I think we can all trust Gainward to supply us with the best GeForce line of chips out their. Their 2D should be up to par knowing their history.


<< IF you're not going to do that, I'd reccomend a GTS-V for $65. >>



<<

Yeah I saw that offer on Newegg, seems like a good deal as long as the 2d is ok, BTW what in the hell is a GTS-V? >>

I e-mailed nVidia about that, hopefully I can get a response and get some definite information on it. If Anand doesn't beat me to it, that is.

 

[richleader]

As far as I know, it's just a GTS with a slower core and possibly memory--which of course, both of which can be clocked to normal spec with a little work. There's no definitive answer yet though.

 

[Teasy]

<< I e-mailed nVidia about that, hopefully I can get a response and get some definite information on it. If Anand doesn't beat me to it, that is. >>



Hmm the deal might not be as good as it first looked, as far as I can make out its a slower version of the GTS, it has a 175mhz core instead of 200mhz, there might be other differences (possibly ram speed?). I was wondering why this card was so cheap compared to all the other 32mb GTS cards on Pricewatch ($85 it the cheapest GTS on there).



<< both of which can be clocked to normal spec with a little work. >>



Maybe.

 

[Sketcher]

Bought a Prophet 4500 to tied me over 'till the GF3's come down. I run HL, CS, UT & Q3 all at 1024x768. Also do quite a bit of remote tech support and technical documentation so I can say that I'm pleased with the 2D. Doesn't disappoint. And it's excellently priced.

Under $100 - get the Prophet 4500 for $76.00
Under $200 - get the GF3 Ti200 for $174.00
$300 - Reviews, plus consistent opinions from those who've bought both Ti500 and Radeon 8500 = they return the Radeon.

But then, there'd be some gaming bias there.