Guillemot/Hercules 3D Prophet II GTS 64MB GeForce 2 GTS

Conclusion

Does the 3D Prophet II GTS 64MB live up to it's Hercules namesake? To answer this question, we must first look at the card itself.

We find that many things have changed since the days of the old Hercules. No longer is the Hercules name synonymous with the highest quality products. This is reflected in the lack of thermal compound binding the GPU to the heatsink surface on the 3D Prophet II GTS 64MB. In addition, the extra features of the card prove to be, for the most part, useless. The addition of the RAM heatsinks prove to provide no advantage over non-cooled RAM solutions and simply raises the price of the card more.

For every down side of the 3D Prophet II GTS 64MB it seems that there is also an upside. This card is the first one we have seen to offer both DVI and TV-out standard; both useful features that if you do not use now you could very well use in the future. Especially with the high price of $420 retail, the 3D Prophet II GTS 64MB is most definitely a card that you would want to hold onto for a long time,

Besides the addition of a software based DVD player, a useful feature when paired with the TV-out capabilities, the Guillemot/Hercules 3D Prophet II GTS 64MB does not include any software bundle package. This is rather disappointing, especially since we have recently seen the level of included software take a step up. However, if it continues to keep prices down on this already expensive card, we are all for it.

As stated in our 64MB GeForce 2 GTS review, 64MB GeForce 2 GTS based cards are for those wanting power. Since the 3D Prophet II GTS 64MB is the first 64MB GeForce 2 GTS card to hit the market, it seems that one would want to buy one relatively quickly for maximum product life span. The only downside to this is that prices are bound to fall shortly as more and more 64MB GeForce 2 GTS cards are scheduled to come out. As far as 64MB GeForce 2 GTS cards seem to be going, the 3D Prophet II GTS 64MB does not seem to be a bad purchase, especially considering the $360 pirce tag that it can be found for on the web. While the 3D Prophet II GTS does not overly impress, it does not disappoint.