rec.autos.simulators

I recently read a faq which seems to indicate that these two cards are arguably the
best for both DOS vga [320x200x256 colors] and SVGA [640x480xs56 colors].  It would
seem that your choice between the two would be based on whether you need more than
256 colors at the higher resolutions [Stingray Pro uses DRAM,Stingray 64 uses VRAM].
I am interested in these for use in SVGA games like USNF and Wing Commander 3 and
Nascar Racing etc.  Windows speed is a secondary consideration for me.

What do you'all out there think about these two cards and my intended use of them ?

Does anyone know how they compare to other cards like the Diamond Stealth 64, #9 GXE,
ATI \mach 64 etc, when used on a Pentium or fast 486dx2, running SVGA games like the
ones I mentioned above ?

Anyone  gamers comments would be especially welcome: Post or rely by email

--
Michael Davies

Gamer  8)   Student  8(   Hallucinating From Sleep Deprivation

On a pentium 60, I got a video score of '1' on WC3 using a
Hercules Stingray with 1MB DRAM.

Can't comment on other cards.

BTW, there might be a problem running MYST with these cards.

H. Shafi

The original Stingray uses an Avance Logic chipset, and not the ARK Logic
chipset found on the Stingray Pro and Stingray 64.  The Stingray is a pretty
good -- but not great -- DOS card.  The Stingray Pro and Stingray 64 are great
DOS cards; faster than even the Tseng Labs W32p in most instances.

The Stingray Pro (model S601e for the VL-Bus and S901e for the PCI bus) is
currently shipping; although it's mostly going to OEM customers for inclusion
in PCs.  In a few days we'll start shipping a model of the Stingray Pro with
our Power Playback video acceleration technology (model S901V), and the
Stingray 64 (models S1201V and S1202V), which also contains Power Playback.

 >BTW, there might be a problem running MYST with these cards.

Not that's ever been reported or observed here.  What's the reasoning behind
your statement?  If you've had problems with Myst on your Stingray, drop us a
note.

= Dylan Rhodes: Product Manager, Hercules Computer Technology

: The original Stingray uses an Avance Logic chipset, and not the ARK Logic
: chipset found on the Stingray Pro and Stingray 64.  The Stingray is a pretty
: good -- but not great -- DOS card.  The Stingray Pro and Stingray 64 are great
: DOS cards; faster than even the Tseng Labs W32p in most instances.

: The Stingray Pro (model S601e for the VL-Bus and S901e for the PCI bus) is
: currently shipping; although it's mostly going to OEM customers for inclusion
: in PCs.  In a few days we'll start shipping a model of the Stingray Pro with
: our Power Playback video acceleration technology (model S901V), and the
: Stingray 64 (models S1201V and S1202V), which also contains Power Playback.

: = Dylan Rhodes: Product Manager, Hercules Computer Technology

What is the difference between the two Stringray 64 models?  DRAM vs. VRAM?
I was looking into a 64 bit card and this one sounds good.  Any opinions
on how it compares to ATI GPT or Diamond S64 (overall and specific).  Thanks!

-wirak

The Stingray 64 is available with either 1MB or 2MB of DRAM.  2MB of DRAM
gives you more resolutions (like 800x600x16.7M and the other usual 2MB modes)
as well as significantly better performance.  The power of the 64-bit
processor is really unleashed when it has two banks of DRAM with which to work.

I'm here in the office on the weekend to put some finishing touches on the
product.  I hope to ship it this week.

= Dylan Rhodes: Product Manager, Hercules Computer Technology

: >What is the difference between the two Stringray 64 models?  DRAM vs. VRAM?
: >I was looking into a 64 bit card and this one sounds good.  Any opinions
: >on how it compares to ATI GPT or Diamond S64 (overall and specific).  Thanks!

: The Stingray 64 is available with either 1MB or 2MB of DRAM.  2MB of DRAM
: gives you more resolutions (like 800x600x16.7M and the other usual 2MB modes)
: as well as significantly better performance.  The power of the 64-bit
: processor is really unleashed when it has two banks of DRAM with which to work.

: I'm here in the office on the weekend to put some finishing touches on the
: product.  I hope to ship it this week.

: >-wirak

: = Dylan Rhodes: Product Manager, Hercules Computer Technology

     So is the Stingray Pro or 64 better than the Terminator series?  I'm still
looking for a very good car that will do Windows and DOS very well in a
$300 dollar price range.  Something comparable/better than the ATI GPT and
Diamond S64.  The Stringrays only come in DRAM?  I saw the video faq that
was recently posted and it showed the Stringray Pro with the best overall
score.  Whassaup here? :)  So which one would you recommend for a powerful
performance?

-wirak

In GUI performance, the VRAM-based Terminators are faster.  In DOS
performance, the ARK-based Stingray Pro andStingray 64 have slightly better
performance than the S3 Vision-based Terminator series...but the ARK cards
have the fastest DOS performance I've ever seen.

Correct; our Stingray line is exclusively DRAM based, and doesn't give you the
high refresh rates and other benefits exclusive to VRAM cards.  The Stingray
series also has a lower price point than the VRAM-based Terminator products.

I know I must sound like a stuck CD player, but our product spec sheets are
undergoing revision and we should have updated sheets on our web page within
the next few days.  For example, we've recently added some DRAM models to our
Terminator series and the spec sheet's already been delivered to our HTML
jockeys.  These will cover the important points like refresh rates at the
various resolutions, benchmark scores, retail prices, and the like.  There's
much more to it than "which card is faster?" -- there's DOS performance,
Windows performance, chipset support, refresh rates, upgradeability, extra
goodies like hardware-based video acceleration, and more.

= Dylan Rhodes: Product Manager, Hercules Computer Technology