Hercules 3D Prophet II GeForce2 MX

Overclocking

Overclocking the 3D Prophet II MX is pretty straightforward. The Hercules drivers have an Additional Properties section where Hardware Options could be changed. Here you can change both core and memory clock speeds. We managed to get the core right up to 200MHz and the memory up to 192Mhz. BUT there are issues I have to straighten out here. Yes, the core would go up to 200MHz and be very stable, but the heat is a major problem. So the sanest overclocked speed is around 194MHz where the temperature is not too high. But put in an additional cooling fan and 200MHz won’t be too far fetched. The memory, which is rated at 5.5ns, is already running at its maximum specified speed of 183MHz. And since the memory chips don’t have any special cooling heat sinks, overclocking the memory beyond 192MHz proved impossible without having texture problems and lock ups. The most stable speed for the memory we determined to be at 192MHz. Anyway, if extreme overclocking is what you’re after then adding a cooling fan to the 3D Prophet 2 MX is highly recommended. Overall, large performance increases in frame rates are only visible at the higher resolutions.

Conclusion

The GeForce2 GTS and Ultra boards are still going to be the choice of the performance crowd, and if you currently own any GeForce board, it is not likely that a GeForce2 MX card will be a worthwhile upgrade. But if you have a low end 3D card, then the Hercules 3D Prophet II MX will give you GF 256 performance at a price much lower than before. Unlike in the early years of 3D gaming, gamers with limited budgets don’t have to settle for a card that has frame rates as slow as your grandma’s rickety old Morris Minor. The Hercules 3D Prophet II MX paints a whole new picture for the budget conscious 3D gamer!
Highs:

· Best performance at the lowest cost.

· GeForce 2 GTS features

Lows:

· The same old memory bandwidth problems.

· No software bundle