Hercules Stingray 128/3D
Hercules' successor to their earlier Stingray 128 was called the Stingray 128/3D, and was their flavour of the 3dfx Voodoo Rush. It was first announced at the Fall Comdex, Las Vegas in November 1996, and launched in August 1997. It was originally slated for release in Q1 1997.
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Released | August 1997 |
| Bus | PCI | |
| Chipset | Alliance ProMotion AT25 (or AT3D) / 3Dfx SST96 | |
| Standards | VGA | |
| Memory | 6 MB or 8 MB EDO (128-bit) | |
| RAMDAC | 50 MHz | |
| Ports | 15-pin DSUB (analogue RGB video out) | |
| Part # | S3910P, S3930P, S3316 (6 MB), S3316TV (6 MB), S3318TV (8 MB) | |
| FCC IDs | - | |
| Price | At launch: $299 (8 MB list), $269 (6 MB list) December 1997: $284 (8 MB) March 1998: $199 (8MB) |
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| See Also | Stingray 128 |
The Hercules Stingray 128/3D was their 3dfx Voodoo Rush card which provided both 2D graphics acceleration via its Alliance Semiconductor ProMotion AT25 chip with 3D acceleration provided by the 3dfx chips.
It was able to drive your monitor at 1600 x 1200 in 64,000 colours at 60 Hz refresh rate or in 256 colours at 65 Hz. To get the fastest refresh rate of 200 Hz required screen resolution to be reduced to 640 x 480 in 16.7 million colours.
Its EDO RAM is shared: 4 MB for the AT25's frame buffer, and either 2 MB (on 6 MB cards) or 4 MB (on 8 MB cards) for the texture memory for the Voodoo, which runs at an incredible 28ns!
The card does not have enough memory for a Z-buffer at resolutions higher than 800-by-600 in 16-bit colour, and does not support 3D in true colour modes.
The Stingray 128/3D also provided a '3D stereo connector' output for stereo glasses as well as a TV out. The 150 MHz stereo connector was VESA-compliant, allowing for a flicker-free 75 MHz per eye.
Several models were available:
- S3316 - 6 megabytes, no TV-out
- S3316TV - 6 megabytes with TV-out
- S3318TV - 8 megabytes with TV-out
In March 1998, Hercules reduced the list price of the 8 MB Stingray 128/3D (model S3318TV with the TV-out) to $199, alongside price reductions on their Dynamite 3D/GL models. As part of this price cut, Stingray 128/3D now came bundled with Activision's Heavy Gear as well as an OEM version of Rage Software's yet-to-be-released shooter, Incoming.
Here's Hercules' own sales data on the Stingray 128 3D:
| Product Highlights
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High Performance 128-bit Alliance ProMotion-AT3D 2D/3D graphics & multimedia processorThe Hercules Stingray 128/3D is an advanced, 2nd generation 128-bit 2D/3D graphics accelerator combining three high performance graphics processors on a single board to offer powerful 128-bit 2D graphics plus high performance, arcade quality 3D and outstanding video acceleration. The Hercules Stingray 128/3D integrates the Alliance ProMotion AT3D 2D/3D graphics processor with the 3Dfx Voodoo Rush dual 3D graphics controller chipset and 6MB of single-cycle EDO memory. All major 3D APIs for popular 3D games are supported including Microsoft Direct3D, 3Dfx Interactive Glide, Argonaut Brender, and Criterion Renderware.
Over 100 game titles are currently being developed to run on the Voodoo Graphics/Voodoo Rush platform. Over 250 developers have joined the 3Dfx Interactive developer program including 3D Realms, Accolade, Activision, Atari Games, id Software, Interplay, Microsoft, Sierra and Virgin.
Industry Leading 3D Features for Great Games Performance
The Hercules Stingray 128/3D delivers outstanding 3D performance with pixel fill rates exceeding 40 million pixels per second. Experience a new level of 3D functions and 3D special effects with hardware features such as true divide-per-pixel perspective, advanced texture mapping, bilinear filtering, pre-computed MIPmap filtering, depth cueing, perspective correction, full lighting and fogging, alpha blending, full and compressed Z buffering support, flat shading and Gouraud shading. Hardware triangle setup helps optimize Direct3D support resulting in fast frame rates of console gaming on the PC platform. Handling the geometry setup in hardware off-loads a compute intensive bottleneck which first generation 3D accelerators left to software. See our quick course in 3D terminology for more information on these terms!
Smooth Motion Video
The Hercules Stingray 128/3D provides exceptionally crisp, clear, 30 frames-per-second full-screen/full-motion video playback. Smooth scaling, color space conversion, and 64-step bilinear filter with full line buffer deliver world class video quality.
Software Drivers And Utilities
The Hercules Stingray 128/3D ships with Hercules’ Power Drive drivers for Windows 95 , as well as, accelerated drivers for Windows 3.x, Windows NT 3.5x/Windows NT 4.0, OS/2 Warp, and AutoCAD. The Hercules driver CD also includes Hercules Touch 95 desktop management utilities and the Hercules Entertainment Center to easily load and play audio and video files from an easy to use on-screen interface.
Specifications
- 128-bit Alliance Semiconductor AT3D graphics and multimedia engine
- Dual 3Dfx 3D-only graphics engines
- Full SuperVGA support - a one-card solution. VESA BIOS extensions in ROM.
- Refresh rates of up to 200Hz
- 6MB single-cycle EDO DRAM display memory and Z-buffer storage
- PCI Bus
- Standard VGA feature connector
- New VMI connector
- VESA DPMS, DDC 1, DDC 2B for Plug-and-Play support
- Five year warranty
Bundled Software
- 3D Game CD
- Hercules Touch 95™
- A fully integrated utility suite that seamlessly integrates into Windows 95.
- Features a flexible, customizable virtual desktop and sophisticated monitor adjustment tools.
- Independently select resolutions, refresh rates, and adjust image size or position.
- Zoom your screen to work in 8x magnification.
- Hercules Entertainment Center™
- This all new multimedia application gives you a familiar consumer electronics component-style control center.
- Fully customize all your multimedia applications.
- Instantly catalog and play MIDI, WAV, and Video files.
- Play audio CD's, Video CD and CD-i features.
- Build track catalogs and perform sophisticated playback programming.
Driver Support
- Windows 95 Power Drive proprietary drivers with accelerated DirectDraw support
- Windows 3.1, Windows NT 3.5, 3.51, 4.0
- OS/2 Warp
- Autodesk ADI 4.2 for AutoCAD, 3D Studio
Board Revisions
No information on board revisions for the Stingray 128/3D is known.
Competition
In the Media
Fremont, CA -- February 25, 1997 -- First to market, Hercules has started to demonstrate early production samples of the Hercules Stingray 128/3D graphics and multimedia accelerator marking a major breakthrough in the PC graphics industry.
The Hercules Stingray 128/3D is the first advanced 128-bit 2D/3D graphics and multimedia accelerator combining three high performance graphics processors on a single board to offer non- compromising:
- arcade quality 3D gaming;
- industry leading 128-bit 2D graphics for business applications; and
- superb MPEG-1/MPEG-2 (software DVD) video playback quality
at an affordable price of $ 299 (ESP). Volume production is scheduled for May '97.
As the first product of a new breed, the Hercules Stingray 128/3D bridges the gap between poor 3D performance from mainstream 2D/3D accelerators and poor 2D performance from dedicated 3D accelerators.
Superior Hardware Design
The Hercules Stingray 128/3D combines Alliance Semiconductor's and 3Dfx Interactive's chip technology with Hercules' unique expertise in board design and industry leading software dri-vers. By integrating the 128-bit Alliance ProMotion AT3D 2D/3D graphics and multimedia processor with the 3Dfx Voodoo Rush 3D graphics controller chip set, and 6MB of EDO DRAM as a single slot solution, the Hercules Stingray 128/3D eliminates the need for dual slot solutions to provide the high-end gamer with an exciting visual experience or the graphics professional with workstation quality 3D in applications such as 3D modeling.
The Hercules Stingray 128/3D also continues Hercules' tradition of providing the highest performance from a trend-setting configuration of controller chips and fast, higher quality memory. Hercules' unique high-performance/wide-bandwidth hardware design and advanced Power Drive™ Windows 95 drivers with enhanced Microsoft DirectX support unleash all of the capabilities of a powerful board.
Powerful, Versatile 3D Support for Arcade Quality 3D Games Performance
The Hercules Stingray 128/3D delivers arcade quality 3D gaming performance (high image quality 3D gaming with more than 30 f/s) for the PC platform with fill rates exceeding 40 million pixels per second. Handling the triangle setup in hardware offloads a compute-intensive bottleneck which first generation 3D accelerators left to software. It also helps to optimize Direct3D support resulting in fast frame rates on the PC.
In addition to offering high resolution, high quality texture maps with 30 f/s 3D frame rates, the Hercules Stingray 128/3D also supports an extended set of advanced 3D features and 3D special effects in hardware. These include, advanced texture mapping, point-sampled/bilinear filtering, MIPmap filtering, depth cueing, perspective correction, fogging, alpha blending, Z buffering, flat shading and Gouraud shading.
In order to offer the most powerful, versatile and complete solution, the Hercules Stingray 128/3D supports all major 3D APIs for popular 3D games including, Microsoft Direct3D, 3Dfx Interactive Glide, Argonaut Brender, and Criterion Renderware.
Included with over 250 developers that have joined the 3Dfx Interactive developer program are 3D Realms, Accolade, Activision, Atari Games, id Software, Interplay, Microsoft, Sierra and Virgin. Over 100 game titles are currently under development to run on the Hercules Stingray 128/3D.
Dedicated Display Memory and Texture Map Memory for Industry Leading Performance
2MB of the 6MB on the Hercules Stingray 128/3D are reserved as dedicated texture map memory for the 3D Voodoo Rush chipset. The other 4 MB of fast EDO DRAM are shared as display memory supporting resolutions from 640 x 480 up to 1280 x 1024 in 24-bit true color with resolution dependent refresh rates of up to 200 Hz.
Superb Hardware Accelerated Video Playback Quality
The Hercules Stingray 128/3D also supports an advanced set of video acceleration features in hardware, including YUV/RGB color space conversion, scaling, and a 64 step bilinear filter with full line buffer to provide exceptionally crisp, smoothly filtered, 30 f/s full-screen/full-motion video playback.
The MMX-optimized software MPEG player provided with the Hercules Stingray 128/3D supports both MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 playback (software DVD).
Complete Software Driver Support, Comprehensive Utilities, plus 3D Games
The Hercules Stingray 128/3D will ship with an attractive set of popular 3D games.
The Hercules CD supplied with the Hercules Stingray 128/3D contains drivers and utilities for all operating systems including the latest version of Microsoft DirectX. Hercules' integrated suite of utilities called Hercules Touch 95™ provides useful capabilities for desktop management "on-the-fly". The Hercules Entertainment Center is a revolutionary, totally integrated audio/visual multimedia console for sound and video playback control. The Windows 95 Autorun installation automatically installs the Power Drive Windows 95 driver, Hercules Touch 95 desktop management utilities and Hercules Entertainment Center multimedia utilities, as well as, Microsoft DirectX. The Hercules Stingray 128/3D ships with Hercules' award winning Power Drive Windows 95 driver and accelerated drivers for Windows 3.x, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows NT 3.5x, Windows NT 4.0, OS/2 Warp, and AutoCAD."
Hercules press release, February 1997
Hercules' Stingray 128/3D ($300 street price) is the first fruit of a collaboration between 3-D specialist 3Dfx and mainstream 2-D chip maker Alliance Semiconductor. Designed to provide top-flight 2-D, 3-D, and video playback performance in a single PCI slot, the Stingray relies on the 128-bit Alliance ProMotion 128/3D graphics chip for 2-D and video, while referring 3-D requests to 3Dfx's Voodoo Rush chip set, located on a daughtercard.
We used the Stingray 128/3D as a reference high-end board. The card's performance on the 3D Graphics WinMark tests was compelling. It turned in a score of 105.6 versus 63.8 for the best performer of this roundup."
PC Magazine, June 1997
Setting it Up
I have no information on setting up the Stingray 128/3D card.
Downloads
Operation Manual Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
Windows 95 Driver & Utilities
Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! File=s128w101.exe |
Windows 95 Drivers
Stingray 128/ 3D Windows 95 Drivers - self-extracting executable that goes into 4 disk directories. |
Windows 3.x, 95, NT 3.1/3.5/4.0 and OS/2 Warp 3.0 & 4.0 Drivers
Hercules Drivers & Utilities CD-ROM. Provides drivers for Terminator 32/64/Professional/3D and 3D/DX, Dynamite/Pro/Power/128, and Stingray 64/Pro and 128/3D. |
Windows 3.x, 95, NT 3.1/3.5/4.0 and
Hercules Drivers & Utilities CD-ROM. Provides drivers for Terminator 32/64/Professional/3D and 3D/DX, Dynamite/Pro/Power/128, and Stingray 64/Pro and 128/3D. |
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