Hercules Stingray Pro / Stingray Pro Video
The Hercules Stingray Pro was a VGA graphics accelerator card launched in 1995 and the successor to their earlier Stingray in Hercules' budget range. It came in both VESA Local Bus and PCI interface flavours.
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Released | 1995 |
| Bus | VESA Local Bus or PCI | |
| Chipset | ARK Logic 1000MT | |
| Standards | VGA | |
| Memory | 1 MB or 2 MB DRAM (32-bit) | |
| RAMDAC | ARK1491 / ATT20C490 / ATT20C498 (Stingray Pro) I.C. Works ZoomDAC (Stingray Pro/Video) |
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| Ports | 15-pin DSUB (analogue RGB video out) | |
| Part # | S601e (Stingray Pro VLB) S901e (Stingray Pro PCI) S901V (Stingray Pro/Video) |
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| FCC IDs | DXLDP401, DXL9IL640B, LBG-1000PVZM | |
| Price | At launch: $169 |
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| See Also | Dynamite, Stingray, Stingray 64 |
The Hercules Stingray Pro is based upon the ARK Logic 1000MT chipset, which was very efficient and had very aggressive DRAM timing. 1 MB cards came with 65ns DRAM while 2 MB cards used faster 45ns DRAM.
Cards supported an 8-bit DAC that ran from 110 MHz (for lower-end variants) up to 135 MHz.
The Stingray Pro and Stingray 64 are both great cards for DOS gaming - faster than even the Tseng Labs W32p in most instances and have slightly better performance than the S3 Vision-based Terminator series.
Several RAMDACs were provided on Stingray Pro cards, including an 8-bit colour depth (ATT20C490) and a 16-bit colour depth (ATT20C498). In general, the Stingray Pro cards could achieve a maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024 with a 60 Hz non-interlaced refresh rate. The highest refresh rate was 90 Hz at a resolution of 800 x 600 in 256 colours.
Later in 1995, the Stingray Pro/Video was launched that came with an IC Works ZoomDAC and included Hercules' new Power Playback video acceleration technology. Aside from this it was the same as the Stingray Pro PCI.
Other cards that also used the ARK Logic 1000MT chipset include:
- ARK Logic 1000PV1M, 1000PV2M, 1000PV2MA (their PCI cards)
- ARK Logic 1000VL2M, 1000VL2MA (their VLB cards)
- Octek PVGA-1000 (1 MB card)
Board Revisions
I have no information on the various board revisions of the Stingray Pro card.
Competition
In 1995, the graphics accelerator market was highly competitive, with many offerings from S3 with their ViRGE and Trio64 chipsets. The ViRGE chipset supported 2 MB or 4 MB of EDO RAM, and included cards such as the Diamond Stealth 3D 2000, ELSA Victory 3D, and the Genoa Phantom 3D. Their now budget-friendly Trio64 from the year before was still very popular, with cards like the Diamond Stealth 64 VLB and Paradise Bahamas 64VL.
On the more premium side, the Matrox Millennium also arrived this year and like the ViRGE came in 2 MB and 4 MB flavours but went the extra mile with this being the faster WRAM.
In the Media
Setting it Up
See the Troubleshooting Guide in the Downloads section for help on setting up the Stingray Pro or Stingray Pro/Video.
Downloads
Operation Manual Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
Troubleshooting Guide For Stingray, Stingray Pro and Stingray 64 products. |
DOS & Windows 3.1 Drivers Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
Windows 95 Driver Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
Windows NT 4.0 Driver Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! Also designed for Stingray 64/Video. |
OS/2 Warp Driver Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
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Windows 3.x, 95, NT 3.1/3.5/4.0 and OS/2 Warp 3.0 & 4.0 Drivers
Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
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. |
