[Dave Baumann]

Hercules introduces 3D Prophet 9700 Pro:
A colossal new power for PCs

Croydon, August 29th, 2002 - Hercules is proud to announce the launch of the most powerful of its 3D Prophet boards, 3D Prophet 9700 Pro.

The 3D Prophet 9700 Pro, based on ATI's highly-anticipated RADEON™ 9700 PRO VPU (Visual Processing Unit), is a technological breakthrough delivering both the fastest 3D acceleration in PC gaming and a whole new range of groundbreaking, photo-realistic effects for hardcore gamers. In addition, 3D Prophet 9700 Pro is offered with the complete version of the highly acclaimed Morrowind: The Elder Scrolls III.

"3D Prophet 9700 Pro is our new flagship 3D accelerator board, which we expect to become the industry benchmark for speed-intensive games, such as First Person Shooters. It accelerates new 3D environments using Microsoft DirectX 9, enhancing realism in games and offering an unprecedented speed upgrade," says Claude Guillemot, President of Hercules. "This is already the fastest 3D gaming board for currently-released games, and Microsoft DirectX 9 will still improve its performance by taking advantage of the board's complete DirectX 9 support."

3D Prophet 9700 Pro is based on ATI RADEON™ 9700 PRO architecture, featuring:[list][*] 8-pixel pipeline architecture, clocked at 325MHz, mapping 2600 million pixels/sec;[*]Microsoft DirectX 9 hardware acceleration, processed by 8 Pixel Shader engines and 4 Vertex Shader engines;[*]An impressive 256-bit DDR memory interface, clocked at 310MHz, delivering 18.47GB/s to the chipset, optimized by ATI Hyper Z™ III bandwidth-saving technology.
The 3D Prophet 9700 Pro board features ATI RADEON™ 9700 PRO massive architecture, including:

• A 128MB DDR on-board buffer, fuelling the 256-bit DDR RAM interface;
• An AGP 8X board;
• 3 outputs on the bracket:
  - An analog DB-15 output for analog monitors,
  - A video output, useful for connecting a TV set,
  - A DVI-I output for digital (LCD) monitors: this output can even be converted into an additional analog DB-15 output for a secondary analog monitor.
• An additional power cable connected to the PC's power supply to deliver enough power to the board.

Hercules has also optimized the 3D Prophet 9700 Pro's design, adding:

• A copper base for the RADEON 9700 PRO chipset's cooling fan (copper is one of the very best heat-conducting metals available, accelerating heat transfer in order to improve dissipation);
• A silent cooling fan (28dB);
• Heatsinks for cooling the DDR RAM units (310MHz DDR, equivalent to 620MHz RAM);
• A heatsink for dissipating heat on the underside of the board, behind the RADEON 9700 PRO chipset.

For maximum entertainment, in addition to PowerDVD™ 4.0 XP, which enables top quality videos and media-rich DVDs to be played on PC, Hercules offers gamers the full version of The Elder Scrolls III : Morrowind™. This third episode of the elite role-playing game, "The Elder Scrolls", immerses gamers in a fantastic medieval world with a bewitching heroic-fantasy atmosphere and first-person viewing. Its cutting-edge graphics set it way above any other RPG game: hyper-realistic textures, real-time shadows, skeletal based animation… Only a board like 3D Prophet 9700 Pro can enable gamers to take full advantage of Morrowind's imposing and sophisticated 3D world.

As a result, Hercules offers hardcore gamers:

• The full power and innovation of the fastest 3D chipset to date, ATI RADEON 9700 PRO;
• A unique, heat-proof design, providing stability even at very high clock speeds;
• Ultra-quiet operation, allowing gamers to focus entirely on their games;
• An exciting game: the full retail version of the recently released & highly awarded Morrowind: The Elder Scrolls III.

Availability:
3D Prophet 9700 Pro will be available from mid-September 2002 at a recommended street price of £349.99inc.

About Hercules Technologies
Founded in the United States in 1982, Hercules developed the industry's first high-resolution graphics boards for PCs. Having set the monochrome graphics standard, Hercules then proceeded to pioneer advances in color graphics solutions. Over the years, Hercules has constantly sought to evolve, providing innovative lines of graphics, video, and - more recently - audio products, geared principally towards the international gaming community. Hercules has been a division of the Guillemot Corporation group since 1999.

Guillemot Corporation designs and manufactures a complete range of PC hardware products and PC and gaming console accessories. With an active presence in 17 countries, the group currently distributes its products in a total of 45 countries. Guillemot Corporation is listed on the Paris Stock exchange, Sicovam code 6672. For further information, please visit our web site at http://www.hercules.com.

Morrowind: © 2002 Bethesda Softworks Inc., a ZeniMax Media company. The Elder Scrolls, Morrowind, Bethesda Softworks, ZeniMax and their respective logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of ZeniMax Media Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Distributed by Ubi Soft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.