I recently updated my computer. I was planning to get a Hercules 3d Prophet 9800pro, but the store (and the company that imports them) had run out of stock, so they offered me a Sapphire 9800pro Atlantis instead. Sapphire seems to use the ATI stock cooling solution, whereas Hercules has a custom fan and heatsink. Even though the Sapphire card is not very loud, it seems to be the loudest component in my system at the moment..

So I was wondering if anyone has any experience on ATI 9800pro stock cooling vs. Hercules fan+hs? Should I return my Sapphire card and go for the Hercules one? I'm not aiming at complete silence (sacrificing too much performance), so my choice is between these two card models..

Well, two questions... What country do you live in and are you willing to do mail-order?

Sybercom (sp?) sells an OEM Hercules 9800 pro for about $326 (it's called "house-brand" but buyers have confirmed it is Hercules, plus Hercules has a unique look, how many blue 9800s with flashing lights have you heard of?).

For a little under $400, I think New Egg sells the Ultimate version of the Sapphire 9800 pro.

So... do you absolutely need it now, and are you willing to wait a week for shipping? How much are you willing to spend.

Oh, I don't know how loud the hercules fan is, but it's supposed to be the most over-clockable of all of the 9800 pro variants made.

Thanks for your tips

I'm in Finland. I should be able to get the Hercules card next week as the store told they're supposed to get a shipment on monday or tuesday. And yes, I'm aware of the Ultimate version of the Sapphire card but I think that would probably be a bit of an overkill since I'm not really aiming for complete silence (cause that would most likely mean buying a lot more of new hardware , just a 'silent enough' high performance system.

So, considering my budget etc. these two cards (Hercules 9800pro, Sapphire 9800pro non-ultimate) are really the two choices I have and therefore I was wondering if anyone can recommend one over another considering the noise-factor..

I changed the Sapphire for the Hercules card and I'm very happy with my new card. The fan used by 3d Prophet 9800 isn't as loud as the stock ATI fan. And what seems to make more difference, it doesn't make any additional wailing or whining noises (like the fan on Sapphire did), just the normal airflow sound and a low static hum.