Standard desktop was 256 colors (and usually up to 800x600 or 1024x768, because 15 inch displays were common). In fact, some games only worked if desktop was set at 256 colors.

Almost any video card with 1 meg of RAM is capable of 16 bits (provided you've got the drivers), but in most 486 (and early Pentiums) the CPU may be underpowered. Most games from that era worked at 256 colors, so (unless you want to do some photo editing) using 16 bit color depth won't be any advantage.

The 256-color limitation is probably due to missing drivers. 256 colors was normal for 3.11, 16-bit for Win9x (desktop).

Without a driver, neither Win3.11 nor Win95 will display more than 16 colors. Because they revert to standard VGA, which can't even do 256 colors in 640x480. (Win95 actually allowed to still select 8-bit and 16-bit, but would fail to actually use those modes)

An Am5x86 based 486 should have a full megabyte of video memory, 2MB not unlikely. With the correct driver for the configuration, you should get 16-bit color at 800x600 with 1 MB or up to 1152x864 with 2 MB.

Well into the DirectX 3/5 era, going 16/24bit on a 486 with a decent enough PCI video card (Trio64 etc) doesn't really hurt. It's what I did in 96-97 so I could soak in those desktop themes and most of the Windows 8bpp games i've played were DirectX and switched modes appropriately. 😀

Going 16/24 only really ruined some of my After Dark experience.

Sybok wrote:

Another thing is that I also intend to install windows 3.11 and I will not know what was standard of the time.

It depended on the type of computer, I'd say.
Normal, by the time (say '92 to '95) already a few years old computers (286, 386SX) got upgraded often with a cheap VGA card.
For home and office use, 640x480 or 800x600 in 16 colours was good enough.
Most VGA cards and Windows 3.1 programs worked well with 256 colors, too.

Older VGA cards for ISA slots had a DAC that coudn't do more than 256 colours anyway.
Generally speaking games of the time also prefered 256 colours, because

a) It didn't stress the ISA bus so much
b) 256 Colours were palette-based, so pictures could altered without redrawing.

Descent (DOS) did use that effect in the title, too.

Initially, 16-Bit colors were used by people who where interested in pictures/graphics related things.
Desktop Publishing, Video CDs, Animation, Raytracing and.. Erotic CDs. 😉

With Windows 95, things began to change. VLB and PCI got enough bandwith,
and graphics memory increased quickly. 2, 4, 8 MB..

Okay, perhaps except for 3dfx card. They required faster,
more expensive memory, so it took a little bit longer there.

Anyway, that's just my personal point of view.
Maybe it was different around the globe (it's not unusua forl other countries to have different standards) 😀

Drivers. Afaik, Windows 3.1 also included a generic Super VGA driver for 800x600x16c.
Windows for Workgroups 3.11 added an SVGA driver 640x480x256c.
But it did only work with known chipsets of the time.

Sybok wrote:

Hello, I recently got an AMD 586 (looks like the rest of the hardware is from a 486) and it came with Windows 95 installed. […]
Show full quote

Hello, I recently got an AMD 586 (looks like the rest of the hardware is from a 486) and it came with Windows 95 installed.

However this is using 256 colors and if my memories of 23 years ago are not confusing me, I believe that everything seems more ugly.
Was not the standard for that time 16-bit color?
I do not know exactly what video card I'm using, but I guess I'll have to switch.

Does anyone have any suggestion of a video card to be able to have 16 bit color?
Would a 3dfx video card solve this?

Another thing is that I also intend to install windows 3.11 and I will not know what was standard of the time.

Does anyone have a PC like this and have information on what I should expect?
I want to play games such as Phantasmagoria, Sim City 2000 and Sim Tower.
I do not know if I will have problems with the resolution using the current board and a 3dfx with DOS and win 3.x...

Any information on how DOS, windows 3.x and 9x worked with video at the time helps, as well as tips from articles, blogs or other relevant topics here in the forum.

Thanks for your time.

Welcome to VOGONS!

To allow us to fully help you, please post a picture of your video card. If it's integrated into the motherboard, please post a picture of that.

A 3dfx card is not usually worth it on a 486 or 5x86 class system as it will certainly be CPU limited.

fitzpatr wrote:

A 3dfx card is not usually worth it on a 486 or 5x86 class system as it will certainly be CPU limited.

Disagreed. It's useful (particularly the Voodoo2) for accelerated versions of the CPU chokers (Quake, MDK) and probably the most appropriate 3D card one could get for the spec due to the least driver overhead.

From what I remember, most people I knew with a PC during the Windows 3.x era had no idea what a "driver" was, and normally just left their screen set to the default resolution....640x480 in 16 colours. People who knew what they were doing ran 800x600 in 256 colours, but some software required a fallback to 640x480 to work properly. When the internet came along in the mid 90s, it suddenly became apparent that 256 colours were insufficient. Prior to the internet it was rare for most people to have access to photo realistic images, and these required at least 15-bit colour to look convincing. Still, even during the Windows 95 era, many people ran 256 colour modes, but personally I wouldn't want less than 16-bit colour and 800x600.

Now I remember there also was 15-Bit colour depth. I believe I had seen it a few times on old computers running Win95.
In addition, I also read that Virtualizers (Virtual PC ?) have issues with that colour depth,
like they have with 24-Bit colour depth (32-Bit True Colour -RGBA- has transparency/an alpha channel).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_color#15-bit_high_color

32-bit's just padded 24-bit because it's faster on the PCI bus.

GTX1080 Ti + Windows 3.11 = love at first sight

fitzpatr wrote:

Welcome to VOGONS!

To allow us to fully help you, please post a picture of your video card. If it's integrated into the motherboard, please post a picture of that.

A 3dfx card is not usually worth it on a 486 or 5x86 class system as it will certainly be CPU limited.

Thanks, the forum is great. I did a lot of search about old PCs and google always ended up sending me here, so I decide to participate.

The video Card is OAK with 1 MB and ISA 8-bits slot.

Windows 95 says it have 1MB memory:

But I dont have more than 256 colors option:

leileilol wrote:

Well into the DirectX 3/5 era, going 16/24bit on a 486 with a decent enough PCI video card (Trio64 etc) doesn't really hurt. It's what I did in 96-97 so I could soak in those desktop themes and most of the Windows 8bpp games i've played were DirectX and switched modes appropriately. 😀

Going 16/24 only really ruined some of my After Dark experience.

Where can I find the After Dark to download???? I can kill someone for you just to get it kkkkkkkk 🤣

You don't. It's commercial software.

Zup wrote:

Standard desktop was 256 colors (and usually up to 800x600 or 1024x768, because 15 inch displays were common). In fact, some games only worked if desktop was set at 256 colors.

Almost any video card with 1 meg of RAM is capable of 16 bits (provided you've got the drivers), but in most 486 (and early Pentiums) the CPU may be underpowered. Most games from that era worked at 256 colors, so (unless you want to do some photo editing) using 16 bit color depth won't be any advantage.

I had a 486 in childhood and the idea was to have DOS and windows 3.11 in it to play point and click games like Monkey Island and games like Sim City, Alone in the dark, etc ... But as I also had windows 95 in that 486 I believe you can take this machine to its limits.

It is said that this 586 is almost equivalent to a 75 pentium, I will try to get what it is capable of.

It turns out that in my search for old hardware I came across a beautiful Voodoo 2 3dfx with the Drivers CD and with the cable to connect the 3D card on the 2D card.
I ended up falling in love with the board and I remember that in my old pentium 75 (which was what turned my 486 up after an upgrade) I had a board similar to that.

If I can play glquake on that I'm already happy.

leileilol wrote:

You don't. It's commercial software.

Really?
Can't find it on ebay? or ******bay?

Thank you all for the answers.

I believe a Trident of 2 MB should solve my problem and be compatible with Windows 3.11 right?
I have easy access to one like this:
https://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-92334 … 9440-3-12mb-_JM

@Sybok: we do not allow warez here, nor do we tolerate people asking for warez. Please do not!