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Collecting the Right Hardware for your Compatible PC

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First post, by Great Hierophant

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The two main areas of concern here are Graphics and Sound Cards. Supply is not really a problem with other components, like input devices (keyboard, mice), output devices (monitors, speakers and printers) storage (hard disks, CD-ROMs and floppies). SIMM-style RAM doesn't seem to be much of a problem. Processors before the later 486s often couldn't be upgraded without replacing the motherboard as well as the CPU, and many of the processors from the 286 to the 486s were soldered to the motherboard. So lets start with graphics. (The only peripherals in short supply may be MFM hard drives, TTL RGB monitors and 360KB 5.25" floppy disk drives.)

The first graphics card for gaming was IBM's Color Graphics Adapter, used for the early games and pretty much ubiquitous from 1981 until 1987. IBM's cards are not rare but third party cards usually are. It is the only card you should consider for compatibility with CGA-tweaking games from Macrocom and Windmill Software.

The second graphics card for gaming was the Hercules Graphics Card. This card (there are more than one model available) allows you to obtain high resolution monochrome graphics in many games. It also is compatible with IBMs Monochrome and Printer Display Adapter for the software that uses it. Supported from 1983 to 1990.

The third graphics card for gaming was the Enhanced CGA built into the IBM PCjr. and copied in the Tandy 1000 line. PCjr.s aren't especially rare but they are tricky beasts to get working with software that supports the Tandy 1000 without any mention of the PCjr. Some early PCjr. specific software will not work very well with a Tandy 1000 (King's Quest.) As these graphics look like the EGA's, they were supported almost until that adapter was disregarded.

The fourth graphics card for gaming was IBM's Enhanced Graphics Adapter. Released soon after the IBM PC AT in 1984, it was so expensive that it took several years before games started supporting it. From 1987-1990 it was pretty much the graphics you would get for a PC game. The IBM card itself is not too rare, but it only had 64KB of RAM on the bare card itself. Two boards must be attached to obtain the 256KB of RAM that the EGA could handle. I have never seen such a tricked out board.

The fifth graphics card for gaming was IBM's Video Graphics Array was the final IBM standard for the PC-compatible world. It is essentially the EGA with the analog 256-color capabilities of the Multicolor Color Graphics Adapter built-into the PS/2 Models 25 and 30. IBM did release an 8-bit ISA card called the PS/2 Display Adapter that only houses standard VGA but again I have never seen it. Otherwise, your only hope of obtaining the most compatible VGA out there is in PS/2 systems with the VGA built-in. 1990-94.

Anything beyond the VGA, SVGA and VESA is non-standard and relatively common and inexpensive enough so that you can afford to take chances. But now let us turn to sound.

Almost all PCs are equipped with a PC Speaker, which is controlled by a timer on the motherboard. Most games that tweak the PC Speaker also expect that the CPU speed is relatively low. An IBM PC or PC/XT may be required for the best in compatibility for this technique.

The second sound standard for PCs is the IBM PCjr. and Tandy 1000 sound chip. Get a Tandy to avoid the headaches of a PCjr., for the same chip should be used. Otherwise get a Game Blaster and write patches for it. The Creative Game Blaster functions like four Tandy 1000 chips and while separate boards were produced, your best bet is to find an early Sound Blaster with the chips on it. (Pre-Sound Blaster Pro.)

The third sound standard is the Adlib, which is essentially an OPL2 sound chip on a board. I would not advise obtaining the bare Adlib board, rather get a much better featured Sound Blaster Pro with two OPL2 chips as well as recording, playback and DSP technology if you can get it. Some games support the stereo features that the later Sound Blasters do not support. It also contains a game port and a passthru for CD-Audio. The early Sound Blaster can be rather rare.

The fourth sound standard is the Roland MT-32 and LAPC-1. I would get the LAPC-1 if I had the choice, as the Roland wll require a MPU-401/AT interface ISA card to interface the MT-32 for maximum compatibility (Intelligent midi.) That card is rather rare as the LAPC-1. Roland MT-32 midi synthesizers are not particularly so.

The fifth sound standard of importance is the Gravis Ultrasound. While no substitute for an Adlib/Sound Blaster, for the few games and many demos that used it properly it was relevatory. Rather rare, stick to the older ones.

The sixth sound standard is the Roland Sound Canvas, and you have three options. An SC-55 midi synthesizer module with a MPU-401/AT interface ISA card, a SCC-1 sound card or a Sound Blaster 16 with a SCD-10 or 15 daugherboard. No path is particularly enviable but or the later games this can't be beat for midi.

The last sound card standard is the later Sound Blasters, the 16 and the AWE series. Get a AWE32 as it is compatible with the 16 and contains RAM banks for custom Sound Fonts. The AWE32 is uncommon but not rare.

Conclusion - Compatibility Costs

Reply 1 of 24, by eL_PuSHeR

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Interesting read.

The third graphics card for gaming was the Enhanced CGA built into the IBM PCjr. and copied in the Tandy 1000 line. PCjr.s aren't especially rare

PcJr may be common in the USA, but not in Europe. I have never seen one and I have been working with PCs since the XT times. Ditto for Tandy.

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Reply 6 of 24, by Great Hierophant

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IBM's CGA card has a RCA video output jack specifically for composite monitors, the kind the Apple II, Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64 all used (among others). It wasn't used very much, but some companies did use it. IBM's EGA card has two RCA video output jacks, although they were unusued. Composite monitors are either PAL or NTSC, and as the CGA came out in the United States, it used the NTSC colorburst signal.

Reply 7 of 24, by HunterZ

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Interesting thread. Sounds like I was lucky to get a 286 clone with EGA around 1986-7.

I would have liked to see a little more info on MCGA, as I've heard of it but don't know how it differs from VGA.

Also, I think I've seen some older games that differentiate between "composite" CGA and some other variant. Any idea what this is about?

About sound cards: It may also be worth mentioning that some sound cards around the SB16 era have on-board CD-ROM drive controllers. I've seen the SB16MCD, which supported several different brands of drive (with separate connectors for each on the board) for drives that were made before they all started being standard ATAPI/IDE. I've also seen later SB16's with only a standard ATAPI/IDE connector. Never use any of those, though, as I had a 486 with a VLB IDE controller card by then (forgot about that!).

Reply 8 of 24, by Great Hierophant

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In my view, VGA = MCGA + EGA. MCGA is an onboard graphics controller only for the PS/2 model 25 and 30 (with 8088s, not the later 286s.) It is really CGA plus a lot of good things. VGA is far more functional than MCGA. MCGA is only good for Mode 13h.

Reply 9 of 24, by Great Hierophant

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In my view, VGA = MCGA + EGA. MCGA is an onboard graphics controller only for the PS/2 model 25 and 30 (with 8088s, not the later 286s.) It is really CGA plus a lot of good things. VGA is far more functional than MCGA. MCGA is only good for Mode 13h.

I have attached a draft of a document I wrote a while ago but never found the right place to publish to assist people know more than they ever needed to about the classic PC hardware. It needs some work though.

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Reply 10 of 24, by QBiN

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Great Hierophant wrote:

monitors arnt pal or ntsc
+ cga cards never had a tv out

You are ignorant.

Wow. A bit harsh, no? 😳

I have no doubt that you have quite a grasp of the history of PC's and their components. Many of us do. However, I do find it dubious that anyone would start a thread not with a question or request for help, but with some grand expository about legacy hardware... Only to flame others who may have some misconceptions and aren't as much of a "guru" as yourself.

The truth is, we are all ignorant about certain things, if not many things. Unfortunately, you chose to disparage a member of this board outright. You didn't even attempt to correct his misunderstanding until he *asked* you too.

If you want to post something for the benefit of the whole. Great. Post it and let it be. On the other hand, we aren't really interested in anyone posting for sake of generating praise or some form of guru worship while he/she squashes all the peons. Nobody likes an elitist. Please treat the members of this board w/ a modicum of respect.

Reply 11 of 24, by MiniMax

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Monitors are not PAL, nor NTSC, nor SECAM.

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Reply 12 of 24, by Zup

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I'm afraid Great Hierophant isn't totally wrong. Some CGA cards had TV-Out. AFAIK, Sinclair PC200 had TV-Out, and a friend's Toshiba also had TV-Out.

Also, no monitor I ever saw has a TV input (but some TFT monitors), so making a monitor PAL, SECAM or NTSC compatible is a nonsense.

And I'm with QBiN... it was a very harsh opinion.

Reply 13 of 24, by HunterZ

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There are two types of monitors, and I think you guys are getting confused:
1. Modern computer monitors. These have VGA and/or DVI inputs and are not NTSC/PAL/SECAM because those are composite video standards.
2. Composite monitors. These have RCA inputs and are NTSC/PAL/SECAM-specific (although I've only seen NTSC ones because I've lived in the US my whole life). Modern composite monitors are usually in the form of cheap portable LCD displays for use with video game systems like the PSOne. Most modern TVs are composite monitors as they have RCA inputs.

I used to have several NTSC composite monitors that could only show shades of green. I used them as output devices for NTSC-only VCRs, Nintendos, Radio Shack Color Computer 2's (modified to have composite outputs), etc. (using RCA connections between the device and monitors).

Reply 15 of 24, by HunterZ

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Yeah. I just wasn't lucky enough to ever have either of those, so I couldn't be sure that they used composite output instead of RF switches or whatever.

Were there versions of the Amiga that could use VGA(-ish) monitors? If not then I must take this opportunity to thumb my nose at rabid Amiga fans, as no computer or console that is limited by TV resolutions can ever compete with VGA et al.

Reply 16 of 24, by Snover

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Can I use a VGA monitor on my Amiga?
The Amiga is not compatible with VGA or SVGA monitors as it is designed for use with TV signals. This may make it a perfect video machine but it really annoys everyone else. You can produce a screenmode compatible with VGA by using the VGA-Only monitor driver that is located in the Storage/Monitors/ drawer on your hard drive. However, you will not be able to display most games or programs that open their own screens. The only way to use a monitor is too either buy a multiscan monitor that can display the Amigas 15KHz scan rate, or get a graphics card so the display will be retargeted over to the monitor. A3000 owners can simply plug in any monitor (damn their eyes) because they have a flicker fixer BUILT IN. Amiga International have managed to solve this problem by officially licensing a flicker fixer designed to be plugged directly into the Amiga without any other specialist hardware. This retails for about £60-80 and can be found in the advertisement sections of most Amiga magazines.

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Reply 18 of 24, by fed1943

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I hope it is not off topic.
I have a monitor Samtron 72v(these thin without radiation).And I downloaded,not installed yet,the emulation for Amiga WinUAE,because I have a lot of Amiga´diskettes that I would like to put back in service.
Would that matches?
My thanks in advance.
Best regards,

just younger than computers