ISA VGA PCBs are common as fleas on eBay and other channels. Simply click BIN. Good luck!

Yeah, I would not doubt even crap chips like Realtek ones on a 16-bit slot would still be able to outperform the EGA Wonder restricted to an 8-bit bus.

PeterLI wrote:

CGA/EGA monitors are exceedingly rare. Most common survivors are IBM 5153s / 5154s. Both command $200 to $500 a piece usually.

The Commodore 1084S/Philips CM8833 is quite common as well. Mostly the go-to monitor for C128 and Amiga, but it is CGA-compatible.
You can use EGA on it as well, but only in 200-line mode, not in 350-line mode.
However, most classic games use the 320x200 EGA mode, so it may be good enough for your needs.

Scali wrote:

chrisNova777 wrote:

im wondering what i can do to increase its performance.. should i get a different ISA video card?

I would hold on to that EGA card though, because EGA is a lot more rare than VGA is. Or if you don't want it, then I'm interested 😀

are u still interested Scali?
i cant seem to find any CGA/EGA monitors in my area.. i had found a few but some prices i was quoted made me laugh.

chrisNova777 wrote:

i found this manual to the ega wonder card […]
Show full quote

i found this manual to the ega wonder card

it says it supports vga modes? does that mean it might work with some type of adapter to connect it to a VGA LCD (i have mostly samsung VGA LCDs)

what are my options here.. do i have to find + buy an "RGB" monitor to actually use the 386?? i havent even booted it up yet....
im so curious...

if the card supports VGA modes.. cant i just get a cable like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/10Ft-D-Sub-DB15-15pin … -UAAOSwo0JWLY5y
and connect it up?
(10Ft D-Sub DB15 15pin Male to DB9 9pin Male VGA Multisync Monitor Cable)

im still looking for an answer to this question.. i have 4:3 ratio lcd called "samsung Syncmaster 701N"
does anyone know if an adapter will work?? is syncmaster the same as multisync? im guessing no?

matze79 wrote:

There is some Secret about the 8900 Series. […]
Show full quote

There is some Secret about the 8900 Series.

Get this one:

Its a 8900D-R ISA with 32bit Memory.
Speed equals to ET4000.

PCBBench on 486DX4 100Mhz (2x50) PCChips M919 without L2 Cache.

Trident 8900D-R ISA 32bit RAM, 1Mb - (Mode 100) - 7.3 fps
Trident 8900D-R ISA 32bit RAM, 1Mb - (VGAMODE) - 18.1 fps

7.3 fps is pretty good with a ISA Card.

ET4000 in my other System only scores about 6.3 fps in pcpbench (Mode 100) (AM5x86 133, 4x33 / 256Kb L2).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Trident-Video-card-IS … c8AAOSw~gRV3zgZ

is this the same?? still haven got this machine up + running due to lack of composite or EGA monitor;(

chrisNova777 wrote:

chrisNova777 wrote:

i found this manual to the ega wonder card […]
Show full quote

i found this manual to the ega wonder card

it says it supports vga modes? does that mean it might work with some type of adapter to connect it to a VGA LCD (i have mostly samsung VGA LCDs)

what are my options here.. do i have to find + buy an "RGB" monitor to actually use the 386?? i havent even booted it up yet....
im so curious...

if the card supports VGA modes.. cant i just get a cable like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/10Ft-D-Sub-DB15-15pin … -UAAOSwo0JWLY5y
and connect it up?
(10Ft D-Sub DB15 15pin Male to DB9 9pin Male VGA Multisync Monitor Cable)

im still looking for an answer to this question.. i have 4:3 ratio lcd called "samsung Syncmaster 701N"
does anyone know if an adapter will work?? is syncmaster the same as multisync? im guessing no?

Yeah, you are guessing correctly:

Scali wrote:

The big problem with that is that the arcade world thinks that CGA/EGA is the same as the analog RGB output by most old arcade m […]
Show full quote

The big problem with that is that the arcade world thinks that CGA/EGA is the same as the analog RGB output by most old arcade machines and consoles. It is not.

"The CGA outputs from those arcade game board or older Amiga computers can now be output a desktop LCD monitor for display."

Erm no? An Amiga outputs analog RGB, which has nothing to do with CGA. The signal is basically the same as VGA, just at a lower frequency (no line-doubling).

As mentioned often enough before, a box like this works, but only if you include a custom DAC circuit to convert CGA/EGA's RGBI signals to the proper analog RGB signals.

And:

alexanrs wrote:

The signals are different. Building a DAC (to turn digital RGBi to analog RGB) is somewhat easy and can be done on a perfboard, but that is only half of the job: while there is an odd monitor here and there, the majority of monitors DO NOT support 15.7kHz video (CGA video modes) or 21.8kHz (EGA video modes), only 31kHz (VGA) and up. VGA cards circumvent that issue by scandoubling the signal, so a 320x200 video mode is sent as a 320x400 mode with each line being sent twice. A passive adapter will not cut it then, and you'd need an special scandoubler device, like the one used to connect old arcades to modern screens.
By the way, I have never seen those adapters you've shown, but they are probably meant for monitors that were made back when the PC world was transitioning to VGA. Those monitors were made to accept EGA/CGA signals as well as VGA.
And yeah, the RCA jack is most likely a composite signal. But do not think using Windows with that will be a nice experience.

And in very brief form:

h-a-l-9000 wrote:

> "what types of displays will work with a 9pin EGA graphics card?"+

Monochrome, CGA, EGA. Or a VGA Multisync with digital input (Only some really old VGA monitors have that).

thank you!

would a commodore composite monitor be a good match for this ega wonder card?
such as a commodore 1702 or 1802 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTAXZIyESSI

No, you want a monitor with TTL input. Many of the other Commodore monitors have that, either via a 9-pin DSUB or 8-pin DIN input.

so the video quality of the 9pin will be far superior to that of the composite?.. this sucks.. i cant win! 🤣

Yep... just get a VGA card?

And even then, not all TTL monitors are EGA compatible (some are CGA only - you'll be restricted to lower resolutions). IMHO EGA has little practical value: gets the caveats from both CGA (relying on TTL monitors) and VGA (incomplete CGA compatibility - don't know how the EGA Wonder fares). There is nothing an EGA card can run that a VGA/SVGA card cannot, and those have the advantage of working with modern monitors.

it has little practical value yes ill agree with you there
but my interest has more to do with the fact that.. i was gaming on DOS in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 when i was 8, 9, 10, 11 years old and
i cant tell u how excited i was to get an EGA graphics card! (pretty sure it was a "paradise" or "Trident" card i remember i bought it in Midland Ontario from an Amiga Store there with my dad) it was a huge difference in the games and its a very powerful memory for me to remember just how excited i was to get that graphics card and couldnt wait to get home to install it + power up whatever game i was playing. probably Space Quest II or Police Quest. those monitors have a certain interlaced look to them, i remember staying up very late when my parents thought i was sleeping with all the lights off and totally fixated on my RBG EGA monitor.

I didnt have an IBM branded system, like i mentioned on other threads, my computers back then were TANDY's.
we had a TANDY1000 at home and my dad had a TANDY 3000 at his store that i used there.
we had a lot of different models, my dad kept trading them in + upgrading to better models because he
had owned + operated a radio shack store franchise.

i still miss "Radio Shack" it really sucks that its now called "The Source"!!!!

maybe i should just buy a tandy system complete with RGB monitor!

Complete Tandy 1000 setups are very common on eBay US. And listed on Craigslist US frequently as well.

alexanrs wrote:

There is nothing an EGA card can run that a VGA/SVGA card cannot, and those have the advantage of working with modern monitors.

Agree with you, but with a CGA/EGA monitor you get single-scan scanlines, whereas VGA is double-scanned in low-res modes. Gives the picture a different, more retro look.

No.
This is 8900C 😀 with slow RAM Interface.

Simply look at the RAM Chips.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/151926910792?euid=3a50 … af0ce189dc&cp=1

i bought this card for 15$ us 😀
hopefully its decent!!!

hey guys so i have VGA in my 386 box..
now im asking myself.. maybe i should just upgrade this box to a 486 cpu.
how do i know if my motherboard will take a 486 cpu or not?
is there any way to determine this in software tests? because i dont know the model or manufacturer of this particular motherboard

i understand that configuring the cpu properly usually requires setting jumpers on the board.
so i would probably have to identify the motherboard before attempting to swap the existing 386dx40 cpu for a 486, correct?

heres the image i took of the motherboard:
download/file.php?id=20808&mode=view

it has some toshiba chips on it.. amibios..
the unbroken seal on the cpu is dated may 1993

Yours has a Toshiba chipset. Very interesting. Could you run some benchmarks on your system for us? Speedsys and doom timedemo3 in full screen would be nice.

Post your 386 Speedsys results here

Also, please remove the barrel battery to prevent a battery acid spill.

BTW, your board does not take true 486 CPUs, but it will likely accept a Cyrix 486DLC (a 386 with 1kb internal cache).

hey there anonymous coward;
i didnt see this msg untill just now..

i was thinking that it probably didnt take a 486 because of the date on the chip..being may 1993. i would have thought they would put a 486 if they could.. at least an SX... but they probably couldnt so they put a 386DX40.. the highest it could go??

i could run some benchmarks if u would take the time to familiarize me with the programs and methods involved...
ive never done such a thing. im more musically + graphically inclined. i write a bit of code.. the only benchmarking im familiar with in the last few years is geekbench2 for systems originating from the 2002-2012 time periods ive not done any benchmarking on the old systems.
i had an ISA network card (d-link de220?) lined up that i was going to get from a guy on craigslist classifieds but i wrote him back and he said his mom thru the cards in the garbage 😮