http://ipggi.wordpress.com/2008/03/16/dosbox- … es/#comment-105

This article has been revised for DOSBox 0.73

If you have ever attacked the DOSBox.conf (configuration) file you might have encounter a not so obvious setting for DOSBox, MACHINE=VGA machine=svga_s3. For running games made during or after 1992 this setting is not all that important. But for many PC games that were created during the 1980’s this setting can be critical in maximising the best visual and even audio output the game has to offer.

By default DOSBox has the MACHINE setting set to VGA svga_s3. This is not only visually the best setting available, it is also the most compatible. If you read the commented section in the settings file as shown below it states machine — The type of machine tries to emulate: hercules, cga, tandy, pcjr, vga, vgaonly, svga_s3, svga_et3000, svga_et4000, svga_paradise, svga_nolfb, svga_oldvbe. Thats many different options that can dramatically change the way your game looks and plays, so in this tutorial I will explain what these different machines mean. I will list the different graphical display types for the IBM PC format in chronological order including those that are not directly supported by DOSBox. This should not only give you and overall understanding of what these machines mean but it might also help you in determining the best settings for your early DOS games and software.