I don't know how I let seven years go by since I bought this card... something about buying a house, a global pandemic, changing employment, having a family and a bazillion other projects... ah well.

(Excuse the slightly crooked memory chips... 😑 )

This is a CyberRex 128 VR 4MB VGA card based on the Avance Logic ALG25128. I don't know why exactly but the ALG25128 seems to be extremely rare. I have never seen another one either online or in person. This specific card may also be known as the Mirinae syLPHID 128, or possibly the CyberRex Wizard VGA. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but the old Avance Logic website says that this has a 128-bit memory interface (they also say 64-bit Interleaved), which I think would be unusual for a 2D-only graphics card from 1997. Given the good performance and compatibility of previous Avance Logic VGA chips, this should be a very solid card for all sorts of retro activities. The jack next to the VGA port is labeled VR3D, so it seems likely that this is a dedicated jack for 3D shutter glasses. I have some I will test with it soon. 😀

As for this particular card, I picked it up in a scrap lot way back in December of 2018 after trying to figure out what it was from a picture online. I tested it when I first got it and it worked but had some obvious issues. Some time later I found that it had some bent and loose legs on the main IC so I straightened those and reflowed the solder on them. It still had quirks after that, and diagnosing issues with what I thought was a common VGA card with a fancy sticker just wasn't a big priority at the time. So it went into the collection as just another oddity that I might some day tinker with.

Fast forward all these years and I realized that this is still the only ALG25128 card I've ever seen in person or seen pictured anywhere online outside of ads for this card. Recently I saw a 2024 post from Demiurge over on AmiBay looking for cards that were missing from vgamuseum... and he linked to my old thread from 6 years prior because it was still the only picture of an ALG25128 in the wild. So, I realized that there was only one reasonable thing I could do... dig the card out and obsessively research and tinker with it either until it functions flawlessly... or until I can't stand it anymore... and then post about it here! 🙃

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When I tested it again about a week and a half ago, I was having some graphical corruption issues at certain resolutions and decided to reflow the rest of the main chip as well as the four soldered memory chips. That fixed most of the issues but there are still a few that remain. It's hard to say which of these are "normal" for this card\driver and which are actual hardware problems.

1. The card loves to default to interlaced resolutions in Windows when I change resolutions until I specifically tell it to run at a certain refresh rate. I even edited the resolution + refresh rate combos listed in the driver's inf file (which are put into the registry) and yet it still thinks it's a good idea to default to interlaced resolutions until I manually pick a refresh rate. This is somewhat odd behavior for a from the late 90s in my experience. The drivers have their own refresh rate control panel but it doesn't seem to function properly in Windows 98SE. Likely just a driver bug.

2. This is very minor, possibly unrelated to anything, but the card reports 5MB in dxdiag under Windows 98SE with DX7.0a installed. It definitely has 2MB soldered and 2MB installed, so this is either a sign of something else wrong or it's just a driver\DirectX quirk. The vBIOS accurately shows 4096KB on startup.

3. At higher resolutions + bit depths and refresh rates I get vertical lines and graphical corruption on the desktop. The lines are always in the same locations with similar spacing.

800x600x24bit at 85Hz is perfect (website says 75Hz is max)
1024x768x16bit at 100hz is perfect (website says 70Hz is max)

1024x768x24bit at 60Hz some UI elements will show faint flickering vertical lines that only appear in certain areas on the screen...
1024x768x24bit at 70Hz or higher will get severe, vibrating verticle blue lines on the screen and artifacting. (website says 70Hz is max)

1280x1024x16bit at 60-70Hz mostly looks okay but has some horizontal distortion when I move windows around (website says 70Hz is max)
1280x1024x24bit gets faint lines in interlaced mode, and if I force it to 60Hz non-interlaced the screen gets really screwed up and the cursor is no longer aligned with the rest of the display. (manual says 1280x1024x24bit should only work at 43Hz interlaced)

Just to experiment, I added 800x600x24bit 100Hz and 120Hz to the available resolutions via the driver inf and it actually lets me choose them. At 100Hz it gets faint lines just like 1024x768x24bit at 60Hz. At 120Hz I get the same severe, vibrating verticle lines on the screen and artifacting as 1024x768x24bit at 70Hz. It is exactly the same. It seems like the issue occurs with the last 8 "bits" being enabled at higher refresh rates... but I don't really know how that works. If it only happened at resolutions outside the ones mentioned on the website I'd just assume it was the driver allowing resolutions that the card couldn't support. However, it should be able to do 1024x768x24bit at 70Hz without distortion.

It is worth noting that the artifacting does not progress or change as the card heats up. I can leave it running for an hour and it'll be exactly the same as when I first load Windows.

As far as solving these problems... mainly #3... I have removed the socketed memory chips (800x600x24bit should be okay with 2MB regardles of refresh rate), changed out the socketed memory chips for others, reflowed everything I could reflow on this card aside from the memory sockets (didn't bother with those since it has the issue with only 2MB installed too), checked continuity on every leg of the ALG25128 chip, verified there are no disconnected or shorted legs on any chips and the card does not have any aluminum electrolytic caps to go bad... out of desparation I even went as far as replacing the four soldered memory chips last night and absolutely nothing changed.

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Just focusing on the third problem since it is really the only major one, I see several possible explanations:

1. Is this a limitation of the card and the drivers are just sloppily put together and allowing me to choose settings that the chip was never meant to handle? This is possible, but it doesn't seem right since the official specs on the website say that the card can do 1024x768x24bit at 70Hz non-interlaced with 4MB,. It is interesting that this Polish article seems to state that these are the maximum resolutions of the card: 1024x768x16bit at 100Hz (exactly what works best on mine) and 1280x1024x8bit at 60Hz (which does work fine, though I can go a tad higher refresh rate at that res). To me, those specs don't seem right for a 4MB (128bit interlaced, apparently!) 2D card from 1997... so maybe they're talking about using it with just 2MB installed? Also, it contradicts what was posted on the official website. Still, if all I have to do is remove the offending resolutions from the registry and the card is "fixed" then, uh, great! Right? 😮

2. Is there an actual defect in the ALG25128 on this card? I was thinking RAMDAC, but I'm not sure if a RAMDAC issue would go away at lower bit-depths at higher refresh rates. Regardless of the exact cause, if some part of the chip is bad that would be unfortunate, since it is unobtainium. It could have been like this before I got it, or it could have happened from some of the chip legs being shorted out... I honestly don't remember if the bent ones were touching when I first turned it on before I noticed them... that was a long time ago! If I had another card to compare it to or more documentation I might be able to diagnose it better. What is sad is that Avance Logic actually had datasheets and reference designs for the 2564 and 25128 available on their website but they are long-gone now. If you can think of anyone that may have a copy of the old Avance Logic FTP or even just these files for some reason, please contact me or post here. They may have also made it to the Realtek FTP which shut down several years later. Possibly under ftp://ftp.realtek.com.tw/pub/avance .

3. Is this a driver issue? This would be unfortunate but at least it isn't a physical defect. The problem is I can find a total of three driver packages for this chip anywhere online, and two of those actually seem to contain the same driver version. I think this was the last product that Avance Logic released before being assimilated into Realtek, so it's possible that the drivers had huge bugs left in them and then the chip was abandoned.

4. Is there some kind of interference issue with the card? This crossed my mind as a possibility... Maybe it was a cheap card from an inexperienced brand and needs more filtering capacitors (there are unpopulated locations for eletrolytics) . Also, there is a decent gouge in a ground plane on the back of the card, but I don't know if this could hinder some kind of shielding required to give a clean image at higher resolutions. I have checked all of the circuits on the other side of gouge and there is nothing broken or shorted to ground as far as I can tell, so I doubt it is really causing any issues.

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I was really hoping I could make this post about a fully working card, but this is as far as I have been able to get with it. I have spent a rather embarassing amount of time working on this thing, swapping chips, reflowing solder, messing with the drivers, the registry, testing it on a different PC. Thankfully, if I keep the resolution and refresh rate within the range of what the card is happy with (800x600x24@85Hz, 1024x768x16@100Hz) the card works flawlessly and some preliminary testing in DOS tells me it's quite fast. If I get time I will post more on that later.

It is apparently the sole survivor of Avance Logic's 128bit graphics chip aspirations, the only card pictured from the Korean company CyberRex (?) and is an interesting little chunk of history.

I have also attached a zip file containing relevant information, an assortment of drivers and the BIOS file I dumped from the card (in vbi format from NSSI). There is also an .rtf document which contains a copy of the product info from the original Avance Logic website. The archived pages are pretty messed up with incorrectly applied background graphics, so this is a much more readable format if you want to read up on the card. I will also paste it below for those that just want to skim through it now.

All information copied from product pages on Avance Logic website archived in 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/19970418010836/h […]
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All information copied from product pages on Avance Logic website archived in 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/19970418010836/ht … com/product.htm

• ALG25128 Overview
◦ A highly advanced graphics and video processor fully integrated with RAMDAC and clock provides 128-bit performance. The ALG25128 represents the new benchmark in high-performance graphics by combing video acceleration, graphics functionality, and the ability to input/output live video data streams from MPEG and/or TV Decoders. Graphics only ASICS are yesterday's technology. The ALG25128 represents a departure from simple graphics features into the new world of Multimedia.
◦ Multimedia systems require more than just graphics, sound and CD-ROMs to be a successful consumer system. This new breed of computer needs to combine multiple technologies into an affordable package. MPEG software and hardware must work transparently with the graphics subsystem while being able to input/output television signals into the display subsystem. All of this must be accomplished with sold baseline graphics performance at a reasonable price to the consumer.
◦ The ALG25128 can be interfaced to the VideoWizard Pro to provide the ultimate video processing subsystem or the ALG4101 3D graphics chip for an advanced 3D graphics chip for an advanced 3D entertainment subsystem.
◦ For additional cost savings, system designers may take advantage of the chip's Unified System Memory support that allows the graphics frame buffer to share with system memory.
◦ ALg25128 Block diagram

Video Acceleration Built-in
• The chips include advanced video acceleration in the form of color space conversion and scaling. Color space conversion is used to convert YUV to RGB data and is necessary for software MPEG and AVI playback applications. Avance's technology allows tru-color video in 1024x768 with only 1MB DRAM vs up to 4MB for competing solutions.
• In order to play up to 30fps in full screen the ALG25128 uses advanced interpolated XY scaling technoloty. H/W interpolated scaling allows images to be scaled to full screen with no performance degradation while being displayed in true-color.
Advanced Video Functionality
• The ALG25128/ALG2564 takes video processing to a new level with its VAFC interface, Video Image Port, Interpolated H/W Scaling and Color Space Conversion, and ability to interface with the Video Wizard Pro Video Co-processor or ALG4101 3D Entertainment co-processor. The 8/16-bit image port allows for the external connection of TV decoders from Philips and Brooktree necessary to implement consumer TV/Graphics subsystems. Interpolated Scaling and Color Space Conversion are built into the ASIC allowing accelerated Video Playback of popular MPEG and AVI titles. The 16-bit VAFC port, in TV output mode, allows simultaneous anti-flickering NTSC/PAL interlaced video and high refresh rate non-interlaced graphics output. The video output can genlock and overlay to a live video source.

ALG25128/ALG2564 Technical Specifications
Hardware Feature
Resolution Colors Rate Mode Memory Chip
1600x1200 64K 43Hz Interlaced 4MB ALG25128
1280x1024 16.7M 43Hz Interlaced 4MB ALG25128
1280x1024 64K 70Hz Non-Interlaced 4MB ALG25128
1024x768 16.7M 70Hz Non-Interlaced 4MB ALG25128
1600x1200 256 43Hz Non-Interlaced 2MB ALG25128/ALG2564
1280x1024 256 75Hz Non-Interlaced 2MB ALG25128/ALG2564
1024x768 64K 70Hz Non-Interlaced 2MB ALG25128/ALG2564
800x600 16.7M 75Hz Non-Interlaced 2MB ALG25128/ALG2564
1024x768 256 100Hz Non-Interlaced 1MB ALG25128/ALG2564
800x600 256 100Hz Non-Interlaced 1MB ALG25128/ALG2564
800x600 64K 75Hz Non-Interlaced 1MB ALG25128/ALG2564
640x480 16.7M 75Hz Non-Interlaced 1MB ALG25128/ALG2564
640x480 64K 80Hz Non-Interlaced 1MB ALG25128/ALG2564
640x480 256 100Hz Non-Interlaced 1MB ALG25128/ALG2564

Multimedia and General Features
Feature Benefit
Integrated RAMDAC Lower implementation cost
Integrated Clock Fewer external components
Integrated Video MPEG &AVI acceleration
XY Intepolation Higher Frame Rate, Full Screen
Hi-Res True-color Video in 1MB Lower cost, highest quality
16-bit VAFC Interface TV Decoder input
Video Image Port Video Capture/External Decoders
128-bit Memory Interface Higher memory bandwidth
1MB - 4MB Support(ALG2564 max=2MB) Low cost to Hight Performance
Unified Memory Support Lower System Cost
PCI Burst Mode Support Faster performance
DDC 1&2 Support Monitor Auto Detect
Green PC Support Meets EPA Guildlines

Green PC Support
• Supports EPA Green PC including:
On (Full Power, 3.5-4 Watts)
• Standby (Half Power, 1.75-2 Watts)
• Sleep (Low Power, < 1 Watt)
• Resume Green PC support requires the VBE/PM compatible BIOS from Avance Logic.
PCI-bus Compatibility
Compatibile with PCI Specification 2.0/2.1 and:
• Acer Labs Chip Sets
• OPTI Chip Sets
• Intel (Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Aries, triton) Chip Sets
• Symphony Chip Sets
• Contag Chip Sets
• UMC Chip Sets
• VIA Chip Sets
• Most PCI Compatibile Chip Sets
Memory Compatibility
Support the following:
• 64-bit Interleaved Memory Interface
• 128K x 8
• 128K x 16
• 256K x 4
• 256K x 8
• 256K x 16
• 45/60/70ns Support Standard
• Fast Page or EDO DRAM
• 1MB, 2MB, and 4MB Support (ALG2564 max=2MB)
• Integral Display FIFO
• Multiple-level Read/Write Cache

Hardware Graphics Functions
• 8, 15, 16, 24,32 bits-per-pixel Graphics
• Full 256 Windows ROPS Support
• Rectangle BitBlt
• Rectangle Fill and Copy
• Monochrome Color Expansion
• Line Draw
• Display List Polyline
• Hardware Cursor
• Windows Mask Map
Operating System / Application Drivers
• Windows 3.1
• Windows '95
• Windows NT
• OS/2 2.1
• OS/2 WARP
• AutoCAD Display List
• AutoCAD ADI 4.0, 4.1
• P-CAD
• VersaCAD
• CADKey
• EasyCAD
• Lotus 123 /Symphony
• Ventura Publisher 2.0
• Wordperfect
• Wordstar
• Framework
• VESA Bios Extensions
• Xing MPEG Decoder
• Mediamatics MPEG Decoder
• Indeo
• CinePak
• QuicktimeMemory Interface

If anyone has an ALG25128 card (or a stand alone ALG2564: not one on a FireGL), or can dig up any other information that hasn't been posted in this thread or the one from 2018, please post here. I'd also LOVE to get my hands on an archive of the old Avance Logic FTP, or at least the reference design files listed on the old website.

The files were originally labeled:
25128dm.exe
ap9548b.exe
ap9535c.exe

These and all of the other graphics related files on the old site were listed under:
ftp://avance.com/GRAPHIC

(Also, going to end this with some of the markings from the card just to help it come up in a Google search if anyone is ever looking: SMD4128VR , FSK-961109-W14M, CR019704-SW7987 )