This site may be of help: http://gona.mactar.hu/DOS_TESTS/
Also the GX2 exist in PCI if you want to stick with the Virge, for instance here: http://www.a1usedcomputers.com.au/shop/prodVi … sp?idproduct=29
wrote:This site may be of help: http://gona.mactar.hu/DOS_TESTS/
Also the GX2 exist in PCI if you want to stick with the Virge, for instance here: http://www.a1usedcomputers.com.au/shop/prodVi … sp?idproduct=29
I like the Virge because it's the only card I've found so far that doesn't have problems with any DOS games I've tried. The other cards I've tried are some Cirrus Logic 1MB (has vertical lines on LCDs in certain resolutions, most notably EGA), ATI Rage II+ (has problems with many games), and Tseng ET6000 (has problems with many games). That being said, if compatibility can be ensured, I am open to switching to something else.
If there's nothing better, I'll just stick with the Virge/VX and live with the low resolution in Windows.
Depending on what you want to do with your retrobox, either a Matrox G200 or a Tseng Labs ET6000 (or was it 4000?).
Wouldn't 800x600 look just as good?
wrote:Depending on what you want to do with your retrobox, either a Matrox G200 or a Tseng Labs ET6000 (or was it 4000?).
I've read that Matrox cards have issues with Commander Keen, and I already have an ET6000. The ET6000 has issues with Commander Keen and Jazz Jackrabbit.
wrote:Wouldn't 800x600 look just as good?
Indeed. I'll probably just end up living with this.
Update: I've found this datasheet on the Virge/VX, and the second page seems to suggest that it should be capable of up to 81 Hz at 1600x1200. If I'm reading the chart correctly though, I need to turn off the "Streams Processor". This would explain why my pixel clock was ~135 MHz and my refresh rate ~50 Hz. So how do I turn it off?
This would not be done manually, and imho it means there will be only 50 sps left for drawing non RGB stuff like YUV and cursor. SP clock is not ramdac clock.
A great card for high desktop resolutions is the old FireGL (3D Labs Permedia 2). It could make my old Syncmaster 17GLsi do resolutions beyond FullHD, but had several issues with games, specially DOS ones. These issues could be fixed by using Univbe, but for some reason Univbe made all my different systems to hang after a couple of minutes playing.
That would be FireGL 1000 Pro (I am looking long time for non-Pro), All Permedia 2 cards with same amount of memory should do the same.
I would not expect the VX to perform very well in 16x12 anyway.
Did some more tests with my Virge cards, but this time on my K6-3 machine, running Win98SE. And I didn't bother with the Virge/325 anymore and tested a Virge GX2 AGP card instead.
The DX/GX cards worked at 60 Hz up to 1152x864, but 1280x1024 and 1600x1200 switched to interlaced modes (87i Hz/46.6 KHz, 98i Hz/63.7 KHz).
The GX2 has normal 60 Hz modes all the way up to 1600x1200, but, as already mentioned, the signal quality is rather poor. High-Res DOS/VESA modes still are interlaced, however.
I'm still not sure whether this is a hardware limitation or a software thing. The interlaced VESA modes may be there for compatibility with older monitors, but under Windows 9x there doesn't seem to be a reason for this behaviour.
On another thought, could this have something to do with VGA ID pin sensing/DDC monitor auto detection?
