labman@ecr.mu.oz.au (Bruce Robertson) (04/12/91)
Hi, I am in need of some assistance being new to the PC world But I getting better knowledge all the time. We at the Uni require to update our PC's with SUPER VGA video. My question is are all SUPER VGA boards compatible with each other, such that if one manufacturers board fails I can plug in another manufacturers board and proceed with no problems in the software. Basically what I am getting at is this IS THERE A SUPER VGA STANDARD as there is for all the other IBM graphics/video adapters. OR is there just extensions made to the VGA standard such that there has been a divergence in specifications that make a universal SUPER VGA standard ust a pipe dream. If the later is the case in PC land then what is the best SUPER VGA card available that works with most of the software that is available. AND what are the specifications I must watch out for. Thanks in advance, Bruce Robertson | labman@gondwana.ecr.mu.OZ.AU Department of Engineering Computer Resources, | labman@128.250.1.63 C/o Faculty of Engineering, | Besides; It's not the Principle University of Melbourne, 3052. AUSTRALIA | of the thing, it's the money.
dlow@pollux.svale.hp.com (Danny Low) (04/17/91)
> My question is are all SUPER VGA boards compatible with > each other, such that if one manufacturers board fails > I can plug in another manufacturers board and proceed with > no problems in the software. No. VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) has a SuperVGA standard but it is new and incomplete. Right now any SuperVGA card you buy will be incompatible with any other SuperVGA card. You basically have to settle on a company and stick with them. The only good aspect is that many VGA cards use a common chipset (e.g. Paradise, Tseng or Headland) and are mostly compatible with each other for that reason. Danny Low "Question Authority and the Authorities will question You" Valley of Hearts Delight, Silicon Valley HP NPCD dlow@pollux.svale.hp.com
nan@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Nan Zou) (04/18/91)
dlow@pollux.svale.hp.com (Danny Low) writes: >> My question is are all SUPER VGA boards compatible with >> each other, such that if one manufacturers board fails >> I can plug in another manufacturers board and proceed with >> no problems in the software. >No. VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) has a SuperVGA >standard but it is new and incomplete. Right now any SuperVGA >card you buy will be incompatible with any other SuperVGA card. >You basically have to settle on a company and stick with them. >The only good aspect is that many VGA cards use a common chipset >(e.g. Paradise, Tseng or Headland) and are mostly compatible with each >other for that reason. It's true that different cards are not hardware compatible with each other. But I have seen some programs that have VESA SuperVGA autodetect without the use of any device drivers. Fractint is one them, I can put it in Super VGA mode without loading a specific video driver. -- Nan Zou | Bitnet : nan@ksuvm Kansas State University | Internet: nan@math.ksu.edu #include <std_disclaimer.h> | nan@matt.ksu.ksu.edu