labc-4dc@web-1f.berkeley.edu (Erik Talvola) (02/28/89)
I have recently decided to purchase a "Super VGA" board, namely, the Orchid Pro Designer Plus, because of its very nice resolution and color (800x600x256), and the fact that it is a 16-bit board usable in an 8-bit bus (as a very nice net-user told me). My question is, what sort of monitor will I need to display 800x600x256 graphics? Many of the Multisync-type monitors I have seen say they will display 800x560 resolution, which I assume means that the bottom 40 lines will be cut off. This is not satisfactory. So, I would like to hear from people who have monitors which will properly display the full 800x600 resolution. Many thanks in advance. -- Erik Talvola | "It's just what we need... a colossal negative talvola@cory.berkeley.edu | space wedgie of great power coming right at us ..!ucbvax!cory!talvola | at warp speed." -- Star Drek
chasm@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Charles Marslett) (03/03/89)
In article <10433@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>, labc-4dc@web-1f.berkeley.edu (Erik Talvola) writes: > My question is, what sort of monitor will I need to display 800x600x256 > graphics? Many of the Multisync-type monitors I have seen say they will > display 800x560 resolution, which I assume means that the bottom 40 lines > will be cut off. This is not satisfactory. So, I would like to hear from > people who have monitors which will properly display the full 800x600 > resolution. Many thanks in advance. The 800x560 specification means that if you put a screen up you will have to go out of specification on either the horizontal or the vertical timing to get an 800x600 screen image. That means that (1) if it fails to do 800x600 the monitor will lose sync and either roll vertically or tear horizontally, and (2) if it does maintain sync, it probably will not have any problems with the loss of scan lines. Most card vendors (STB, whom I work for, Orchid, Video 7, Techmar, etc.) provide support for the most critical of the 800x560 monitors by having an 800x600 mode that runs at about 56 Hz vertical refresh rate and 35+ KHz horizontal scan rate. This is just within spec on both timings for the original Multisync from NEC. For the more critical users with better (more flexible) monitors, we also support a 60 Hz (flicker free, so called) display with a scan rate around 37 KHz. It complicates the issue, but it makes more people happy to have both modes. So flicker is the main issue, and support of a 36 or 37 KHz horizontal frequency is the main requirement to provide a 60 Hz 800x600 display. If the monitor will do that (I think the Multisync 2a is not supposed to, but it works well with our card, and the Sony and some others do specify support of such operation). Charles Marslett > > > -- > Erik Talvola | "It's just what we need... a colossal negative > talvola@cory.berkeley.edu | space wedgie of great power coming right at us > ..!ucbvax!cory!talvola | at warp speed." -- Star Drek =========================================================================== Charles Marslett STB Systems, Inc. <== Apply all standard disclaimers Wordmark Systems <== No disclaimers required -- that's just me chasm@killer.dallas.tx.us