imj502@csc.anu.edu.au (01/20/91)
G'Day,
Would some kind soul(s) out there be kind enough to tell me if there are
any difficulties in puttung a VGA card into an old XT? Are there any
things that I should specify when buying the card, other than it is for
an XT.
Thanks
Ian
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Ian Jamie, Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University,
Canberra, Australia
imj502@csc.anu.edu.au or
jamie@rsc.anu.edu.aubaer@uwovax.uwo.ca (01/20/91)
In article <1991Jan20.110601.3963@csc.anu.edu.au>, imj502@csc.anu.edu.au writes: > G'Day, > Would some kind soul(s) out there be kind enough to tell me if there are > any difficulties in puttung a VGA card into an old XT? Are there any > things that I should specify when buying the card, other than it is for > an XT. > Thanks > Ian I plopped a VGA card without any difficulty into an old Zenith Z-158 XT a year ago. I had to set the system-board DIP switch from "mono" to "colour" (sorry: "color" for American readers). Although "colour" meant little more than CGA (perhaps less) when the machine was originally manufactured, my cheap VGA card had no trouble providing full service in all VGA modes. Many VGA cards today are 16-bit cards, and of course the slots on XT's are only 8-bit. So getting a slightly cheaper 8-bit card might make sense. Still, many 16-bit cards can work in 8-bit mode, so if you are planning an upgrade in the future (in which you'd retrieve the card, although perhaps little else, from your XT in constructing a newer machine), you might want to think about this. If you put a 16-bit card in an 8-bit slot, the last set of contacts (8-bit cards have one set, 16-bit cards have two) "hangs over" empty space in your machine. On a few 8-bit machine with "tight" designs, this might not be possible. Suffice it to say that I had no problem putting a 16-bit VGA card into the 8-bit slot of my XT. Check first though: the VGA card's manual should discuss 8-bit operation (e.g., "auto-sensing" on a card like ATI's, or some DIP-switch arrangement). Again, if you never intend to pull the card out of your XT, go with an 8-bit card; it'll be marginally cheaper. Douglas Baer, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada N6A 5C2 Internet: BAER@UWO.CA Bitnet: BAER@UWOVAX
2fmndiffer@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (01/28/91)
In article <1991Jan20.110601.3963@csc.anu.edu.au>, imj502@csc.anu.edu.au writes: > G'Day, > Would some kind soul(s) out there be kind enough to tell me if there are > any difficulties in puttung a VGA card into an old XT? Are there any > things that I should specify when buying the card, other than it is for > an XT. > Thanks > Ian > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The phrase that comes to mine when I see this is "Why bother?" The card may very well have more memory on it than the motherboard! Actually, all you have to worry about is: is the VGA card an 8-bit or 16 bit (depending on if your CPU is an 8088 or an 8086 respectively), and whether or not it will fit in your XT's case. Some cards are designed to fit in full-size or tower cases, and these cards will not fit into XT cases.
jdb@reef.cis.ufl.edu (Brian K. W. Hook) (01/28/91)
In article <28193.27a37d5c@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> 2fmndiffer@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: >In article <1991Jan20.110601.3963@csc.anu.edu.au>, imj502@csc.anu.edu.au writes: >> G'Day, >> Would some kind soul(s) out there be kind enough to tell me if there are >> any difficulties in puttung a VGA card into an old XT? Are there any >> things that I should specify when buying the card, other than it is for >> an XT. Also be sure and make sure that your ROM BIOS can handle EGA graphics. Some (pre-1982) BIOSes couldn't deal with enhanced graphics. Replacing the chip is easy enough. I know there is a way to get a dump of your BIOS using BASIC, but I forgot. Almost all VGA manuals have this method listed and will list any problems that may occur when trying to install the card in an XT. Most 16-bit boards that I know of are jumper selectable to 8-bit anyway. Brian
wilsonbr@buster.cps.msu.edu (Brian R Wilson) (01/29/91)
In article <28193.27a37d5c@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> 2fmndiffer@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: >In article <1991Jan20.110601.3963@csc.anu.edu.au>, imj502@csc.anu.edu.au writes: >> G'Day, >> Would some kind soul(s) out there be kind enough to tell me if there are >> any difficulties in puttung a VGA card into an old XT? Are there any >> things that I should specify when buying the card, other than it is for >> an XT. >> Thanks >> Ian >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >The phrase that comes to mine when I see this is "Why bother?" The card may >very well have more memory on it than the motherboard! > >Actually, all you have to worry about is: is the VGA card an 8-bit or 16 bit >(depending on if your CPU is an 8088 or an 8086 respectively), and whether or >not it will fit in your XT's case. Some cards are designed to fit in full-size >or tower cases, and these cards will not fit into XT cases. Actually, I have an XT with a paradise VGA card in it. I use a IBM 8513 (PS/2 type) monitor, and I have never had a single glitch yet. One more thing to add... Don't worry about adding on to an XT. I currently have a 286 accelerator board, 2nd Hard disk (Hard Card), Disk cache, and a micrsoft PS/2 mouse(with anh adapter to swith to XT 9-pin form, all along with my VGA monitor. I couldn't be more happy (honestly the speed is slow, but I'm a college student with a limited budget.) XT equiptment is becoming very available, and cheap too. I recommend checking with any large corporations or businesses for equiptment they are selling, which they are replacing with 386 machines. If you have any troubles, feel free to write. I'm sure I can help. Brian (wilsonbr@buster.cps.msu.edu) P.S.: Just so I don't get flamed... If you have the means (money or business) I highly recomend dumping the XT for a better machine (at least a 386sx). .
howard@kcl-cs.UUCP (JR Howard) (01/30/91)
In article <28193.27a37d5c@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> 2fmndiffer@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: >In article <1991Jan20.110601.3963@csc.anu.edu.au>, imj502@csc.anu.edu.au writes: >> Would some kind soul(s) out there be kind enough to tell me if there are >> any difficulties in puttung a VGA card into an old XT? Are there any >> things that I should specify when buying the card, other than it is for >> an XT. > >Actually, all you have to worry about is: is the VGA card an 8-bit or 16 bit >(depending on if your CPU is an 8088 or an 8086 respectively), and whether or >not it will fit in your XT's case. Some cards are designed to fit in full-size >or tower cases, and these cards will not fit into XT cases. Woooooooow, rewind - that's just a tad of a typo. Incase you just thought the universe had rearranged itself - XT machines (8088 or 8086) only ever have 8bit slots - the comment about the size is true though. Check, or its out with the nail-file! JR