DOS Days

ATI VGA Wonder+ and VGA Basic-16

1990 saw the release of the VGA Wonder+, the first to use ATI's new 2nd-generation graphics chip, the 28800. The key difference was its ability to address up to 1 MB of video memory.

Released 1990
Bus ISA 16-bit
Chipset ATi 28800-2, 28800-4 or 28800-5
Standards Hercules, CGA, EGA, VGA, and SVGA
Memory 256 KB, 512 KB or 1 MB DRAM
Ports 15-pin DSUB (RGB analogue)
9-pin DSUB (mono TTL)
VESA Feature connector
Bus mouse (non-Basic-16 cards)
Part # 1090010401, 109009500, 1090010910, 1090012220
FCC ID EXNVGADM2
Price At launch: $379/$479 (256K/512K), Jan 1991: $189/$229 (256K/512K)
See Also VGA Edge, VGA Integra

At launch, their new ATI28800 chipset claimed to offer speeds rivalling VRAM-based cards. With dual page mode memory access and dynamic CPU/CRT interleaving.

The RAMDAC was still external on this 2nd-generation, and the VGA Wonder+ used the Triad Semiconductor TR9C1710 that ran at 65 MHz as the VGA Wonder 16 series (VGA Wonder 256 and VGA Wonder 512) as well as the ATI18810-1 (a relabelled ICS1394) dot clock generator.

The VGA Basic-16 was a cut-down version of the VGA Wonder+ with no bus mouse port.

The VGA Wonder+ shared its BIOS code with other 28800 cards, including the VGA Basic-16, VGA Edge-8, VGA Edge-16 and VGA Integra, so these are interchangeable.

 

Board Revisions

No details are known on different revision of this card.

 

Competition

The VGA Wonder+

 

In the Media

"The VGA Wonder+ has three times the performance of its VGA competitors and delivers the performance of a VRAM card without the high cost, [Henry] Quan said, citing ATI benchmarks. ATI shelved a previously announced VRAM product due to VGA Wonder+ enhancements.

Speed gains come from page-mode memory access, dynamic CPU/CRT interleaving, and extensive buffering, according to Quan.

New display options include a non-interlaced 1,024 by 768 mode, an 800 by 600 interlaced mode specifically for IBM 8514 monitors, and 132-column support for all monitors.

Scheduled to ship June 15, the VGA Wonder+ costs $379 for 256K and $479 for 512K models."
InfoWorld, June 1990

 

Setting it Up

No configuration is required for the VGA Wonder+, with its auto-switching capability. The card came with a utility to force the display mode if necessary.


Downloads

Operation Manual
(missing)

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Original Utility Disk
(missing)

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VGA BIOS ROM
v1.03 (missing)

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DOS Drivers
15th September 1993

ATI VGA Wonder Series drivers for DOS. Includes utilities, a VESA driver, a mouse driver and software drivers for WordStar 3.31, 4.0 and 5.0, WordPerfect 4.1, 4.2, and 5.0.

Windows 3.1 Drivers
21st August 1992

ATI VGA Wonder Series drivers for Windows 3.1.
  

 

More Pictures