ATI VGA Wonder
The VGA Wonder graphics card was released in 1988. This card was ATi's first Super VGA-compatible card, making use of their brand new 18800 chipset.
A VGA Wonder with 256 KB of video memory could run at a maximum resolution of 1024x768 [interlaced] in 16 colours, but if you wanted 256 colours the maximum resolution was the standard VGA 640 x 480. It you were lucky to have 512 KB of video memory, it would provide you with up to 800 x 600 in 256 colours, i.e. "Super VGA".
The layout of the card is identical to the EGA Wonder 800+, showing that these two cards were designed at the same time. It is probably for this reason that the VGA Wonder does not have the 26-pin VGA Feature Connector found on other VGA cards of the time, which would have provided access to pre-RAMDAC [digital] output signals for expansion boards.
You could probably convert an EGA Wonder 800+ to a VGA Wonder by adding the RAMDAC and a handful of discrete components, and updating the ROM BIOS firmware.
The eight 41464 DRAM video memory chips were soldered-in, so you did not have any expansion capability if you bought the 256 KB version.
It used an onboard EEPROM chip (the Samsung KM93C46 near the top-left corner) to store its configuration settings, and had monitor auto-sensing, so had no DIP switches to set this up.
It used the same external RAMDAC as the earlier EGA Wonder VIP in the form of the Inmos G171S that ran at 35 MHz. An alternative model of this RAMDAC was the Inmos G171P.
Worth mentioning is that at least three different video cards got the basic branding of 'VGA Wonder', and while they are evolutions of this first card that got the moniker, they offer different capabilities. A later card, sometimes called VGA Wonder 16, was the one that came with a bus mouse port (and was bundled with a Logitech bus mouse) - this first version did not. Reviews at the time also quoted the VGA Wonder running at 800% faster than an IBM VGA if used in a 16-bit slot - this too refers to the 16-bit ISA version of the VGA Wonder, not this 8-bit one, which was still fast at about 400% faster than IBM's, but doesn't operate at twice the speed in a 16-bit slot.
A cost-reduced version of the VGA Wonder was released called the VGA Edge 8 (also sold as VGA Wonder 256), which came with 256 KB RAM.
Board Revisions
Just one revision of the VGA Wonder is known, Version 1.
Competition
In the Media
"I've always liked ATI video adapters and have used several of their cards for years. Now, their VGA Wonder comes along and reaches extended VGA modes.Using its 9-pin digital port with EGA, RGB or TTL monochrome monitors, VGA Wonder handles conventional EGA, CGA, MDA and Hercules Graphics modes. Using its 15-pin analog port with a multifrequency monitor, VGA Wonder handles all those plus 16-color 640x480, 800x600 and 1024x 768 resolutions or 256-color 320x200, 640x400, 640x480 and 800x600 resolutions. However, a 512K VGA Wonder is needed for 256 colors at 640x480 or 800x600 resolutions. PS/2 8514, PS/2 color and PS/2 monochrome monitors display subsets of the multifrequency monitor's modes.
VGA Wonder has no jumpers or switches, so installation is simple. It fits an 8-bit or 16-bit computer expansion slot, for which the card automatically configures itself An 8-bit slot is appropriate for PC or PC-XT computers, but a 16-bit slot and data path provide faster displays for PC-AT or 286/386 computers.
VGA Wonder configures itself to the connected monitor when powered up the first time, but the configuration is determined by connector pin arrange- ments and may not always be ideal for a particular monitor. An old NEC Multi- Sync configured as a PS/2 color monitor, while a new Princeton Ultra 14 monitor configured as a PS/2 8514. Neither provided a full range of display modes, but ATI software let me reconfigure each monitor manually as though it was a MultiSync or MultiSync Plus to access all possible reso-lutions and colors. I used VGA Wonder's 9-pin digital port only long enough to see that it worked. Other users may appreciate the digital capability as a first step while upgrading hardware, but I wanted the card's highest capabilities immediately and switched to the 15-pin analog port quickly.
This card uses "interlacing" like IBM's 8514 system for 1024x768 displays and does an excellent job of it. However, not all display modes are available on all monitors. The better the monitor, the better the card's performance. My old NEC MultiSync (not a MultiSync II or MultiSync XL) could get at all modes, but I had to readjust size, position and vertical hold controls whenever display modes changed. While not unusual, that was enough trouble to make me replace the monitor. A Princeton Ultra-14 monitor worked beautifully, in part because it had a frequency range wide enough to ac- commodate the VGA Wonder's top 35.5-kHz horizontal and 87-Hz vertical sync signals for analog monitors. And this particular monitor's automatic display adjustments eliminated fiddling with monitor controls for mode changes.
The 512K VGA Wonder is fast. Under ideal conditions, ATI claims it's up to 800 percent faster than an IBM VGA card in a 16-bit slot and up to 400 percent faster in an 8-bit slot. Testing programs I use report operation at 1.96 to 2.8 times faster than a regular PC-AT video card, but other adapters have tested at only a small fraction of the nominal PC-AT video speed. ATI says VGA Wonder is totally compatible with IBM's VGA hardware architecture at the register level. One test program I tried found no incorrect register values and confirmed full com- patibility. Incidentally, the same program said ATI's older VIP card had 136 "incorrect" BIOS register values and wasn't register-level compatible. I found only one program that didn't like the VGA Wonder. But Sir-Tech's "Seven Spirits of RA" has given me trouble with many video adapters, so I blame the software, not the VGA Wonder card.
New video adapters, especially extended-VGA types, suffer from shortages of software support for their highest displays. It takes time for soft- ware developers to provide drivers for new cards, and hardware developers rarely have enough drivers. VGA Won- der is no exception. It handles conventional resolutions up to 640x480 and 16 colors without special considerations, but few commercial programs have drivers in extended VGA modes yet.
ATI's own drivers give specific modes for Autodesk programs, Lotus programs, Ventura Publisher, the Windows environment and the GEM environment. For example, ATI has 800x 600 16-color and 1024x768 4-color drivers for Windows but no 1024x768 16-color driver, which hampers many Windows-based graphics products.
I had trouble with ATI's driver installation routine for Ventura Publisher. ATI personnel say it works for them, but I was unsuccessful in ten attempts to install 1024x768 Ventura drivers (800x600 Ventura installations worked). I eventually installed drivers manually, but I only got a 1024x768 noncolor mode to work for Ventura Publisher 2.0. On the other hand, many programs have 800x560 drivers for ATI's VIP card. Although not recom-mended by ATI, those often are usable with the VGA Wonder. With a quality monitor, 800x600 displays are magnificent for Windows and Ventura Publisher. The displays are sharp and free of distortion or flicker.
VGA Wonder is a powerful video adapter. Although not compatible with extended VGA software drivers for Orchid, Tseng or Paradise cards, it won't be long before program developers provide full VGA Wonder support as they've done for other ATI products. That makes the VGA Wonder a product to grow into instead of outgrowing."
Online Today, June 1989
The VGA Wonder ran well in our compatibility software test suite. PC Paintbrush, Lotus 1-2-3, Windows 386, and Microsoft Word 4.0 ran well. The VGA Wonder had no trouble running with Microsoft OS/2 as well. We did note one minor annoyance: Each time we were in Autocad or 1-2-3 in VGA mode, our Multisync lost its vertical-hold adjustment at the start of a drawing or graphic. We have seen this in other cards; it requires just a simple readjustment of the monitor to fix. As the VGA Wonder has no trouble running our software, we rate it excellent in compatibility.
Resolutions supported by the VGA Wonder include Hercules, CGA, EGA, and all VGA modes. With 256K you can reach all resolutions the boards offers: 1,024 by 768 with four colors, 800 by 600 with 16 colors, and 640 x 400 in 256 colors. With the VGA Wonder's 512K memory, the card adds more colors to each resolution, including 640-by-480 resolution in 256 colors, 800 by 600 in 256 colors, and 1,024 by 768 in 16 colors. Resolution earns an excellent.
In our speed tests the VGA Wonder performed in the middle of the pack. When compared against the boards in our last 16-bit VGA board comparison and the two others tested here (AST-VGA Plus and Orchid Prodesigner Plus), the VGA Wonder was slightly slow in our one distinguishable test, Word 4.0 scrolling. (It required 39 seconds to complete.) We rate its speed satisfactory.
The long list of drivers included with the VGA Wonder starts with a 132-column-by-44-row text driver for Lotus 1-2-3. For Windows 1.03 and 2.x there are 800-by-600 and 1,024-by-768 drivers. Autocad, Versions 2.6, 9, and 10 have drivers for 800 by 600 with 16 colors and 1,024 by 768 with four and 16 colors. Autoshade has its own set of drivers in 640 by 400, 640 by 480, and 800 by 600 (with 256 colors). We had no trouble running the 132-column driver included for 1-2-3. ATI does not include any Windows 386 drivers. The VGA Wonder earns a very good for special drivers.
Along with being the only board to come with a mouse port and mouse, ATI includes the longest list of software utilities with the board. There is a program to check for older, incompatible BIOSes in PC systems; a Clearscreen utility; setup and configuration programs give the user flexibility in setting up the VGA Wonder with different monitors and allow the user to set the card into any one of its modes if needed; another utility runs a check on your systems and creates a file that lists valuable information, such as the DOS type and revision you're running and your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Of course, there is also a mouse driver.
We found setup for the VGA Wonder fairly basic. There are no DIP switches to set on the card, although you must run the setup utility to assure that the VGA Wonder can send the right signals for your monitor type. If you have a multi-scanning monitor and don't run the setup utility, the VGA Wonder will assume your monitor is a PS/2 analog display. This will keep the card from running multiscan-only resolutions like the 132-column Lotus drivers. Setting up the VGA Wonder should take an average user 10 to 15 minutes. The Logitech mouse plugs into a port at the back of the VGA Wonder. Once the mouse driver is installed, the mouse is ready to go. Setup for the VGA Wonder earns a good score."
InfoWorld, 20 March 1989
Setting it Up
There is no hardware configuration required for the VGA Wonder - just run the setup utility on the provided disk to use extended modes.
Downloads
Operation Manual First Edition |
Original Utility Disk Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
Original Utility Disk Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
DOS Drivers 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 ATI VGA Wonder Series drivers for Windows 3.1. |
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VGA BIOS ROM Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
VGA BIOS ROM Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
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