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Re: OFF TOPIC:Graphics card -ISA.



On Sun, 8 Feb 1998, Liran Zvibel wrote:

> Hello,
> I know it's a bit (well, a way) off topic but I I've tried some other
> places and didn't have much luck.
> 
> I'm still using an old 486 that has only ISA slots, I would like to buy a
> new graphics card that 1. Supported by vgalib and xfree386
>                        2. Can "do" 1024x768x[16bit,24bit]
>                        3. Still being sold.
> 
> Do you know of a store that still sales this kind of card?
> I tried to call some stores, but was laughed at by the sales person.
> 
> TIA,
> 
> Liran Zvibel.

The correct and complete answer is: Forget it. Noone ever made a SVGA card
that sat in an ISA slot, because of the available address range.

However:

1. You can try to sneak up to your local computer store, smile broadly
(wear a T-shirt with holes in it etc), and buy a 486 board with VLB or PCI
on it. They go for about NIS 100 now, from upgrades. This will fix your
problem, together with a VLB SVGA card which will be ancient but might
work, from the same source. You can transplant the processor and SIMMs to
the new board (I hope that you processor is not soldered on the old
board). Pay attention to the memory battery: If it has leaked it will
cause a lot of grief as the acid (actually a base - NaOH), eats itself
through the circuits. Don't take a board with a leak - but insist that
someone explains you the jumpers. Some of those old boards are really
sneaky in the jumper area. And have it tested in the shop.

2. If you will settle for less pixels and colors, obtain a VGA card that
is made for ISA/EISA (Oak/OTI or such). This is supported under Linux (I
have used one for a few months some time ago), and will give you
800x600x16, which is lousy but better than nothing.

3. Do not forget that the monitor needs to be able to do 1024x768. Most
VGA monitors can't. For a monitor to be usable at 1024x768 non-interlaced
it must be able to do 38400 kHz horizontal at least, and have a bandwidth
of > 40 MHz. This is something in the NIS 1k range, new, and better add
something to the price if you don't have a good friend in the after-sales
service operation of the monitor importer. 

hope this helps,
	Peter