Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!visdc!jiii
From: jiii@visdc.UUCP (John E Van Deusen III)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386
Subject: Re: How to choose a new 386 UNIX PC...
Summary: 16-bit VGA & 8-bit latch registers
Message-ID: <641@visdc.UUCP>
Date: 12 Sep 89 20:13:07 GMT
References: <21969@cup.portal.com> <124379@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <276@van-bc.UUCP> <570@tah386.manhattan.ks.us> <5914@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM>
Reply-To: jiii@visdc.UUCP (John E Van Deusen III)
Organization: VI Software Development, Boise, Idaho
Lines: 22

In article <5914@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM> keithe@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM
(Keith Ericson) writes:
>
> We spent quite a bit of time investigating video diplay performance
> of various machines, bus speeds and display cards (VGA and EGA).
> As important as bus speed was 8-bit versus (proper) 16-bit operation.
>
> kEITHe

In the June 1989 issue of BYTE Magazine, Bradley Dyck Kliewer wrote an
article entitled "Debunking 16-bit VGA.  In that article he tested six
16-bit VGA adaptors for the AT bus.  He states that of all the boards
tested, none had 16-bit latch registers.  His benchmark tests for
copying a block of pixels to the entire screen byte by byte gave results
in the 10 to 20 second range (for video mode 16, which I assume is
1024x768x16 colors?).  I am not convinced that level of performance
would cut it for an X-terminal application.  Mr. Kliewer suggests using
graphics coprocessor boards; are cheaper ones coming?
--
John E Van Deusen III, PO Box 9283, Boise, ID  83707, (208) 343-1865

uunet!visdc!jiii