Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!hp-pcd!hpsgpa!plim
From: plim@hpsgpa.HP.COM (Peter Lim)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: What are the differences between 8-bit and 16-bit VGA cards?
Message-ID: <340030@hpsgpa.HP.COM>
Date: 27 Nov 89 07:32:25 GMT
References: <6980@portia.Stanford.EDU>
Organization: HP Singapore IC Design Ctr
Lines: 22

That doesn't sound right. As far as I know, the 16-bit access thing
is done totally in hardware. When a 16-bit card is plugged into an
AT-bus, it tells the AT bus system that it it 16-bit and the system
will read/write in 16-bit. Whereas, if you plug an 8-bit card into the
AT bus system, any 16-bit read/write will be converted in hardware to
two consecutive 8-bit access. You can find this info in the latest BYTE
magazine (the one with the HP-486 and EISA bus stories).

Hope that helps.


Regards,
Peter Lim.
HP Singapore IC Design Center.

      E-mail address:              plim@hpsgwg.HP.COM
      Snail Mail address:          Peter Lim
                                   Hewlett Packard Singapore,
                                   (ICDS, ICS)
                                   1150, Depot Road,
                                   Singapore   0410.
      Telephone:                   (065)-279-2289