🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <9010282218.AA25915@cwns16.INS.CWRU.Edu> ad094@cleveland.Freenet.Edu writes:
>I'm pretty sure I can use the same monitor, but what about 
>the card? I understand that the 386sx uses 16 bit VGA cards.
>Are there VGA cards that are interchangeable between 8 and 16 bit
>computers i.e XT and AT?

You'll be able to use the same monitor, certainly.  Now, as to the
type of card... Any 8-bit card will work either in an XT or AT class
machine.  However, an 8-bit card in an AT will be intrinsically
slower than a 16-bit card in the same machine.

So, you ask, can you put a 16-bit VGA card in your XT?  Well, the
answer depends on which one.  Some manufacturers (like us :)  are
very careful to insure that the 16-bit cards will work in 8-bit
slots.  Some companies aren't.  If you decide to buy a 16-bit VGA
to put into your XT, I would ask the store to demonstrate it working
in an XT before you buy it.  (Also understand that a 16-bit card
in an XT is *not* intrinsically faster than an 8-bit card, since the
bus is only 8 bits wide anyway.)

Hope this helps.

-- 
Jim Seidman (Drax), the accidental engineer.
"There's a certain freedom to being completely screwed." - The Freshman
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