TeamRocketReviews
Experienced Member
It seems like the only EGA monitors I can find are either no-names, or the expensive IBMs. Are there any decent 3rd party EGA monitors made by companies like Sony, Magnavox, or Sanyo? Any pictures to prove?
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EGA monitors
- Thread starter TeamRocketReviews
- Start date
Stone
10k Member
I've got some multisyncs in excellent condition with perfect picture.
$100 plus shipping
$100 plus shipping
Chuck(G)
25k Member
I'd argue that the best EGA monitors (as far as picture quality) were third-party.
NEC, Mitsubishi and Sony in particular, made some very fine displays. The Princeton HX-12E even had the IBM "look".
It's just that the time between adoption of EGA and the arrival of VGA was fairly short 1984-1987. Equipment was expensive and it took awhile for software publishers to take advantage of it. VGA was about the same price by then, so EGA faded quickly, particularly in the light that if you programmed for EGA, VGA was mostly a matter of handling the the palette--the other registers were pretty much the same.
And VGA is still with us, all these years later.
NEC, Mitsubishi and Sony in particular, made some very fine displays. The Princeton HX-12E even had the IBM "look".
It's just that the time between adoption of EGA and the arrival of VGA was fairly short 1984-1987. Equipment was expensive and it took awhile for software publishers to take advantage of it. VGA was about the same price by then, so EGA faded quickly, particularly in the light that if you programmed for EGA, VGA was mostly a matter of handling the the palette--the other registers were pretty much the same.
And VGA is still with us, all these years later.
lyonadmiral
Veteran Member
Sorry to kind of hi-jack the thread, but I do I have a semi-related question... I too was aware that Princeton made some nice displays that looked like 515x displays, very nice pieces of equipment, but I wonder, did IBM ever offer VGA anything for the System/1 Series (5150, 5160, 5170) machines; either cards or the displays themselves (that looked like 515x)?
IBM did offer an 8-bit VGA card, but it was targeted to the PS/2 Model 30.
However the card does still work in a 5150/5160.
There was a discussion about this card in another thread here:
http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/showthread.php?28616-IBM-s-VGA-card
The IBM 5175 PGD monitor was very close to VGA, and used the same basic case as the 5153/5154.
There was a small circuit mod you could make in the 5175 to allow it to run from a VGA card.
However the card does still work in a 5150/5160.
There was a discussion about this card in another thread here:
http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/showthread.php?28616-IBM-s-VGA-card
The IBM 5175 PGD monitor was very close to VGA, and used the same basic case as the 5153/5154.
There was a small circuit mod you could make in the 5175 to allow it to run from a VGA card.
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Maverick1978
Veteran Member
I have a Magnavox EGA and an NEC Multisync II. Both have pretty decent displays, though for obvious reasons, the Multisync sees more time on my desktop.
Another point that probably helped to contribute to the "early" death of EGA was the fact that many software programs (games) listed as EGA would run just find with a CGA screen, as they were using low-res EGA, not the higher resolutions supported by the spec.
Another point that probably helped to contribute to the "early" death of EGA was the fact that many software programs (games) listed as EGA would run just find with a CGA screen, as they were using low-res EGA, not the higher resolutions supported by the spec.
Stone
10k Member
My original computer (which I still have) is a 286-12 that came with a Magnavox EGA. When that died, I got a Multisync for it and, at that time, I really had no idea what a Multisync was other than that it worked great as an EGA. But I soon learned.
TeamRocketReviews
Experienced Member
Post any pictures? I'd like to see that Sony. I'm a big fan of Sony equipment for PCs.
Chuck(G)
25k Member
No, I had two of the CDP1302s, but have long gotten rid of my CRT monitors, but for some monochrome and a Mitsubishi Diamondscan "Do just about anything" monitor.
lyonadmiral
Veteran Member
Yeah, I was aware of the hack you could do to the PGA display, but I haven't seen one ever in person, let alone find one to buy that wasn't 500 bucks.
vwestlife
Veteran Member
Isn't VGA 100% compatible with EGA? I haven't encountered any problems running EGA software on a VGA system, unlike how some CGA software will usually not work on VGA (such as the hacked 16-color 160x100 graphics mode).
Stone
10k Member
I agree in that it seems like it is although I don't have the expertise to say so conclusively.
Chuck(G)
25k Member
It depends on what you mean by "compatible". At a BIOS level, sure. But at a register level, close, but not exactly. But it's good enough for almost anything.
vwestlife
Veteran Member
I've certainly never encountered any software written for EGA which wouldn't work on VGA. In fact, I'm sure most EGA games made after 1987 were actually written and beta-tested on PCs with VGA cards; the developer simply chose to use 640x350 mode to ensure greater backwards compatibility, and for less eyestrain on a VGA monitor than flickery 60 Hz 640x480 graphics.