Great Hierophant
Veteran Member
The Tandy 1000 SX is a swell machine for pre-1990 PC gaming. However, there are some limitations on the machine:
1. Incompatibilities
Generally the only early games that will not work on a Tandy 1000 SX are those requiring BASIC in ROM and do not work with GWBASIC.
2. EGA & VGA
Some games (Commander Keen 1-6, Duke Nukem) do not support the Tandy Graphics Adapter and require a true EGA or VGA card to work. Fortunately, you can install one in this machine.
3. Raster Tricks
This machine has nearly perfect CGA compatibility, and as an added bonus, does not display "snow." Unfortunately, some games employ raster tricks that are timing critical and will not work correctly on the internal graphics adapter because of the speed. Jungle Hunt is one such game, the palette changes about 4 scanlines after it should. The rolling effect in Digger's high score screen is not right either.
4. Keyboard
The Tandy 1000s pre S/R/TL use their own keyboard with a custom layout. I have yet to encounter a game that would not work with it. If the discrete cursor keys do not work, then use the number pad keys just like on an IBM Model F keyboard.
5. Joysticks
Pre S/R/TLs do not allow you to disable your joystick ports, so you may need to find Tandy specific joysticks or build an adapter.
6. Mouse
Tandy 1000s, except for the TX and S/R/TLs, do not come with a serial port, so you will need to provide one or get a bus mouse and card.
7. Speed
The Tandy 1000 SX has two speeds, 4.77MHz and 7.16MHz. Even the fast speed will hardly allow you to play many games using a 320x200x16 resolution. There is an accelerator card called the 286 Express that can tame some of those games. However, it will only give you just under AT speeds. By contrast, a TX or TL/2/3 starts at AT speeds and can go up to respectable 386 speeds with an accelerator.
8. Expansion
The Tandy 1000 SX has five 8-bit ISA slots. Unfortunately, the case only allows for cards 10" long or less. The power supply only supplies 67W, which is low even for 8-bit machines. The -5v pin may not be active, which certain cards use.
9. Tandy Games
Many games that support the Tandy 1000 require a separate installation, so you would need the original disks to make it work.
10. Composite Color CGA Games
Many games that support the Tandy Graphics Adapter and the CGA will force you to use the TGA. If you want CGA RGB or composite, you will have to use another computer. The composite colors are different compared to the IBM PC CGA.
1. Incompatibilities
Generally the only early games that will not work on a Tandy 1000 SX are those requiring BASIC in ROM and do not work with GWBASIC.
2. EGA & VGA
Some games (Commander Keen 1-6, Duke Nukem) do not support the Tandy Graphics Adapter and require a true EGA or VGA card to work. Fortunately, you can install one in this machine.
3. Raster Tricks
This machine has nearly perfect CGA compatibility, and as an added bonus, does not display "snow." Unfortunately, some games employ raster tricks that are timing critical and will not work correctly on the internal graphics adapter because of the speed. Jungle Hunt is one such game, the palette changes about 4 scanlines after it should. The rolling effect in Digger's high score screen is not right either.
4. Keyboard
The Tandy 1000s pre S/R/TL use their own keyboard with a custom layout. I have yet to encounter a game that would not work with it. If the discrete cursor keys do not work, then use the number pad keys just like on an IBM Model F keyboard.
5. Joysticks
Pre S/R/TLs do not allow you to disable your joystick ports, so you may need to find Tandy specific joysticks or build an adapter.
6. Mouse
Tandy 1000s, except for the TX and S/R/TLs, do not come with a serial port, so you will need to provide one or get a bus mouse and card.
7. Speed
The Tandy 1000 SX has two speeds, 4.77MHz and 7.16MHz. Even the fast speed will hardly allow you to play many games using a 320x200x16 resolution. There is an accelerator card called the 286 Express that can tame some of those games. However, it will only give you just under AT speeds. By contrast, a TX or TL/2/3 starts at AT speeds and can go up to respectable 386 speeds with an accelerator.
8. Expansion
The Tandy 1000 SX has five 8-bit ISA slots. Unfortunately, the case only allows for cards 10" long or less. The power supply only supplies 67W, which is low even for 8-bit machines. The -5v pin may not be active, which certain cards use.
9. Tandy Games
Many games that support the Tandy 1000 require a separate installation, so you would need the original disks to make it work.
10. Composite Color CGA Games
Many games that support the Tandy Graphics Adapter and the CGA will force you to use the TGA. If you want CGA RGB or composite, you will have to use another computer. The composite colors are different compared to the IBM PC CGA.
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