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Good EGA card that fits inside a 5160 case

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boggit

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Jan 4, 2024
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I recently won an online auction for an EGA monitor.

  • I intend to use it with my 286-in-a-XT/5160-case system and I'm thus looking around on eBay for a suitable EGA card to use with it.

  • There are several such cards on sale from various vendors in Europe, but a lot of them (like this one, for example) look like they might possibly be too tall (ie sticking up too high above the bracket) to fit inside the 5160 case (I bought an I/O card a while back which worked great, apart from the fact that I couldn't close the case with the card slotted in).

  • Thus, I would be interested in hearing from people who have used EGA cards in 5160 cases, to get examples of specific brands and models that would fit.
 
boggit said:
but a lot of them (like this one, for example) look like they might possibly be too tall (ie sticking up too high above the bracket) to fit inside the 5160 case (I bought an I/O card a while back which worked great, apart from the fact that I couldn't close the case with the card slotted in).
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The PC/XT is what set the ISA standard. There are no cards that do not fit in there.
 
Timo W. said:
The PC/XT is what set the ISA standard. There are no cards that do not fit in there.
Click to expand...

I do not mean "fit in the slot", which my I/O card (for example) did more than well. I meant "fit so that it isn't too high for you to be able to close the case" (which said I/O was).

boggit said:
too tall (ie sticking up too high above the bracket) to fit inside the 5160 case
Click to expand...

I tried to be clear on that point in my original post, but I'm sorry if I wasn't.
 
Are you sure it's a 5160 case? Maybe it's a 5162 case? The 5162 is a little shorter. The 5160 case should take your cards as Timo suggested. Or maybe it's not an IBM 5160 product but a clone?

Seaken
 
seaken said:
Are you sure it's a 5160 case? Maybe it's a 5162 case? The 5162 is a little shorter. The 5160 case should take your cards as Timo suggested. Or maybe it's not an IBM 5160 product but a clone?

Seaken
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Yes, I am 100 % certain that it is an original IBM 5160 case.

To further clarify what I mean with ”height” in this context: I am talking about the length from the edge connector down on the motherboard to the top, near the ceiling of the case, as it were.

Like so:

IMG_8326.jpeg
 
I have several cards here in a box next to me designed for IBM 5150 or 5160. They measure 4.25" across that direction you noted.

Are your cards more than 4.25"?

Maybe your motherboard is sitting up too high, on stand-offs?

Seaken
 
seaken said:
I have several cards here in a box next to me designed for IBM 5150 or 5160. They measure 4.25" across that direction you noted.

Are your cards more than 4.25"?

Maybe your motherboard is sitting up too high, on stand-offs?

Seaken
Click to expand...
I'll have a look when I get back home. The motherboard is firmly attached with screws to the floor of the case, so I doubt it is a question of the mobo sitting up too high, though I cannot rule that out with 100 % certainty.

When trying that I/O card, realizing that i couldn't close the case and noticing that it was taller than the tallest of my other ISA cards, I just figured that the I/O card must have been designed with an AT case in mind (which, from what I have seen, is taller than the 5150/5160 cases).
 
boggit said:
I just figured that the I/O card must have been designed with an AT case in mind
Click to expand...
Indeed, A problem with early cards designed for an AT case, They were too tall to fit in a 5162, Hence too tall for a 5160 as the 5162 / 5160 Cases are the same dimensions. Too tall for the 5150 as well.
 
Malc said:
Indeed, A problem with early cards designed for an AT case, They were too tall to fit in a 5162, Hence too tall for a 5160 as the 5162 / 5160 Cases are the same dimensions. Too tall for the 5150 as well.
Click to expand...
Ah, there you go!

Thus, the inquiry described in my original post remains relevant:

Has anyone here used an EGA card with their 5150/5160/5162 and had it fit smoothly inside the case?

If so, which brand and model?
 
chris_nh said:
The IBM EGA card fits, as do many others like Paradise ega, etc.
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Okay, the ”many others … etc” was perhaps not the level of specificity I was aiming for when I am about to spend €100 on eBay importing an EGA card from another part of Europe, but it is good to know that the original enhanced graphics adapter and the Paradise EGA card both fit. Thanks!
 
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Imagine that I got this perfectly working EGA monitor for less than €2 (untested and covered in easy-to-wipe-off grime).

IMG_8342.jpeg

Crisp, beautiful picture. Tried out Stunts in CGA mode and it ran great.
 
You can easily determine if the card is too tall by looking at a picture of it. Regular ISA cards do not typically extend much beyond the top of the metal slot bracket. "AT" height cards are taller than the slot bracket. I hope this helps.
 
boggit said:
Okay, the ”many others … etc” was perhaps not the level of specificity I was aiming for ...
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If you were inquiring about VGA, then I could point you to [here]. But to date, there has not been a requirement to create a list of EGA cards known to fit in the 5160.

boggit said:
... but it is good to know that the original enhanced graphics adapter and the Paradise EGA card both fit. Thanks!
Click to expand...
For some other cards, take a look at the manuals for EGA cards at [here]. Some will specify suitability for the IBM XT (IBM 5160).

1708981295845.png
 
I have an extra ATI EGA Wonder 800+ that is noticeably not as tall as some other cards.
img566.jpg

The EGAWONDER8OO+ is designed for use in any 8 or 16 bit expansion slot in an IBM PCIXT/AT or compatible or the IBM System/2 Model 30. (from the manual)
 
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chris_nh said:
You can easily determine if the card is too tall by looking at a picture of it. Regular ISA cards do not typically extend much beyond the top of the metal slot bracket. "AT" height cards are taller than the slot bracket. I hope this helps.
Click to expand...
I don't agree. A lot of the cards I've looked at on eBay seems to be right in that area where they could either be just low enough or just slightly too tall to fit.

What about HP Video Seven? Anyone know anything about that?
 
I have an Everex MicroEnhancer, which is also a half-length card. Tightly packed--I believe that there is a DIP under the EPROM.
everex_ev657.png
 
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