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ATi Wonder Series

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Erik

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The ATi Wonder Series represents some of the first graphics add on products for [wiki]IBM[/wiki] Personal computers and compatibles introduced by ATi Technologies in the mid to late 1980s. These cards were unique at the time as they offered the end user a considerable amount of value by combining support for multiple graphics standards (and monitors) into a single card. The VGA Wonder series added additional value with the inclusion of a bus mouse port, which normally required the installation of a dedicated Microsoft Bus Mouse adapter.
The VGA Wonder series later merged with the [wiki]Hardware:ATi Mach Series[/wiki] of cards in 1990. The ATi Graphics Ultra (VRAM) and ATi Graphics Vantage (DRAM) cards both featured independent VGA Wonder ASICs in addition to their Mach8 8514 compatible coprocessor chips. The Graphics Ultra was later renamed the VGA Wonder GT. In 1992, their following product line, the Mach32, integrated the VGA wonder core and coprocessor into a single IC. At this point the VGA Wonder line was cancelled and replaced with a cost reduced DRAM based version of Mach32 known as the "ATi Graphics Wonder".
[h="2"]MDA/CGA Cards[/h]
Release year P/N Name Chipset Memory Display modes I/O Notes Photo
1985 Color Emulation Card 16KB, At least At least CGA emulation At least monochrome TTL, problably also RGBI TTL This card was mentioned once in an online competition, but little is known about them except that Commodore bought some for use in their products.
1986 168228 Graphics Solution ATI CW16800-A/ATI CW16800-B, 6845 64KB of DRAM At least CGA and MDA emulation Monochrome and RGBI TTL, Optional parallel port if 168229 expansion board is installed (only on some cards) Possibly a renamed version of the "Color Emulation Card". [wiki="Image:GSSP.jpg"]175px|right|frameless|Graphics Solution[/wiki]
1987 168238 Graphics Solution Plus SP (Serial/Parallel) ATI CW16800-B, 6845 64KB of DRAM CGA (Plantonics color+) and MDA (Hercules) emulation Monochrome and RGBI TTL, Serial and Parallel ports
1987 168248 Graphics Solution Plus ATI CW16800-B, 6845 64KB of DRAM CGA (Plantonics color+) and MDA (Hercules) emulation Monochrome and RGBI TTL [wiki="Image:GraphicsSolutionPlus.jpg"]175px|right|frameless|Graphics Solution Plus[/wiki]
168328 Graphics Solution SR (Static-RAM) ATI CW16800-B, 6845 64KB of SRAM CGA (Plantonics color+) and MDA (Hercules) emulation Monochrome and RGBI TTL [wiki="Image:GraphicssolutionSR.jpg"]175px|right|frameless|Graphics Solution SR[/wiki]
1988 18701 Graphics Solution SC (Single-Chip), Small Wonder Graphics Solution version 1 ATI 18700 64KB of SRAM CGA (Plantonics color+) and MDA (Hercules) emulation Monochrome and RGBI TTL, Composite output or Gameport Made in several different variants, some with a gameport instead of the composite output, some with alternative font ROMs and some lacked both the composite output and gameport. The name was changed to "Small Wonder Graphics Solution version 1" shortly after launch. [wiki="Image:Swgsv1.jpg"]175px|right|frameless|Small Wonder Graphics Solution version 1[/wiki]
1988 18703 Small Wonder Graphics Solution version 2 ATI 18700 64KB of SRAM CGA (Plantonics color+) and MDA (Hercules) emulation Monochrome and RGBI TTL, Composite output [wiki="Image:Swgsv2.jpg"]200px|right|frameless|Small Wonder Graphics Solution version 2[/wiki]
1988 109005100 Small Wonder Graphics Solution version 3 ATI 18700 64KB of SRAM or DRAM CGA (Plantonics color+) and MDA (Hercules) emulation Monochrome and RGBI TTL, Composite output (optional) [wiki="Image:Smallwonderv3.jpg"]200px|right|frameless|Small Wonder Graphics Solution version 3[/wiki]
[h="2"]EGA Cards[/h]
Release year P/N Name Chipset Memory Display modes I/O Notes Photo
1987 16890 EGA Wonder Series 1 256KB of DRAM CGA and MDA (dual-page Hercules) emulation. EGA Monochrome, RGBI, and RrGgBb TTL, Composite outputs
1987 16892 EGA Wonder Series 2-4 256KB of DRAM CGA and MDA (dual-page Hercules) emulation. EGA and Extended EGA Monochrome, RGBI and RrGgBb TTL, Composite outputs [wiki="Image:Egawonderseries24.jpg"]200px|right|frameless|ATi EGA Wonder Series 2-4[/wiki]
1987 16900, 104001500 EGA Wonder 800 ATI 16899-0, CHIPS P82C435 256KB of DRAM CGA, MDA (dual-page Hercules) and 16-color VGA emulation. EGA and Extended EGA Monochrome, RGBI and RrGgBb TTL, Composite outputs Some models had surface mount DRAMs [wiki="Image:Egawonder800.jpg"]200px|right|frameless|ATi EGA Wonder 800[/wiki]
1988 16900, 104001500 EGA Wonder 480 ATI 16899-0, CHIPS P82C435 256KB of DRAM CGA, MDA (dual-page Hercules) and 16-color VGA emulation. EGA and Extended EGA Monochrome, RGBI and RrGgBb TTL Cost reduced model. Soldered DRAM. No feature connector/composite [wiki="Image:Egawonder480.jpg"]200px|right|frameless|ATi EGA Wonder 480[/wiki]
1988 109006000 EGA Wonder 800+ ATI 18800-1 256KB of DRAM CGA, MDA (dual-page Hercules), EGA and Extended EGA emulation. 16-color VGA Monochrome, RGBI and RrGgBb TTL Rebadged "VGA Edge" lacking the analogue VGA port [wiki="Image:Egawonder800plus.jpg"]200px|right|frameless|ATi EGA Wonder 800+[/wiki]
[h="2"]VGA Cards[/h]
Release year P/N Name Chipset Memory Display modes I/O Notes Photo
1987 18008 VIP (VGA Improved Performance) ATI 16899-0, CHIPS P82C441 256KB DRAM MDA (dual-page Hercules) and CGA emulation. EGA, extended EGA, and limited VGA Monochrome, RGBI and RrGgBb TTL, RGB analog Supports graphics with Softsense automatic mode switching, Original MSRP: $449 ($99 for Compaq expansion module), essentially an EGA wonder with DAC tacked on. ATI's first attempt at a VGA card [wiki="Image:Ativip.jpg"]200px|right|frameless|ATi V.I.P. (VGA Improved Performance)[/wiki]
1988 VGA Wonder ATI 18800, ATI 18830 256KB DRAM MDA (dual-page Hercules), CGA, EGA and extended EGA emulation. VGA and SVGA Monochrome, RGBI and RrGgBb TTL, RGB analog Adds support for monitor auto-sensing (switchless configuration), uses on-board EEPROM to store configuration information
1988 109004800 VGA Wonder 16 v2/v3 ATI 18800, ATI 18820, ATI 18830 256KB/512KB of DRAM MDA (dual-page Hercules), CGA, EGA and extended EGA emulation. VGA and SVGA Monochrome, RGBI and RrGgBb TTL, RGB analog, Bus-Mouse port, VESA Feature connector MSRP: $499 (256KB) or $699 (512KB) VGAwonder16v3.jpg
1989 109006000 VGA Wonder Rev 1, VGA Edge, VGA 88 ATI 18800-1 256KB DRAM MDA (dual-page Hercules), CGA, EGA and extended EGA emulation. VGA and SVGA Monochrome, RGBI and RrGgBb TTL, RGB analog Rebadged VGA Wonder based on the more recent ATI 18800-1 chipset [wiki="Image:Vgaedge.jpg"]120px|center|frameless|ATi VGA Edge[/wiki]
1989 109006300 VGA Wonder 16 v4 ATI 18800-1, ATI 18820 256KB/512KB of DRAM MDA (dual-page Hercules), CGA, EGA and extended EGA emulation. VGA and SVGA Monochrome, RGBI and RrGgBb TTL, RGB analog, Bus-Mouse port, VESA Feature connector The same as v3, but with the new ATI 18800-1 chipset VGAwonder16v4.jpg
1989 109007200 VGA Wonder 16 v5 ATI 18800-1, ATI 18820 256KB/512KB of DRAM MDA (dual-page Hercules), CGA, EGA and extended EGA emulation. VGA and SVGA Monochrome, RGBI and RrGgBb TTL, RGB analog, Bus-Mouse port, VESA Feature connector The same as v4, but uses a single clock generator instead of a set of individual oscillators 18800-116.jpg
1989 109008500 VGA Edge 16 ATI 18800-1 256KB DRAM MDA (dual-page Hercules), CGA, EGA and extended EGA emulation. VGA and SVGA RGB analog, VESA Feature connector Cost reduced VGA Wonder 16 V5 as a part of the VGA Wonder 1024 series [wiki="Image:Vgaedge16.jpg"]200px|right|frameless|ATi VGA Edge 16[/wiki]
1990 109009500, 1090010910, 1090012220 VGA Wonder+ ATI 28800-2/ATI 28800-4/ATI 28800-5 256KB/512KB (and later models 1MB) of DRAM MDA (dual-page Hercules), CGA, EGA and extended EGA emulation. VGA, SVGA and VESA compability Monochrome, RGBI and RrGgBb TTL, RGB analog, Bus-Mouse port, VESA Feature connector Based on a new chipset which claimed to offer speeds rivalling VRAM based cards, Dual page mode memory access, Dynamic CPU/CRT interleaving. vgawonderplus.jpg
1991 1090012220, 1090014310 VGA Wonder XL ATI 28800-5/ATI 28800-6 256KB/512KB/1MB of DRAM MDA (dual-page Hercules), CGA, EGA and extended EGA emulation. VGA, SVGA, VESA compability and 32K color Monochrome, RGBI and RrGgBb TTL, RGB analog, Bus-Mouse port, VESA Feature connector Sierra RAMDAC adds support for 15-bit colour in 640x480@72 Hz, 800x600@60 Hz. Original MSRP: $229 (256KB RAM), $349 (512KB RAM), $399 (1MB RAM). Early versions based on the ATI18810-0 (ICS1394) clock generator got an additional 45MHz oscillator, which the more recent versions based on the ATI18811-0 (ICS2494) clock generator does not contain. [wiki="Image:Vgawonderxl.jpg"]200px|right|frameless|ATi VGA Wonder XL)[/wiki]
1992 1092414310 VGA Wonder XL24 ATI 28800-6 512KB/1MB of DRAM MDA (dual-page Hercules), CGA, EGA and extended EGA emulation. VGA, SVGA, VESA compability, 32K color and 16M color Monochrome, RGBI and RrGgBb TTL, RGB analog, Bus-Mouse port, VESA Feature connector Most cards (BIOS 112-14318-102) contains a Brooktree Bt481KPJ85 RAMDAC that adds support for hi and true colour graphics modes, while the remaining cards (BIOS 112-14322-102) uses an equalent AT&T RAMDAC XL24.jpg
ATi VGA Integra (1990)
  • Cost reduced version based on new ATi 28800 ASIC
  • Lacks bus mouse connector
  • Uses a much smaller PCB with a surface mount BIOS & RAMDAC
  • Supports SVGA Graphics with 72 Hz refresh rates
  • 512KB DRAM
ATi VGA Basic-16 (1990)
  • PCB layout similar to VGA Integra but using cheaper RAMDAC
  • Only supports the basic 60 Hz VGA modes of the IBM VGA standard from 1987
  • 256KB DRAM (not upgradable)
ATi VGA Charger (1991)
  • Similar to VGA Basic-16, but can be upgraded to 512KB
ATi VGA Stereo·F/X
  • Chipset: ATI 28800
  • Combines a VGA Wonder XL with a Sound Blaster 1.5
  • Features "fake" stereo sound
  • 512KB or 1MB DRAM
ATi VGA Wonder 1024
  • A series of OEM or cost reduced versions of several VGA Wonder models
  • Typically lacks the bus mouse connector and/or the digital TTL output
  • The ATI produced variants were mostly based on previous cards with features removed, either in BIOS or by using lower quality parts.
[h="2"]External links[/h]
 
This page has been broken in the transition to the new wiki system. The tables and all of the information contained within are no showing up despite the code still being present when you press the "edit" button.
 
I'm going to have to move the contents of that page to google sites. When this site updated a few years back something broke all the images. I tried to fix it, but with limited success.
 
Are those really "composite outputs" on the EGA cards, or are they the mostly-unused pair of EGA "feature connectors" that look like composite outputs but are not?
 
I am pretty sure on a real IBM EGA card, the RCA connectors do nothing unless a special card is attached to the feature connector. However, on clone cards, I believe one of them does indeed do composite out. I know for certain that EGA Wonders can do composite through the internal connector (for IBM 5155s composite display), so it would seem silly not to hook up the external connector.

BTW, I apparently already moved the old ATI CGA/EGA index to google sites some time ago and forgot about it:

https://sites.google.com/site/atiwonderseriesdatabase/
 
ATI Graphics Listing (SVGA, mach8, mach32 and mach64)

ATI Graphics Listing (SVGA, mach8, mach32 and mach64)

See attached ATI Graphic Listing I retrieved from the ATI Website back in 2008.
 

Attachments

  • Application Note 16_ATI Graphic Card Listing.pdf
    117.6 KB · Views: 3
ATI Annual Report 1995 & Corporate Milestones

ATI Annual Report 1995 & Corporate Milestones

See attached information I retrieved from the ATI Website in 2005 and 2006. They contain a brief overview of the Video Cards over the years.
 

Attachments

  • 1995 Annual Information Form.pdf
    75.4 KB · Views: 1
  • Corporate Milestones.pdf
    49.5 KB · Views: 2
Wow! The 1024 VLB was a real thing. I've seen 3rd parties mention it, but I always assumed it must have been a typo. I really want one now.

*edit*

Apparently I discovered this 6 years ago but I forgot.

https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=39387

But what's interesting about the ATi note is that they claim the card is not accelerated. I wonder if they crippled the card through the BIOS or if they used a crippled/defective Mach32 IC.
 
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