F&NAQ

Sunday, 21 August 2011 14:23 Vlask
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F&NAQ
(Frequently and never asked questions)

Q: I want buy card xy in your collection, or x quantities of these chips in good condition.
A: I and as far as i know also other collectors on this site are not selling any chips or cards from these pages. We are collectors, not chips resellers. If you want buy or trade some cards, i have small list of cards, chips, computers and processors for sale or better trade. Other collectors don't have anything like this yet. Comments about card selling under articles will be deleted. If you want to buy any card, you can use guestbook for that.

Q: Looking for driver for my card for operating system x.
A: Here you won't find any drivers for any card. Sometimes there might be copied some floppys i got with card, but it's very rare and drivers for these cards are usually only for DOS or Win3x. Comments about drivers searching under articles will be also deleted. As is written in 1st article on pages, you can always use www.driverguide.com for finding your driver. Its biggest web with drivers and i'm using it too for finding rare drivers. If you have common card, you should use manufacturers website like a nVidia, ATI, Matrox, S3, SiS, 3dfx and 3Dlabs. Also theres many stupid requests like a looking for Windows XP driver for mine 2MB Trident card from 1996. You won't find any because many of these manufacturers ended production even before Windows XP was made. Some other big manufacturers like a ATI or NVIDIA just don't support old cards in new operating systems. It's easy - if you have ISA / VL-Bus card - only drivers for DOS, Win 3.11, WinNT, max Win95 exists (you can use WIn95 drivers for Win98/ME too). If you have PCI or AGP card with max 8MB memory, you can find drivers for Win98/ME, WinNT. Drivers for Windows XP usually are not available, but most of these cards are supported by drivers included in Windows XP (then won't work OpenGL, TV Out, TV Tuners and other stuff like this). If you have AGP card with 16MB or more memory, there should be available drivers for Windows 98/Me, 2000 and XP. Professional cards have its own category - cards made before year 2000 usually support only Windows NT, some of them also Windows 2000. If you want to try them in XP, you must use Windows 2000 drivers (they usually work) and in desperate cases you can try also Windows NT ones (Options panels and installer stuff won't work).

Q: Can i use photos from this site?
A: Yes, but if you want pictures for any article about graphic cards or computer history, send me link to that article (just want it read it too Wink). 

Q: Is info about cards accurate?
A: No, i cannot guarantee that. Im trying to get good info, but many old cards are forgotten and any info about them even Google won't find. Also memory sizes can be wrong, particularly Palcal's cards have it often wrong, because he's not testing his cards in computer. Mine cards are checked for memory sizes if they work, so usually i have it right, but have many cards in nonworking state or with nonPC buses. At these cards i guess mem size from articles i found about them.

Q: I found wrong info about card x, how to contact you about fixing it?
A: Just use comments under that article. I'm often checking latest comments for spam, so i will notice it soon. You can also post there links to related articles - reviews, datasheets, fan webs......

Q: What is this site about?
A: It's just virtual museum of graphic cards from various collectors. I require from them only photos of front and back card and some basic info. Any more informations is optional and depends on collectors good will and knowledge.

Q: Can i have mine collection on your site too?
A: Yes, but there are some requirements. You must have at last 50 cards from different manufacturers (sorry 3dfx collectors). Can make exception at ATI collectors if they have ISA cards (because ATI made a lot cards and info about ISA cards is hard to find). You must be able do photos of your own cards (digital camera is best, for small cards is scanner also sometimes usefull). Knowing of basic english language is required (site editing is in english) and basic knowledge of HTML is recommended, but not required (site article editor sometimes won't do what you want, then its fasted edit it in pure html). All articles about cards must be done by you. I will show you only how to do it (don't have time to enter your whole collections on web). I require only entering some basic info about each card (mostly can be copied from mine cards info) and keep site's graphical style in articles. I can give you your own subdirectory on site, subdomain (yourname.vgamuseum.info) and ftp account for uploading your images/datasheets.

Q: I'm not collector, but like your site and wanna help. What you need?
A: I'm looking for datasheets or similar info about all cards. Older are better. Also looking for skilled authors for writing articles about graphic cards technologies, who knows anything about it. Want to have here fully filled Glossary (is used for info at keywords in main page) and articles about history (timeline), generations of chips (for example geforce 6600 series cards, 2/4MX cards - number of pipelines, core info, developing info and everything like that)  and hardware technologies used in graphic industry (Opengl/DirectX history, info about custom apis, memory and bus types, company profiles, internal and external connectors list, info about hardwired functions - BitBLT, MIP-Mapping, alpha blending, Perspective correction, T&L.... and also info about different kinds of filtering and antialiasing including their history - 1st used on...). Articles must be ofc in english and you won't get paid for them. This site is add free (not for long) and is generating only less time for me, not money. Just wanna have here web, where you can find old cards and info about industry and also technologies used in one place. I don't require any number of articles or new one every week/month. Will be happy for even one article about mentioned areas. I don't accept stolen articles from wikipedia or other sites.

Q: That's nice, but can't find contact on you.
A: Just mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Can use for futher communication also ICQ, Skype, Ventrilo or Teamspeak if you want.

Q: Why is year set wrong at some Proffesional Cards?
A: I usually sort cards by year of releasing main chip. Only exception are professional cards, because most of them use one chipset for many years (Tiga cards were made from 1986 to 1992) and profi cards are often unique. They deserve sorting by date of release whole card, not only chipset.

Q: I have/know great website about graphic cards or computer history. Will you add link to it into weblinks?
A: Yes, i'd like to have here links to all graphic cards collectors sites. There's only few ones, because good online card collections are very hard to find. Only exception is 3dfx - i prefer only big sites about them, because 3dfx collectors getting rather models from various manufacturers, than various chipsets (since 3dfx made only few chips). So if you have link to good non3dfx site, just mail it to me or use comments under this article.

Comments (3)
  • Pierre Dozin

    Hello, my name is Pierre Dozin, sound engineer at JetStudio Brussel (Belgium).

    First, thank you for your website vgamuseum, it's a nice ressource.
    I have some precious questions to ask you. I precised that I've already read your F&NAQ and I also tried to find answers on the 25 websites you mention on your website, but I can't find anything.

    I explain you our situation.
    At the studio, we work with a soundmixer Euphonix CS3000 that is partially controlled by an IBM 4U rack computer (DOS and Euphonix Mixview system).
    Our graphic card is broken.
    This is a "yamaha display master G771210 (YDM1210) VGA ISA16BIT". On this card, there is a IDE 34pin slot (called "J1", I think). On this slot, we plug another card (Eugraphix) that sends the video signal to a screen integrated to the mixer (with a special connector).
    Also, there are two blocs of 8 jumpers/switches
    .
    I can't find a new one but I found another card: "Yamaha Display Master G776420 (YDM6420) CGA ISA8BIT. I'll receive it by UPS tomorrow.
    This one has differences but still seems similar.

    Differences (I've noticed):
    CGA (and not VGA - but we dont use this external video out, we use only the internal 34pin IDE port)
    ISA8Bit (and not ISA16bit)
    1 bloc of 7 jumpers/switches (and not 2 blocs of 8 jumpers/switches)

    There is also a 34pin IDE slot (also called J1) which, I hope, is also a video OUT connector.

    Here is a picture of this new card:

    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fUQhjWq93F8/TPR-NZm8B-I/AAAAAAAAAAg/Ycvbw MfywKs/s1600/G776420.JPG

    The problem is that I can't find any informations/documentation about this hardware and I don't have any diskette driver (but I don't know if this diskette exists and if I need it)
    My informatic/old computers knowledge is limited.

    I know that ISA8bit card can work on ISA16bit port.

    My questions are:

    1) Do you know where I could find documentation about this card?
    2) Do you think that this card could work, even if it's not the same and even if I don't have the diskette driver
    3) Do you know what are these jumpers and how to configure them on this type of card?
    4) Do you think this card could work without a diskette driver?
    5) Do you know how to install that type of card with DOS?
    6) Do you know if other videocards with this 34pinIDE video OUT connector exist?
    7) If you can't help me, do you know someone who could?

    Thanks you very much for the attention you give me,
    Let me know,

    Greetings

    Pierre Dozin
    +32495/816913
    www.jetstudio.com

  • Laslo  - Nice work!

    Hello

    This site reminds me something I planned years ago. I am also "old stuff" collector. I collect graphic cards, sound cards, CPUs, vintage audio equipment. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one freak in this world who collect old electronic stuff.
    Respect for you guys!
    Regards from Poland!

  • deg19

    Hello,
    Would you know what graphics card this photo come from?

    http://img.redface.fr/images/2014/05/14/c0206a7.jpg

    Thanks

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 18 January 2012 23:23