The ATI Wonder series represents some of the first

video card A graphics card (also called a video card, display card, graphics adapter, VGA card/VGA, video adapter, display adapter, or mistakenly GPU) is an expansion card which generates a feed of output images to a display device, such as a computer moni ...

add-on products for

IBM Personal Computer The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...

s and compatibles introduced by

ATI Technologies ATI Technologies Inc. (commonly called ATI) was a Canadian semiconductor industry, semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, Markham, Ontario, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Fo ...

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 Mouse The Microsoft Mouse is a computer mouse released by Microsoft in 1983. It is the first mouse released by the company, and it was bundled with Microsoft Word, Notepad, and an on-screen teaching tutorial for an initial price of $195. Nicknamed the ...

adapter. The VGA Wonder series later merged with the ATI Mach series of cards in 1990. The

ATI Graphics Ultra Ati or ATI may refer to: * Ati people, a Negrito ethnic group in the Philippines **Ati language (Philippines), the language spoken by this people group ** Ati-Atihan festival, an annual celebration held in the Philippines *Ati language (China), a ...

(VRAM) and

ATI Graphics Vantage Ati or ATI may refer to: * Ati people, a Negrito ethnic group in the Philippines **Ati language (Philippines), the language spoken by this people group ** Ati-Atihan festival, an annual celebration held in the Philippines *Ati language (China), a ...

(DRAM) cards both featured independent VGA Wonder ASICs in addition to their Mach8 8514 compatible

graphics processor A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobi ...

. The Graphics Ultra was later renamed the VGA Wonder GT. In 1992, their following

product line Product may refer to: Business * Product (business), an item that serves as a solution to a specific consumer problem. * Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution Mathematics * Produ ...

, 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".

MDA/CGA cards

''Release Date: 1986'' ATI Graphics Solution Rev 3 *

Chipset In a computer system, a chipset is a set of electronic components An electronic component is any basic discrete device or physical entity in an electronic system used to affect electrons or their associated fields. Electronic components are ...

: ATI CW16800-A * Supports:

Hercules Graphics Card The Hercules Graphics Card (HGC) is a computer graphics controller made by Hercules Computer Technology, Inc. that combines IBM's text-only MDA display standard with a bitmapped graphics mode. This allows the HGC to offer both high-quality text an ...

mode and extended 132x25 / 132x44 text-modes on TTL monochrome monitors * Supports: All CGA modes on both CGA/EGA and TTL monochrome monitors * Switching between CGA and Hercules compatibility is done via supplied utility (VSET.EXE) and doesn't require a reboot *

Composite video Composite video is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video (typically at 525 lines or 625 lines) as a single channel. Video information is encoded on one channel, unlike the higher-quality S-Video (two channels) a ...

output is available on an internal 3-pin connector (no support for colors, works only in the 40x25 text-mode or 320x200 graphics modes) * Port: 8-bit PC/XT bus ATI Color Emulation Card * Did at least support CGA graphics output to a TTL monochrome monitor ATI Graphics Solution plus (1987) *

: ATI CW16800-B * Supports CGA,

Plantronics Colorplus The Plantronics Colorplus is a graphics card for IBM PC computers, first sold in 1982. It is a superset of the then-current CGA standard, using the same monitor standard and providing the same pixel resolutions. It was produced by Frederick Ele ...

CGA &

graphics modes * Compatible with MDA, CGA (and therefore also EGA displays),

DIP switch A DIP switch is a manual electric switch that is packaged with others in a group in a standard dual in-line package (DIP). The term may refer to each individual switch, or to the unit as a whole. This type of switch is designed to be used on a ...

selectable * 64kb of DRAM * Port: 8-bit PC/XT bus Graphics Solution Plus SP * Chipset: ATI CW16800-B * Adds Serial/Parallel Ports Graphics Solution SR * Chipset: ATI CW16800-B * Uses Static RAM

ATI Small Wonder Graphics Solution (1988) * Chipset: ATI 18700 * Also known as Graphics Solution Single Chip or just GS-SC * Single-chip version of the Graphics Solution plus * 64kb of static RAM * Composite output Graphics Solution Single Chip or GS-SC with Game (1988) * Includes a

game port The game port is a device port that was found on IBM PC compatible and other computer systems throughout the 1980s and 1990s. It was the traditional connector for joystick input, and occasionally MIDI devices, until made obsolete by USB in the ...

* Lacks external composite video connector

EGA cards

''Release Date: 1987'' ATI EGA Wonder (March 1987) * Chipset: ATI16899-0 + CHIPS P86C435 * Supports CGA, Hercules mono & EGA graphics modes * Removes support for plantronics mode/Single-page Hercules mode/composite output * Compatible with MDA, CGA and EGA displays (DIP switch selectable) * Internal composite video port for machines such as

IBM 5155 Portable The IBM Portable Personal Computer 5155 model 68 is an early portable computer developed by IBM after the success of the suitcase-size Compaq Portable. It was released in February 1984 and was quickly replaced by the IBM Convertible, only roug ...

* 256kb DRAM * Port: 8-bit PC/XT bus * Original MSRP: $399 ATI EGA Wonder 480 * Cost reduced EGA Wonder 800, lacking jumpers, RCA and feature connector. Different BIOS. ATI EGA Wonder 800 * Added support for extended EGA text and graphics modes (requires

multisync monitor A multiple-sync (multisync) monitor, also known as a multiscan or multimode monitor, is a raster-scan analog video monitor that can properly synchronise with multiple horizontal and vertical scan rates. In contrast, fixed frequency monitors can ...

) * Added support for 16-colour VGA modes ATI EGA Wonder 800+ * Rebadged VGA Edge lacking the analogue

VGA port The Video Graphics Array (VGA) connector is a standard connector used for computer video output. Originating with the 1987 IBM PS/2 and its VGA graphics system, the 15-pin connector went on to become ubiquitous on PCs, as well as many monitor ...

* Chipset: ATI 18800 * Can auto-detect monitor type connected (DIP switches no longer present)

VGA cards

''Release Date: 1987'' ATI VIP or VGA Improved Performance (1987) * Chipset: ATI 16899-0 & Chips P82C441 * Supports CGA, Hercules mono, EGA & VGA graphics with Softsense automatic mode switching * Compatible with MDA, CGA, EGA and VGA displays (DIP switch selectable) * 9-pin TTL and 15-pin analogue connectors * 256kb DRAM * Port: 8-bit PC/XT bus * Original MSRP: $449 ($99 for Compaq expansion module) ATI VGA Wonder (1988) * Chipset: ATI 18800 * Adds support for SVGA graphics modes * Adds support for monitor auto-sensing (switchless configuration) * Uses on-board EEPROM to store configuration information * 256kb or 512kb DRAM * Port: 8-bit PC/XT bus ATI VGA Edge 8 * Cost Reduced VGA Wonder * 256KB DRAM

ATI VGA Wonder-16 (1988) * Speed enhancements due to a wider bus * VGA pass through connector * Bus mouse connector * 256KB or 512KB DRAM * Port:

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...

PC/AT bus (ISA),

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit Integer (computer science), integers or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet (computing), octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) arc ...

compatible * Original MSRP: $499 or $699 respectively ATI VGA Edge-16 * Cost reduced VGA Wonder 16 * Lacks the bus mouse connector and the digital TTL output * 256kb DRAM (not expandable to 512kb) ATI VGA Wonder+ (1990) ATI Wonder

* Chipset: ATI 28800-2, -4, or -5 * Based on a new chipset which claimed to offer speeds rivalling VRAM based cards * Dual page mode memory access * Dynamic CPU/CRT interleaving * 256KB or 512KB DRAM 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 Wonder XL (May 1991) * Sierra RAMDAC adds support for 15-bit colour in 640x480@72 Hz, 800x600@60 Hz * Supports a flicker-free vertical refresh rate of 72 Hz * 256KB, 512KB or 1MB DRAM * Original MSRP: $229, $349, $399 respectively ATI VGA Stereo·F/X ATI VGA Stereo FX

* 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 XL24 (1992) * Contains a Brooktree Bt481KPJ85 RAMDAC that adds support for hi and true colour graphics modes * 512KB or 1MB DRAM ATI VGA Wonder 1024 * A series of OEM cost reduced versions of several VGA Wonder models * Typically lacks the bus mouse connector and/or the digital TTL output

External links

YJFY Computer Component Museum

VGA Legacy

techPowerUp! GPU Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wonder Computer-related introductions in 1986 Graphics cards ATI Technologies products

MDA/CGA cards

EGA cards

VGA cards

See also

External links