CGA Graphics Hacks

The cluster focuses on early IBM PC graphics standards, particularly CGA display modes, color limitations, resolution hacks like 1024-color modes, and comparisons to EGA, VGA, Hercules cards, and text modes.

➡️ Stable 0.6x Hardware
3,301
Comments
19
Years Active
5
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#9008
Topic ID

Activity Over Time

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Keywords

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Sample Comments

kurthr Apr 12, 2022 View on HN

Man, it doesn't even cover CGA displays (200x160,16 color)!

cr0sh Jun 19, 2017 View on HN

There's a "mode" if you will, on CGA cards, that involves something similar - best explained here:http://8088mph.blogspot.com/2015/04/cga-in-1024-colors-new-m...If this hasn't already been featured on HN, I'd be surprised...

bitwize Dec 15, 2022 View on HN

16 colors at 640x480 resolution! VGA graphics are the future!

phiiiillll May 7, 2021 View on HN

Reminds me of the 1024 color CGA hack https://int10h.org/blog/2015/04/cga-in-1024-colors-new-mode-...

fsckboy Jun 6, 2024 View on HN

are you referring to the IBM PC monochrome console screen? or common terminals from that time?

tom_ May 3, 2022 View on HN

The pixels were very obvious at 320x200 on most late 80s CRTs with RGB input! (Standard for PC, very common on Amiga and ST.)

devoutsalsa Jul 30, 2024 View on HN

You're right. It was a CGA monitor. Forgot that detail.

blackhaz Apr 8, 2015 View on HN

I can't believe my eyes. 256 colors on CGA?! HOW?!

DanBC Jun 25, 2013 View on HN

It might be nice to replicate the 8 x 8 pixels (on a 640 x 200 screen) of the CGA 80 x 25 characters text mode.

bux93 Jun 6, 2024 View on HN

The hercules card had a "80 × 25 text mode with 9 × 14 pixel font (effective resolution of 720 × 350, MDA-compatible)" (wikipedia), but the graphics mode was 720 x 348.It always blew my mind that you'd buy a new videocard, and plug the big CRT monitor in it, and it would switch between different resolutions. Precisely because the holes and pixels don't line up, they supported a huge range of resolutions and it didn't look as smeared as on LCDs.I think the mask in t