# Video Graphics Array

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Computer display standard and resolution

Not to be confused with [Variable gauge](/source/Variable_gauge).

"VGA" redirects here. For other uses, see [VGA (disambiguation)](/source/VGA_(disambiguation)).

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Video Graphics Array Release date April 2, 1987; 39 years ago (1987-04-02) Cards Entry-level Chips and Technologies 82c441 Video-7 VEGA Deluxe ATI Graphics Solution Plus S3 (911 911A 924 801 805 805i 928 805p 928p) Matrox MAGIC RGB Paradise Systems PEGA 1 Tseng Labs ET3000 Cirrus Logic CL-GD400s Mid-range ATI Wonder series Paradise Systems PEGA 1a S3 Vision Tseng Labs ET4000 Cirrus Logic CL-GD500s High-end ATI Mach series Paradise Systems PEGA 2a S3 Trio Tseng Labs ET6000 Cirrus Logic CL-GD5000s History Predecessor Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) Professional Graphics Controller (PGC) Successor Super Video Graphics Array (SVGA) Extended Graphics Array (XGA)

**Video Graphics Array** (**VGA**) is a [video display controller](/source/Video_display_controller) and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the [IBM PS/2](/source/IBM_PS%2F2) line of computers in 1987,[1][2][3] which became ubiquitous in the [IBM PC compatible](/source/IBM_PC_compatible) industry within three years.[4] The term can now refer to the [computer display standard](/source/Computer_display_standard), the 15-pin [D-subminiature](/source/D-subminiature) [VGA connector](/source/VGA_connector), or the 640 × 480 [resolution](/source/Graphics_display_resolution) characteristic of the VGA hardware.[5]

VGA was the last IBM graphics standard to which the majority of IBM PC compatible computer manufacturers conformed, making it the [lowest common denominator](/source/Lowest_common_denominator#Colloquial_usage) that virtually all post-1990 PC graphics hardware can be expected to implement.[6]

VGA was adapted into many extended forms by third parties, collectively known as [Super VGA](/source/Super_VGA),[7] then gave way to custom [graphics processing units](/source/Graphics_processing_unit) which, in addition to their proprietary interfaces and capabilities, continue to implement common VGA graphics modes and interfaces to the present day.

The VGA analog interface standard has been extended to support resolutions of up to 2048 × 1536 for general usage, with specialized applications improving it further still.[*[specify](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*][8]

## Hardware design

VGA section on the motherboard in [IBM PS/55](/source/IBM_PS%2F55)

The [color palette](/source/Palette_(computing)) [random-access memory](/source/Random-access_memory) (RAM) and its corresponding [digital-to-analog converter](/source/Digital-to-analog_converter) (DAC) were integrated into one chip (the [RAMDAC](/source/RAMDAC)) and the [cathode-ray tube](/source/Cathode-ray_tube) controller ([CRTC](/source/Video_display_controller#Types)) was integrated into a main VGA chip, which eliminated several other chips in previous graphics adapters, so VGA only additionally required external video RAM and [timing crystals](/source/Timing_crystal).[9][10]

This small part count allowed IBM to include VGA directly on the PS/2 motherboard, in contrast to prior IBM PC models – [PC](/source/IBM_Personal_Computer), [PC/XT](/source/PC%2FXT), and [PC AT](/source/PC_AT) – which required a separate display adapter installed in a slot in order to connect a monitor. The term *array* rather than *adapter* in the name denoted that it was not a completely independent expansion device, but a single component that could be integrated into a system.[11]

Unlike the graphics adapters that preceded it ([MDA](/source/IBM_Monochrome_Display_Adapter), [CGA](/source/Color_Graphics_Adapter), [EGA](/source/Enhanced_Graphics_Adapter) and many third-party options), there was initially no discrete VGA card released by IBM. The first commercial implementation of VGA was a built-in component of the IBM PS/2, in which it was accompanied by 256 KiB of video RAM, and a new DE-15 connector replacing the DE-9 used by previous graphics adapters. IBM later released the standalone *IBM PS/2 Display Adapter*, which utilized the VGA but could be added to machines that did not have it built in.[12][11]

On some machines and cables, pin 9 was missing. Pin 9's purpose is to power an EEPROM chip in the monitor, which tells the graphics card the capabilities on the monitor. Systems or cables missing this are likely using an older version of VGA.

## Capabilities

Simulated VGA 640 × 480 16 color image

Simulated VGA 320 × 200 256 color image (corrected for aspect ratio)

Comparison of standard resolutions including VGA's 640 × 480

The VGA supports all graphics modes supported by the MDA, CGA and EGA cards, as well as multiple new modes.

### Standard graphics modes

- 320 × 200 in 4 or 16 colors (CGA/EGA compatibility)

- 320 × 200 in 256 colors ([Mode 13h](/source/Mode_13h))

- 640 × 200 and 640 × 350 in 16 colors or monochrome (CGA/EGA compatibility)

- [640 × 480](/source/640%C3%97480) in 16 colors or [monochrome](/source/Monochrome)[13][14]

The 640 × 480 16-color and 320 × 200 256-color modes had fully redefinable palettes, with each entry selected from an [18-bit (262,144-color)](/source/List_of_monochrome_and_RGB_color_formats#18-bit_RGB) gamut.[15][16][17][18]

The other modes defaulted to standard EGA or CGA-compatible palettes and instructions, but still permitted remapping of the palette with VGA-specific commands.

#### 640 × 480 graphics mode

The 640 × 480 resolution (at 256 colors rather than 16) was originally used by IBM in [PGC](/source/Professional_Graphics_Controller) graphics (which VGA offers no backward compatibility for) but did not see wide adoption until VGA was introduced. As the VGA began to be cloned in great quantities by manufacturers who added ever-increasing capabilities, its 640 × 480, 16-color mode became the de facto lowest common denominator of graphics cards. By the mid 1990s, a 640 × 480×16 graphics mode using the VGA memory and register specifications was expected by operating systems such as [Windows 95](/source/Windows_95) and [OS/2 Warp 3.0](/source/OS%2F2_Warp_3), which provided no support for lower resolutions or bit depths, or support for other memory or register layouts without additional drivers. Well into the 2000s, even after the [VESA](/source/VESA) standard for graphics cards became commonplace, the "VGA" graphics mode remained a compatibility option for PC operating systems.

#### Other graphics modes

Nonstandard display modes can be implemented, with horizontal resolutions of:

- 512 to 800 pixels wide, in 16 colors

- 256 to 400 pixels wide, in 256 colors

And heights of:

- 200, or 350 to 410 lines (including 400-line) at 70 Hz refresh rate, or

- 224 to 256, or 448 to 512 lines (including 240 or 480-line) at 60 Hz refresh rate

- 512 to 600 lines at reduced vertical refresh rates (down to 50 Hz, and including e.g. 528, 544, 552, 560, 576-line), depending on individual monitor compatibility.

For example, high resolution modes with square pixels are available at 768 × 576 or 704 × 528 in 16 colors, or medium-low resolution at 320 × 240 with 256 colors. Alternatively, extended resolution is available with "fat" pixels and 256 colors using, e.g., 400 × 600 (50 Hz) or 360 × 480 (60 Hz), and "thin" pixels, 16 colors and the 70 Hz refresh rate with e.g. 736 × 410 mode.

"Narrow" modes such as 256 × 224 tend to preserve the same pixel ratio as in e.g. 320 × 240 mode unless the monitor is adjusted to stretch the image out to fill the screen, as they are derived simply by masking down the wider mode instead of altering pixel or line timings, but can be useful for reducing memory requirements and pixel addressing calculations for arcade game conversions or console emulators.

The PC version of [Pinball Fantasies](/source/Pinball_Fantasies) has the option to use non-standard, "high res" modes, such as 640 × 350, allowing it to display a larger portion of the pinball table on screen.[19] The game [Scorched Earth](/source/Scorched_Earth_(video_game)) uses a default resolution of 360 × 480, with many other nonstandard resolutions available.[20]

### Standard text modes

See also: [VGA text mode](/source/VGA_text_mode)

VGA also implements several text modes:

- 80 × 25, rendered with a 9 × 16 pixel font, with an effective resolution of 720 × 400[21]

- 40 × 25, with a 9 × 16 font, with an effective resolution of 360 × 400

- 80 × 43 or 80 × 50, with an 8 × 8 font grid, with an effective resolution of 640 × 344 or 640 × 400 pixels.

As with the pixel-based graphics modes, additional text modes are possible by programming the VGA correctly, with an overall maximum of about 100 × 80 cells and an active area spanning about 88 × 64 cells.

One variant that is sometimes seen is 80 × 30 or 80 × 60, using an 8 × 16 or 8 × 8 font and an effective 640 × 480 pixel display, which trades use of the more flickery 60 Hz mode for an additional 5 or 10 lines of text and square character blocks (or, at 80 × 30, square half-blocks).

## Technical details

Unlike the cards that preceded it, which used binary [TTL](/source/Transistor%E2%80%93transistor_logic) signals to interface with a monitor (and also [composite](/source/Composite_video), in the case of the CGA), the VGA introduced a video interface using pure analog [RGB signals](/source/Component_video#RGB_analog_component_video), with a range of 0.7 volts peak-to-peak max. In conjunction with a [18-bit](/source/Color_depth#18-bit) [RAMDAC](/source/RAMDAC) (6-bit per RGB channel), this produced a color gamut of 262,144 colors.[15][16][17][18]

The original VGA specifications follow:

- Selectable 25.175 MHz[22] or 28.322 MHz master pixel clock

- Maximum of 640 horizontal [pixels](/source/Pixel)[23] in graphics mode, and 720 pixels in text mode

- Maximum of 480 lines[23]

- [Refresh rates](/source/Refresh_rate) at 60 or 70 [Hz](/source/Hz)[24]

- [Vertical blank interrupt](/source/Vertical_blank_interrupt) (Not all [clone](/source/Clone_(computing)) cards support this.)

- [Planar](/source/Planar_(computer_graphics)) mode: up to 16 colors (4 [bit planes](/source/Bit_plane))

- Packed-pixel mode: 256 colors ([Mode 13h](/source/Mode_13h))

- Hardware [smooth scrolling](/source/Smooth_scrolling) support

- No [Blitter](/source/Blitter) - Supports fast data transfers via "VGA latch" registers

- [Barrel shifter](/source/Barrel_shifter)

- [Split screen](/source/Split_screen_(video_games)) support

### Signal timings

The intended standard value for the horizontal frequency of VGA's 640 × 480 mode is exactly double the value used in the [NTSC-M](/source/NTSC-M) video system, as this made it much easier to offer optional [TV-out](/source/TV-out) solutions or external VGA-to-TV converter boxes at the time of VGA's development. It is also at least nominally twice that of CGA, which also supported [composite monitors](/source/Composite_monitor).

All "derived" VGA timings (i.e., those which use the master 25.175 and 28.322 MHz crystals and, to a lesser extent, the nominal 31.469 kHz line rate) can be varied by software that bypasses the VGA firmware interface and communicates directly with the VGA hardware, as many MS-DOS-based games did. However, only the standard modes, or modes that at least use almost exactly the same H-sync and V-sync timings as one of the standard modes, can be expected to work with the original late-1980s and early-1990s VGA monitors. The use of other timings may, in fact, damage such monitors and thus was usually avoided by software publishers.

Third-party "multisync" CRT monitors were more flexible, and in combination with "super EGA", VGA, and later SVGA graphics cards using extended modes, could display a much wider range of resolutions and refresh rates at arbitrary sync frequencies and pixel clock rates.

For the most common VGA mode (640 × 480, 60 Hz, [non-interlaced](/source/Non-interlaced)), the horizontal timings can be found in the HP Super VGA Display Installation Guide and in other places.[25][26]

### Typical uses of selected modes

See also: [Extended Display Identification Data](/source/Extended_Display_Identification_Data)

640 × 400 @ 70 Hz is traditionally the video mode used for booting VGA-compatible [x86](/source/X86) [personal computers](/source/Personal_computer)[27] that show a graphical boot screen, while text-mode boot uses 720 × 400 @ 70 Hz.

This convention has been eroded in recent years, however, with POST and BIOS screens moving to higher resolutions, taking advantage of [EDID](/source/EDID) data to match the resolution to a connected monitor.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

640 × 480 @ 60 Hz is the default Windows graphics mode (usually with 16 colors),[27] up to Windows 2000. It remains an option in XP and later versions[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] via the boot menu "low resolution video" option and per-application compatibility mode settings, despite newer versions of Windows now defaulting to 1024 × 768 and generally not allowing any resolution below 800 × 600 to be set.

The need for such a low-quality, universally compatible fallback has diminished since the turn of the millennium, as VGA-signalling standard screens or adaptors unable to show anything beyond the original resolutions have become increasingly rare[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*].

320 × 200 at 70 Hz was the most common mode for early 1990s PC games, with pixel-doubling and line-doubling performed in hardware to present a 640 × 400 at 70 Hz signal to the monitor.

The [Windows 95/98/Me](/source/Windows_9x) [LOGO.SYS](/source/LOGO.SYS) boot-up image was 320 × 400 resolution, displayed with pixel-doubling to present a 640 × 400 at 70 Hz signal to the monitor. The 400-line signal was the same as the standard 80 × 25 text mode, which meant that pressing Esc to return to text mode didn't change the frequency of the video signal, and thus the monitor did not have to resynchronize (which could otherwise have taken several seconds).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Connector

Main article: [VGA connector](/source/VGA_connector)

A standard [VGA connector](/source/VGA_connector)

VGA [BNC connectors](/source/BNC_connector)

The standard [VGA monitor interface](/source/VGA_connector) is a 15-pin [D-subminiature connector](/source/D-subminiature_connector) in the "E" shell, variously referred to as "DE-15", "HD-15" and erroneously "DB-15(HD)".

All VGA connectors carry [analog](/source/Analog_television) [RGBHV](/source/RGBHV) (red, green, blue, [horizontal sync](/source/Horizontal_sync), [vertical sync](/source/Vertical_sync)) video signals. Modern connectors also include [VESA](/source/VESA) [DDC](/source/Display_Data_Channel) pins, for identifying attached display devices.

Because VGA uses low-voltage analog signals, signal degradation becomes a factor with low-quality or overly long cables. Solutions include shielded cables, cables that include a separate internal [coaxial cable](/source/Coaxial_cable) for each color signal, and "broken out" cables utilizing a separate coaxial cable with a [BNC connector](/source/BNC_connector) for each color signal.

BNC breakout cables typically use five connectors, one each for Red, Green, Blue, Horizontal Sync, and Vertical Sync, and do not include the other signal lines of the VGA interface. With BNC, the coaxial wires are fully shielded end-to-end and through the interconnect so that virtually no crosstalk and very little external interference can occur. The use of BNC RGB video cables predates VGA in other markets and industries.

## Color palette

See also: [List of monochrome and RGB color formats](/source/List_of_monochrome_and_RGB_color_formats), [18-bit RGB](/source/List_of_monochrome_and_RGB_color_formats#18-bit_RGB), [List of 16-bit computer color palettes](/source/List_of_16-bit_computer_color_palettes), and [MCGA and VGA](/source/List_of_16-bit_computer_hardware_palettes#MCGA_and_VGA)

VGA 256 default color palette

VGA palette organised into 4 groups

Examples of VGA images in 640×480 with 16 colors and 320×200 with 256 colors (bottom). [Dithering](/source/Dither) is used to mask color limitations.

The VGA color system uses register-based palettes to map colors in various bit depths to its 18-bit output gamut. It is [backward compatible](/source/Backward_compatible) with the EGA and CGA adapters, but supports extra [bit depth](/source/Bit_depth_(computer_graphics)) for the palette when in these modes.

For instance, when in EGA 16-color modes, VGA offers 16 palette registers, and in 256-color modes, it offers 256 registers.[28] Each palette register contains a [3×6 bit](/source/List_of_monochrome_and_RGB_color_formats#18-bit_RGB) RGB value, selecting a color from the 18-bit gamut of the [DAC](/source/Digital-to-analog_converter).

These color registers are initialized to default values IBM expected to be most useful for each mode. For instance, EGA 16-color modes initialize to the default CGA 16-color palette, and the 256-color mode initializes to a palette consisting of 16 CGA colors, 16 gray shades, and then 216 colors chosen by IBM to fit expected use cases.[29][30] After initialization, they can be redefined at any time without altering the contents of video RAM, permitting [palette cycling](/source/Color_cycling).

In the 256-color modes, the DAC is set to combine four 2-bit color values, one from each plane, into an 8-bit value representing an index into the 256-color palette. The CPU interface combines the 4 planes in the same way, a feature called "chain-4", so that each pixel appears to the CPU as a packed 8-bit value representing the palette index.[31]

## Use

The video memory of the VGA is mapped to the PC's memory via a window in the range between segments [0xA0000](/source/Hexadecimal) and 0xBFFFF in the PC's [real mode](/source/Real_mode) address space (A000:0000 and B000:FFFF in segment:offset notation). Typically, these starting segments are:

- 0xA0000 for EGA/VGA graphics modes (64 [KB](/source/Kibibyte))

- 0xB0000 for monochrome text mode (32 KB)

- 0xB8000 for color text mode and CGA-compatible graphics modes (32 KB)

A typical VGA card also provides this port-mapped I/O segment:

- 0x3B0 to 0x3DF

Due to the use of different address mappings for different modes, it is possible to have a monochrome adapter (i.e., MDA or [Hercules](/source/Hercules_Graphics_Card)) and a color adapter such as the VGA, [EGA](/source/Enhanced_Graphics_Adapter), or [CGA](/source/Color_Graphics_Adapter) installed in the same machine.

At the beginning of the 1980s, this was typically used to display [Lotus 1-2-3](/source/Lotus_1-2-3) spreadsheets in high-resolution text on a monochrome display and associated graphics on a low-resolution CGA display simultaneously. Many programmers also used such a setup with the monochrome card displaying debugging information while a program ran in graphics mode on the other card. Several debuggers, like Borland's [Turbo Debugger](/source/Turbo_Debugger), [D86](/source/D86_(debugger)) and Microsoft's [CodeView](/source/CodeView) could work in a dual monitor setup. Either Turbo Debugger or CodeView could be used to debug Windows.

There were also device drivers such as ox.sys, which implemented a serial interface simulation on the monochrome display and, for example, allowed the user to receive crash messages from debugging versions of Windows without using an actual serial terminal.

It is also possible to use the "MODE MONO" command at the command prompt to redirect the output to the monochrome display. When a monochrome adapter was not present, it was possible to use the 0xB000–0xB7FF address space as additional memory for other programs.

A VGA-capable [PCI](/source/Peripheral_Component_Interconnect) / [PCIe](/source/PCIe) graphics card can provide legacy VGA registers in its [PCI configuration space](/source/PCI_configuration_space), which may be remapped by [BIOS](/source/BIOS) or [operating system](/source/Operating_system).[32]

### Programming

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"Unchaining" the 256 KB VGA memory into four separate "planes" makes VGA's 256 KB of RAM available in 256-color modes. There is a trade-off for extra complexity and performance loss in some types of graphics operations, but this is mitigated by other operations becoming faster in certain situations:

- Single-color polygon filling could be accelerated due to the ability to set four pixels with a single write to the hardware.[33]

- The video adapter could assist in copying video RAM regions, which was sometimes faster than doing this with the relatively slow CPU-to-VGA interface.

- The use of multiple video pages in hardware allowed [double buffering](/source/Double_buffering), [triple buffering](/source/Triple_buffering) or split screens, which, while available in VGA's 320 × 200 16-color mode, was not possible using stock [Mode 13h](/source/Mode_13h).

- Most particularly, several higher, arbitrary-resolution display modes were possible, all the way up to the programmable limit of 800 × 600 with 16 colors (or 400 × 600 with 256 colors), as well as other custom modes using unusual combinations of horizontal and vertical pixel counts in either color mode.

Software such as [Fractint](/source/Fractint), [Xlib](/source/Xlib) and ColoRIX also supported tweaked 256-color modes on standard adaptors using freely-combinable widths of 256, 320, and 360 pixels and heights of 200, 240 and 256 (or 400, 480 and 512) lines, extending still further to 384 or 400 pixel columns and 576 or 600 (or 288, 300). However, 320 × 240 was the best known and most frequently used, as it offered a standard 40-column resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio with square pixels. "320 × 240 × 8" resolution was commonly called [Mode X](/source/Mode_X), the name used by [Michael Abrash](/source/Michael_Abrash) when he presented the resolution in [Dr. Dobb's Journal](/source/Dr._Dobb's_Journal).

The highest resolution modes were only used in special, opt-in cases rather than as standard, especially where high line counts were involved. Standard VGA monitors had a fixed line scan (H-scan) rate – "multisync" monitors being, at the time, expensive rarities – and so the vertical/frame (V-scan) [refresh rate](/source/Refresh_rate) had to be reduced in order to accommodate them, which increased visible [flicker](/source/Flicker_(screen)) and thus [eye strain](/source/Eye_strain). For example, the highest 800 × 600 mode, being otherwise based on the matching SVGA resolution (with 628 total lines), reduced the refresh rate from 60 Hz to about 50 Hz (and 832 × 624, the theoretical maximum resolution achievable with 256 KB at 16 colors, would have reduced it to about 48 Hz, barely higher than the rate at which XGA monitors employed a double-frequency interlacing technique to mitigate full-frame flicker).

These modes were also outright incompatible with some monitors, producing display problems such as picture detail disappearing into [overscan](/source/Overscan) (especially in the horizontal dimension), vertical roll, poor [horizontal sync](/source/Horizontal_sync) or even a complete lack of picture depending on the exact mode attempted. Due to these potential issues, most VGA tweaks used in commercial products were limited to more standards-compliant, "monitor-safe" combinations, such as 320 × 240 (square pixels, three video pages, 60 Hz), 320 × 400 (double resolution, two video pages, 70 Hz), and 360 × 480 (highest resolution compatible with both standard VGA monitors and cards, one video page, 60 Hz) in 256 colors, or double the horizontal resolution in 16-color mode.

## Hardware manufacturers

IBM introduced its first VGA hardware in April 1987. Within six months, clones were available.[34][35]

- [ATI](/source/ATI_Technologies): Graphics Solution Plus, Wonder series, Mach series

- [S3 Graphics](/source/S3_Graphics): S3 911, 911A, 924, 801, 805, 805i, 928, 805p, 928p, S3 Vision series, S3 Trio series

- [Matrox](/source/Matrox): MAGIC RGB

- [Plantronics](/source/Plantronics): Colorplus

- [Paradise Systems](/source/Paradise_Systems): PEGA 1, PEGA 1a, PEGA 2a

- [Tseng Labs](/source/Tseng_Labs): ET3000, [ET4000](/source/Tseng_Labs_ET4000), ET6000

- [Cirrus Logic](/source/Cirrus_Logic): CL-GD400, CL-GD500 and CL-GD5000 series

- [Trident Microsystems](/source/Trident_Microsystems): TVGA 8000 series, TVGA 9000 series, TGUI9000 series

- [IIT](/source/8x8)

- [NEC](/source/NEC)

- [Chips and Technologies](/source/Chips_and_Technologies)

- [SiS](/source/Silicon_Integrated_Systems)

- Tamerack

- [Realtek](/source/Realtek)

- [Oak Technology](/source/Oak_Technology)

- [LSI](/source/LSI_Corporation)

- Hualon

- Cornerstone Imaging

- [Winbond](/source/Winbond)

- [AMD](/source/AMD)

- [Western Digital](/source/Western_Digital)

- [Intergraph](/source/Intergraph)

- [Texas Instruments](/source/Texas_Instruments)

- Gemini ([defunct](/source/List_of_defunct_graphics_chips_and_card_companies))

- [Genoa Systems](/source/Genoa_Systems) ([defunct](/source/List_of_defunct_graphics_chips_and_card_companies))

## Successors

### Super VGA (SVGA)

Main article: [Super VGA](/source/Super_VGA)

Super VGA (SVGA) is a display standard developed in 1988, when [NEC Home Electronics](/source/NEC_Home_Electronics) announced its creation of the [Video Electronics Standards Association](/source/Video_Electronics_Standards_Association) (VESA). The development of SVGA was led by [NEC](/source/NEC), along with other VESA members including [ATI Technologies](/source/ATI_Technologies) and [Western Digital](/source/Western_Digital). SVGA enabled [graphics display resolutions](/source/Graphics_display_resolution) up to 800 × 600 [pixels](/source/Pixel), 56% more than VGA's maximum resolution of 640 × 480 pixels.[36]

### Extended Graphics Array (XGA)

Main article: [Extended Graphics Array](/source/Extended_Graphics_Array)

Extended Graphics Array (XGA) is an IBM display standard introduced in 1990. Later, it became the most common appellation of the 1024 × 768 pixels [display resolution](/source/Display_resolution).

## See also

- [VGA text mode](/source/VGA_text_mode)

- [Display resolution standards](/source/Display_resolution_standards)

- [List of color palettes](/source/List_of_color_palettes)

- [List of video connectors](/source/List_of_video_connectors)

- [List of monochrome and RGB color formats](/source/List_of_monochrome_and_RGB_color_formats)

- [List of 16-bit computer color palettes](/source/List_of_16-bit_computer_color_palettes)

- [List of defunct graphics chips and card companies](/source/List_of_defunct_graphics_chips_and_card_companies)

- [Super VGA](/source/Super_VGA)

- [AX-VGA](/source/AX-VGA) [[ja](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Enhanced_Graphics_Adapter#AX-VGA)] (for Japanese [AX architecture](/source/AX_architecture) computers)

- [DOS/V](/source/DOS%2FV)

- [DisplayPort](/source/DisplayPort) and [HDMI](/source/HDMI) (which have largely replaced VGA)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-pcmag_1-0)** Petzold, Charles (July 1987). ["Triple standard: three new video modes from IBM"](https://books.google.com/books?id=LRBokcwLB70C&pg=PA131). *PC Magazine*. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2020-04-13.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Polsson, Ken. ["Chronology of IBM Personal Computers"](http://pctimeline.info/ibmpc/ibm1987.htm). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150221071923/http://pctimeline.info/ibmpc/ibm1987.htm) from the original on 2015-02-21. Retrieved 2015-01-28.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["What is VGA (Video Graphics Array)?"](https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/v/vga.htm). Retrieved 2018-08-13.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Fitzgerald, Michael (1990-10-22). ["IBM mulls successor to VGA"](https://books.google.com/books?id=coyDNO6C6OoC&q=computerworld%20VGA%20expected&pg=PA4). *Computerworld*. Vol. XXIV, no. 43. IDG Enterprise. p. 4.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Drawing In Protected Mode"](https://wiki.osdev.org/Drawing_In_Protected_Mode). *OSDev Wiki*. Retrieved 2020-12-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-computer.org_6-0)** Dr. Jon Peddie (12 March 2019). ["Famous Graphics Chips: IBM's VGA. The VGA was the most popular graphics chip ever"](https://www.computer.org/publications/tech-news/chasing-pixels/Famous-Graphics-Chips-IBMs-VGA). Retrieved 2020-04-13. It is said about airplanes that the DC3 and 737 are the most popular planes ever built, and the 737, in particular, the best-selling airplane ever. The same could be said for the ubiquitous VGA, and its big brother the XGA. The VGA, which can still be found buried in today's modern GPUs and CPUs, set the foundation for a video standard, and an application programming standard.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Eckert; Azinger (April 15, 1991). ["Product Comparison - Super VGA Boards"](https://books.google.com/books?id=4FAEAAAAMBAJ&q=super+VGA+infoworld&pg=PT50). *InfoWorld*. pp. 53–63.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Magazines, S. P. H. (April 2007). [*HWM*](https://books.google.com/books?id=HOsDAAAAMBAJ&q=1080p%20vga&pg=PT65). SPH Magazines.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Peddie, Jon (12 March 2019). ["Famous Graphics Chips: IBM's VGA | IEEE Computer Society"](https://www.computer.org/publications/tech-news/chasing-pixels/Famous-Graphics-Chips-IBMs-VGA/). *[IEEE Computer Society](/source/Institute_of_Electrical_and_Electronics_Engineers#IEEE_Computer_Society)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221128083601/https://www.computer.org/publications/tech-news/chasing-pixels/Famous-Graphics-Chips-IBMs-VGA) from the original on 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2022-12-27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Thompson, Stephen (1988). "VGA ‒ Design choices for a new video subsystem". *IBM Systems Journal*. **27** (2). IBM: 185‒197. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1147/sj.272.0185](https://doi.org/10.1147%2Fsj.272.0185).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_11-1) Rosch, Winn (December 22, 1987). ["IBM VGA Adapter Card: 256K Video RAM, 17 Display Modes"](https://books.google.com/books?id=gC-DsOtl2MgC&q=IBM+PS%2F2+display+adapter&pg=PA35). *PC Magazine*. p. 35.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["THE IBM PERSONAL SYSTEM/2 (TM) DISPLAY ADAPTER, THE IBM PERSONAL SYSTEM/2 DISPLAY ADAPTER 8514/A AND THE IBM PERSONAL SYSTEM/2 8514 MEMORY EXPANSION KIT"](https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/announcements/archive/ENUS187-054). 1987-04-02. Retrieved 2020-08-16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Hinner, Martin. ["VGA Timings"](http://martin.hinner.info/vga/timing.html). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20121027091012/http://martin.hinner.info/vga/timing.html) from the original on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Drawing In Protected Mode - OSDev Wiki"](https://wiki.osdev.org/Drawing_In_Protected_Mode). *wiki.osdev.org*. Retrieved 2020-12-20.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_15-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_15-1) [US5574478A](https://patents.google.com/patent/US5574478/en), Bril, Vlad & Pett, Boyd G., "VGA color system for personal computers", issued 1996-11-12

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_16-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_16-1) ["Reading and writing 18-bit RGB VGA Palette (pal) files with C#"](https://www.cyotek.com/blog/reading-and-writing-18-bit-rgb-vga-palette-pal-files-with-csharp). *The Cyotek Blog*. 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2023-03-27.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:3_17-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:3_17-1) ["VGA/SVGA Video Programming--Color Registers"](http://www.osdever.net/FreeVGA/vga/colorreg.htm). *www.osdever.net*. Retrieved 2023-03-27.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:4_18-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:4_18-1) ["VGA Palette Conversion \ VOGONS"](https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=38713). *www.vogons.org*. Retrieved 2023-03-27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["Late PCI, early and middle AGP video chips DOS game compatibility test results"](https://gona.mactar.hu/DOS_TESTS/#selection-125.18-125.26). *archive.ph*.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Hicken, Wendell (1995). [*Scorched Earth 1.5 - The Mother of All Games -*](https://www.whicken.com/scorch/scorch15.zip). Wendell Hicken. p. 40.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** Abrash, Michael. ["How 360×480 in 256 color mode works"](http://www.phatcode.net/res/224/files/html/ch32/32-05.html). *Graphics Programming Black Book*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120423034027/http://www.phatcode.net/res/224/files/html/ch32/32-05.html) from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** ["VGA Signal 640 x 480 @ 60 Hz Industry standard timing"](http://www.tinyvga.com/vga-timing/640x480@60Hz). *www.tinyvga.com*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ps2_refman1992_23-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ps2_refman1992_23-1) PS/2 Video Subsystem Technical Reference Manual 1992

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** ["VGA Signal timings"](http://www.tinyvga.com/vga-timing). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160620145944/http://tinyvga.com/vga-timing) from the original on 2016-06-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Javier_Valcarce_timings_list_25-0)** ["Javier Valcarce VGA timings page"](http://www.javiervalcarce.eu/wiki/VGA_Video_Signal_Format_and_Timing_Specifications). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150102175843/http://javiervalcarce.eu/wiki/VGA_Video_Signal_Format_and_Timing_Specifications) from the original on 2015-01-02.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-26)** HP D1194A Super VGA Display & HP D1195A Ergonomic Super VGA Display Installation Guide, Hewlett Packard

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-epanorama_net-vga_timing_27-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-epanorama_net-vga_timing_27-1) ["ePanorama.net - Circuits"](http://www.epanorama.net/documents/pc/vga_timing.html). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090227050541/http://www.epanorama.net/documents/pc/vga_timing.html) from the original on 2009-02-27. 090425 epanorama.net

1. **[^](#cite_ref-28)** ["VGA/SVGA Video Programming--Color Regsters"](http://www.scs.stanford.edu/17wi-cs140/pintos/specs/freevga/vga/colorreg.htm). *www.scs.stanford.edu*. Retrieved 2020-08-16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-29)** [*IBM PS/2 Hardware Interface Technical Reference Manual*](https://web.archive.org/web/20180514201314/http://classiccomputers.info/down/IBM_PS2/documents/PS2_Hardware_Interface_Technical_Reference_May88.pdf) (PDF). pp. 13–18. Archived from [the original](http://classiccomputers.info/down/IBM_PS2/documents/PS2_Hardware_Interface_Technical_Reference_May88.pdf) (PDF) on 2018-05-14. Retrieved 2020-08-16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-30)** [retrocomputing SE question: why-were-those-colors-chosen-to-be-the-default-palette-for-256-color-vga ?](https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/27994/why-were-those-colors-chosen-to-be-the-default-palette-for-256-color-vga)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-31)** Uphoff, Matthias (1990). *Die Programmierung der EGA/VGA Grafikkarte*; [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-89319-274-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-89319-274-3); this whole section was learned from this book

1. **[^](#cite_ref-32)** ["PCI BARs and other means of accessing the GPU — envytools git documentation"](https://envytools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/hw/bus/bars.html). *envytools.readthedocs.io*. Retrieved 2024-07-29.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-33)** Sanglard, Fabien. "Menu Phase: 2D Renderer". *GAME ENGINE BLACK BOOK: WOLFENSTEIN 3D*. p. 132.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ponting19890626_34-0)** Ponting, Bob (June 26, 1989). ["High-Resolution Standard is Latest Step in DOS Graphics Evolution"](https://books.google.com/books?id=lTAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT47). *InfoWorld*. Vol. 11, no. 26. p. 48.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-35)** ["The History of the Modern Graphics Processor"](http://www.techspot.com/article/650-history-of-the-gpu/). *techspot.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160329140009/http://www.techspot.com/article/650-history-of-the-gpu/) from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-InfoWorld_1988-11-14_36-0)** Brownstein, Mark (November 14, 1988). ["NEC Forms Video Standards Group"](https://books.google.com/books?id=wTsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT2). *[InfoWorld](/source/InfoWorld)*. Vol. 10, no. 46. p. 3. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0199-6649](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0199-6649). Retrieved May 27, 2016.

## Further reading

- J. D. Neal (1997). ["VGA Chipset Reference"](http://osdever.net./FreeVGA/vga/vga.htm). *Hardware Level VGA and SVGA Video Programming Information Page*.

- Jordan Brown and John Kingman (6 May 1996). ["CHRP VGA Display Device Binding to IEEE 1275–1994 Standard for Boot (Initialization, Configuration) Firmware"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060909014621/http://playground.sun.com/1275/bindings/devices/html/vga-1_0d.html). 1.0. Archived from [the original](http://playground.sun.com./1275/bindings/devices/html/vga-1_0d.html) on 9 September 2006. Retrieved 22 June 2006.

- Hinner. ["VGA Interface and video signal documents"](http://martin.hinner.info/vga/). *Signal Level VGA and SVGA Video Information Page*.

- ["IBM VGA Technical Reference Manual"](http://www.mcamafia.de/pdf/ibm_vgaxga_trm2.pdf) (PDF). *This is the original IBM reference. The document provides a good overview of VGA functionality and is fairly complete, including a detailed description of standard BIOS modes and some programming techniques*.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [VGA](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:VGA).

- [VGA pinout and signals descriptions](http://pinouts.ru/Video/VGA15.shtml)

v t e Computer display standards PC-compatible video hardware MDA (1981) CGA (1981) HGC (1982) Plantronics (1982) Quadcolor (1983) Tandy (1984) PGC (1984) EGA (1984) JEGA (1987) MCGA (1987) VGA (1987) 8514/A (1987) SVGA (1987) AX-VGA TIGA (1989) XGA (1990) EVGA (1991) Standard display resolutions 160×120 320×200 640×200 640×350 640×480 720×348 800×600 1024×768 1152×864 1280×1024 1400×1050 1600×1200 2048×1536 2560×2048 3200×2400 4096×3072 5120×4096 6400×4800 Widescreen display resolutions 240×160 320×240 432×240 480×320 640×400 800×480 854×480 1024×576 1280×720 1280×768 1280×800 1366×768 1366×900 1440×900 1600×900 1680×945 1680×1050 1920×1080 (1080p) 1920×1200 2048×1152 2560×1440 (QHD) 2560×1600 3200×2048 3840×2160 (4K UHD) 3200×2400 3840×2400 5120×2880 5120×3200 5760×3240 6400×4096 6400×4800 7680×4320 (8K UHD) 7680×4800 15360 × 8640

v t e Personal computers by IBM Influence on the PC market PC business acquisition by Lenovo Desktop and all-in-one Single models 5120 PC list of models PC XT XT/370 3270 PC XT 286 JX PCjr PC AT AT/370 3270 AT Series pre-PS/2 Datamaster 5550 Industrial Computer PS/2 (list of models) 25 25 286 25 SX 30 30 286 35 SX 35 LS 35 SLC 40 SX 40 SLC 50 50 Z 53 486SLC2 53 LS 55 SX 55 LS 56 SX 56 LS 56 SLC 56 SLC LS 56 486SLC2 56 486SLC3 56 486SLC3 LS 57 SX 57 SLC 57 SLC2 57 SLC3 Ultimedia M57 SLC Ultimedia M57 486SLC2 60 65 SX 70 386 70 486 76 77 80 E PS/55 PS/V post-PS/2 PS/1 EduQuest ValuePoint Ambra PC Series Aptiva NetVista ThinkCentre A series M series Portable 5100 5110 Portable PC PS/2 portables P70 P75 Laptop pre-ThinkPad Convertible PS/2 Laptop L40 SX CL57 SX PS/2 Note and PS/note N33SX N45SL N51SX N51SLC Model 425/425C PS/55 Note PCradio ThinkPad 2xx series 220 230 235 240 3xx series 300 310 350 360 365 380 390 5xx series 500 550BJ 555BJ 560 570 6xx series 600 7xx series 700 701 "Butterfly" 750 755 760 765 770 Power Series 800 820 821 822 823 850 851 860 A series A20m A21m A22m A22e A20p A21p A22p A30 A31 A30p A31p G series G40 G41 G50 R series R30 R31 R32 R40 R50 R51 R52 R60 R61 T series T20 T21 T22 T23 T30 T40 T41 T42 T43 T60 T61 X series X20 X21 X22 X23 X24 X30 X31 X32 X40 X41 X60 X60t X61t Others i Series TransNote Handheld Palm Top PC 110 WorkPad Z50 Prototypes Leapfrog Power Series 600 ThinkPad 240 with Transmeta Crusoe WatchPad Video hardware Monochrome Display Adapter Color Graphics Adapter Enhanced Graphics Adapter Professional Graphics Controller Multi-Color Graphics Array Video Graphics Array IBM 8514/A Extended Graphics Array Related 5151 monitor Academic System BASIC Cassette tape Extended Density Format IBM PC compatible Industry Standard Architecture IntelliStation Keyboards Model F Model M Micro Channel Music Feature Card Mwave PS/2 Mouse SurePOS UltraBay ThinkLight

v t e Audio and video connectors Analog audio Banana plug Binding post D-subminiature Euroblock DIN Mini-DIN Audio jack RCA Speaker spring terminal Speakon XLR Digital audio BNC D-sub S/PDIF TOSLINK XLR Video BNC Component RGB Component YPbPr Composite video D-Terminal DB13W3 DFP OpenLDI DIN Mini-DIN DMS-59 LFH DVI Mini-DVI Micro-DVI RCA S-Video UDI VGA Mini-VGA Audio and video ADC Belling-Lee CCJ/EIAJ EVC Type F GPMI HDBaseT HDMI DisplayPort mDP MHL (superMHL) Minijack P&D PDMI SCART Visual charts List of video connectors General-purpose Thunderbolt USB

v t e Audio and video interfaces and connectors Audio only Analog PC System Design Guide connectors: TRS 3.5 mm Balanced audio connectors: TRS 6.35 mm XLR Digital S/PDIF connectors: RCA jack, coaxial TOSLINK, optical BNC AES3, AES/EBU connectors: RCA jack XLR TOSLINK, optical BNC Video only Analog VGA connectors: DB-15 DVI-A Composite connectors: RCA jack yellow S-Video connectors: Mini-DIN 4 pin Component connectors: RCA jacks × 3 Composite S-Video, and Component connectors: VIVO using Mini-DIN 9 pin Digital and analog DVI connectors: DVI-I/DVI-D Video and audio Digital GPMI HDMI connectors: HDMI connector DisplayPort connectors: DisplayPort connector HDBaseT connectors: 8P8C connector

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Video Graphics Array](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Graphics_Array) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Graphics_Array?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.