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PC VGA & DOS

LAUNCH_YEAR: 1987

The "Wintel" juggernaut that evolved from a boring office machine into the ultimate gaming platform.

Historical_Context

The IBM PC (1981) was not built for fun. It was a serious machine for serious spreadsheets. However, the open architecture allowed for rapid evolution. The introduction of the VGA standard by IBM in 1987 with the PS/2 line changed everything. It provided a standard, colorful, analog display interface.

For years, the PC trailed the Amiga in smooth scrolling and audio. But the sheer brute force of Intel's clock speeds (doubling every 18 months per Moore's Law) eventually overcame the lack of custom chips. The arrival of the 486 and the "Local Bus" video cards allowed the CPU to throw pixels faster than dedicated chips could.

DOS provided a "close to the metal" environment where programmers could take over the entire machine, bypassing the OS to write directly to video memory and hardware ports. This era birthed the FPS genre (Wolfenstein, Doom) and the RTS genre (Dune II).

Notable_Models

IBM PC (5150)

1981

The original. Created by a skunkworks team in Boca Raton. It legitimized the "Personal Computer" for business.

Intel 8088 CGA / MDA

IBM PC AT (5170)

1984

Advanced Technology. Introduced the 16-bit ISA bus (AT Bus) and the 286 processor. Defined the AT form factor used for 15 years.

Intel 80286 EGA

Compaq Deskpro 386

1986

The machine that broke IBM's dominance. The first 386 PC was made by a clone manufacturer, ushering in the 32-bit era.

Intel 80386 EGA / VGA

Sound Blaster 16

1992

The standard for PC Audio. 16-bit CD-quality sound and OPL3 synthesis. If you played Doom, you heard it on this.

DSP-CT1740 N/A

Gravis Ultrasound

1992

The Demoscener's choice. While Sound Blaster used FM, GUS used hardware mixing of samples (Wavetable).

GF1 N/A

AdLib Music Synthesizer Card

1987

The card that brought music to PC gaming. Used a Yamaha OPL2 FM synthesis chip. Every Sound Blaster maintained AdLib compatibility.

N/A N/A

Roland MT-32

1987

The "gold standard" of PC game audio. LA (Linear Arithmetic) synthesis combined samples with subtractive synthesis. Sierra and LucasArts games sounded incredible on this.

Custom Roland DSP N/A

Roland Sound Canvas SC-55

1991

The General MIDI reference device. Defined how GM should sound. Sample-based synthesis with 317 instruments and 9 drum kits.

Custom Roland N/A

Hercules Graphics Card

1982

Monochrome brilliance. High-resolution text and graphics on a single card. The business standard before VGA.

Motorola 6845 Hercules HGC

Tseng Labs ET4000

1989

The SVGA king. Fastest DOS graphics card of its era. Every serious gamer had one before the Voodoo arrived.

ET4000AX ET4000

Creative Sound Blaster AWE32

1994

Wavetable wonder. Combined SB16 compatibility with EMU8000 synthesis. Could load custom SoundFonts.

EMU8000 N/A

Turtle Beach MultiSound

1992

Audiophile's choice. Motorola DSP with professional-quality audio. Expensive but unmatched sound quality.

Motorola 56001 DSP N/A

Tech_Specs

  • CPU Intel x86 (8088 to Pentium)
  • Graphics VGA (Mode 13h, Mode X), SVGA (VESA)
  • Audio FM Synth (OPL), Wavetable (AWE32), PCM (SB16)
  • OS MS-DOS (usually 5.0 or 6.22)

Key_Silicon

VGA CRTC Display Controller

Controls timing (HSync, VSync) and memory refresh.

VGA Sequencer Memory Mode

Controls memory planes. Crucial for "Mode X" tricks.

Yamaha OPL2/3 FM Synthesis

The sound of DOS music. 9 or 18 channels of pure FM.

Intel 8253 PIT

Programmable Interval Timer. Used to cheat higher audio sample rates.