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VGA is a basic color resolution standard for computer monitors, used as a fallback display when the correct device driver is missing or cannot be located. It was introduced in 1987 and is still widely used today. Display standards have evolved rapidly since then, with many grouped under the general heading of “SVGA”. When buying a card or monitor, make sure that the highest standards of each device are compatible.
VGA (Video Graphics Array) is a basic standard for color resolution in computer monitors that, today, represents the lowest common denominator for compatibility. For example, when a computer boots into the Microsoft Windows operating system, the Windows splash screen or logo is presented in VGA mode using a 32-color palette and a resolution of 640 x 480. Once the system is fully loaded, the video card device driver takes over at a higher resolution.
In the early days of computers, monitors were originally monochrome or two-color. This was followed by IBM’s Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) in 1981 which boasted a 4-bit palette of 8 colors and a maximum resolution of 640 x 280. The adapter was standard in IBM’s new line of personal computers, known as the IBM pc.
In 1984, IBM introduced an updated video card. The Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) built on the previous standard by doubling the color palette to 16 colors with a resolution of 640 x 350. This video card coincided with the new IBM PC Advanced Technology line, better known as the IBM PC-AT, or simply, “an AT”. The AT had a specific motherboard technology and configuration parameters that became an ad hoc standard for clones, whose motherboard footprint and case were considered “AT” because they conform to the IBM standard.
In 1987 IMB introduced VGA, which manufacturers have adopted en masse. This led to VGA’s long tradition as the “base” or “fallback” display standard of video hardware. Every modern graphics card or adapter is capable of displaying VGA mode, but will only do so if the correct device driver is missing or cannot be located; if it has been intentionally disabled; or if the operating system cannot find a better driver. In Windows operating systems, booting into safe mode will display VGA, since unnecessary device drivers are not loaded in this case.
IBM replaced VGA in 1990 with eXtended Graphics Array (XGA), but by then the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) had released a similar standard called Super VGA (SVGA). XGA was capable of producing 65,536 colors at 800 x 600 resolution, or 256 colors at 1024 x 768, similar to the early SVGA standards. As a result, Super XGA (SXGA), Ultra XGA (UXGA), and Quad XGA (QXGA) followed, along with many others.
Display standards evolved rapidly from this point forward with many grouped under the general heading of “SVGA”. Widescreen versions have a “W” in front of the display acronym, such as “WXGA”. Just as video cards have a maximum resolution, so do computer monitors. When buying a card or monitor, make sure that the highest standards of each device are compatible.
