From: aron@luxor.ced.berkeley.edu (aron bonar)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: SpeedStar 24X
Date: 28 Sep 1992 02:28:13 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: luxor.ced.berkeley.edu

Keyword

Here's a FAQ on the 24x. Courtesy of Ken Germann.


                      Diamond Speedstar 24X
                    Frequently Asked Questions

                         September 15th, 1992
                             Rev 1.5

This is the first revision of an FAQ on the Speedstar 24X
card. The driving force behind wanting to compile the FAQ revolves
around the fact that ZEOS now carries the Speedstar 24X card as
part of its product line. This FAQ will be available on ZEOS'
list server under the FAQ archive. Send 'get FAQ speedstar24X.faq'
to listserv@zeos.com if you or someone else you know missed the
posting of this FAQ. Commands to the list server must be in the
body of the message. The list server will ignore any comments in
the subject heading. Anyone wanting to contribute to ZEOS'
archive of FAQs may send mail to postmaster@zeos.com. Diamond can
be reached on America Online, CIS, and GeNIE. Telephone numbers
for Diamond are 408-736-2000 voice, and 408-730-5750 fax.


1>  What is a Diamond Speedstar 24X VGA Graphics Adapter?
2>  How fast is the Speedstar 24X?
3>  Will is support Windows 3.x and AutoCAD?
4>  What drivers are included with the Speedstar 24X?
5>  Does the Speedstar 24X support VESA?
6>  What resolutions and video modes are supported by the
    Speedstar 24X?
7>  What type of computer should I use my Speedstar 24X card with?
8>  What type of connectors are supported by the Speedstar 24X?
9>  What type of RAM is used on the Speedstar 24X?
10> Will the Speedstar 24X be supported by OS/2? When?
11> Will the Speedstar 24X be supported by X/Windows / Open
    Desktop?

12> What needs to be done to make QEMM work with the Speedstar 24X?

13> What chip set is being used for the Speedstar 24X?

14> What procedures need to be followed to provide support
    for the Speedstar 24x and future Diamond video cards
    in an application that I am writing? 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1> What is a Diamond Speedstar 24 X VGA Graphics Adapater?

        The Diamond Speedstar 24X Graphics Adapter offers
high-speed VGA performance, 24-bit true color support, and
graphics processor technology. This combination speeds up Windows
3.X, AutoCAD, and other graphics applications up to 15 times
faster than Super VGA cards. The Speedstar 24X supports 16
million colors for photo-realistic images and comes with high
resolution drivers for up to 1280x1024 with 16 colors and
1024x768 with 256 colors.


2> How Fast is the Speedstar 24X?

DRAM processor technology and bit block transfer accelerate the
performance of Windows and other GUI applications by up to 15
times that of standard VGA using inexpensive DRAM. It even
outperforms many costly VRAM based accelerator cards. The
Speedstar 24X card scored a 10.5 Winmarks on Winbench 2.5 and
Direct to Screen Test (PC BENCH 5.5) score of .71 from PC
Magazine.

3> Will it support Windows 3.x and AutoCAD?

Turbo Windows drivers are included to enhance Windows performance
by up to 300%. Advanced AutoCAD Display List drivers developed by
Panacea, Inc., includes full support for AutoShade 2.x and 3D
Studio. The AutoCAD drivers included with the Speedstar 24X
supports the Birds Eye view.

4> What drivers are included with the Speedstar 24X?

Drivers are included for many popular packages, including Word
Perfect, Word, Cadvance, Generic CADD, PCAD, VersaVAD, and
Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS.

5> Does the Speedstar 24X card support the VESA standards?

Provides 100% register and BIOS level compatibility with Super
VGA and conforms to VESA graphics standards. Provides a 72Hz
refresh rates and full compliance with VESA graphics mode
extensions.

6> What resolutions and video modes are supported by the Speedstar 24X card?

Resolution.      Max Color              Horizontal      Vertical
                                        Timing (Khz)    Timing (Hz)

1280x1024           16                  49.0             43.5 I
1280x960            16                  49.0             43.5 I

1024x768            256                 58.1             72.0 NI
1024x768            256                 56.5             70.0 NI
1024x768            256                 48.3             60.0 NI
1024x768            256                 35.5             43.0 I

800x600          32,768                 37.8             60.0 NI
800x600          32,768                 35.1             56.0 NI
800x600             256                 48.1             72.0 NI
800x600             256                 37.8             60.0 NI
800x600             256                 35.1             56.0 NI

640x480         16.7 Million            31.5             60.0 NI
640x480          32,768                 37.8             72.0 NI
640x480          32,768                 31.5             60.0 NI
640x480             256                 37.8             72.0 NI
640x480             256                 31.5             60.0 NI


7> What type of computer should I use my Speedstar 24X card with?

386 or 486 compatibile machines only.

8> What type of connectors are supported by the Speedstar 24X?

IBM VGA standard DB-15 pin female. VESA compatible 26 pin feature
connector.

9> What type of RAM is used for the Speedstar 24X?

1MB DRAM Standard.

10> Will OS/2 2.0 be supported by the Speedstar 24X card?

OS/2 drivers will be released shortly after IBM releases the 32
bit graphics engine for OS/2 in October.

11> Will the Speedstar 24X support X/Windows?

Developer kits for all of Diamond's products are being assembled
as you read this. Please contact Jeff Orr at Diamond for more 
information on the driver developer kits. They can be reached at
408-734-2000 voice, 408-730-5750 fax.  There will be a forum on 
Compuserve coming on-line for Diamond in the near future. 

SCO has released support for the Stealth Card under Open Desktop
1.x and 2.x. This has been released as an EFS. Please contact SCO
at support@sco.com for more information on the Extended Graphics
Adapter support.  

12> What needs to be done to make QEMM work with the Speedstar 24X
    under Windows 3.X?

	In the config.sys change the QEMM line :

	DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS RAM X=B000-BFFF 

	Windows insert into the SYSTEM.INI under the 386 Enh section :

	SystemROMBreakpoint=false

13> What chip set is being used for the Speedstar 24X?

Diamond uses the WD9031 graphics accelerator chip set from 
Western Digital and a Diamond DAC for the high color support.

14> What procedures need to be followed to provide support
    for the Speedstar 24x and future Diamond video cards
    in an application that I am writing? 


Diamond requires a non-disclosure agreement for source code on how to
program our programmable clock.  This information would not be available
to companies or individuals who publish the source to drivers that
include our source code or features created by Diamond.  They are
welcome to create and distribute files in object form as long as NO
tools to uncompile this object is provided by the author. Please
contact Diamond at the telephone number provided earlier in this FAQ.
-- 
-- 
Ken Germann              ZZZZ EEEE  OO   SSS    ZEOS International, Ltd.  
support@zeos.com   INET     Z E    O  O S       Technical Support Dept.
uunet!zeos!support UUCP    Z  EE   O  O  SS     530 5th Ave N.W.
800-228-5390      VOICE   Z   E    O  O    S    St. Paul, MN 55112
612-633-7337             ZZZZ EEEE  OO  SSS     FAX         612-633-4607



I heard that this is a good card but the only problem with it is that
Diamond won't let people release the source code so there won't be that
many 3rd party drivers out for it....which kinda sucks.