DOS Days

ATI Graphics Ultra Plus

The Graphics Ultra Plus provided up to 1024 x 768 in 65,536 colours, or True Color (16.7M colours) at 800 x 600 resolution. Like the ATi Graphics Ultra, it came with a bus mouse port and was bundled with a 3-button 'inport' mouse.

Released 1992
Bus ISA 16-bit
Chipset ATi Mach32
Standards VGA and SVGA
Memory 1 MB or 2 MB DRAM (32-bit, 80ns)
Ports 15-pin DSUB (RGB analogue)
Bus mouse port
Part # 1090019340
FCC ID  
Price At launch: $399/499 (1MB/2MB)
See Also Graphics Ultra, Graphics Vantage

The Graphics Ultra Plus sported a Texas Instruments RAMDAC in the form of the TLC34076 that ran at 135 MHz.

 

Board Revisions

 

Competition

 

In the Media

"Both the ATI Graphics Ultra Plus and ATI Graphics Ultra Pro share virtually the same physical design, save for the type of on-board display memory. With 2MB of VRAM the Pro is priced at $799, while the Plus, with 2 MB of DRAM, list for $499. In addition, the Pro offers a maximum noninterlaced resolution of 1,280-by-1,024 pixels, while the Plus's display tops out at 1,280-by-1,024 interlaced.

The heart of both adapters is ATI's Mach 32 controller, a 32-bit accelerator that handles 64-bit instructions internally and includes a BitBlt engine, a 64-by-64 pixel hardware cursor, accelerated line draws, area fills, and a hardware cache.

Both of these adapters racked up impressive Windows test scores, with the Pro model pulling slightly ahead of the Plus with a Super VGA score of 6.42 megapixels per second (versus the Plus's 6.39). They also performed solidly in DOS, falling in the high side of the range for accelerator chips.

...the Plus exhibited none of the problems that plagued the Pro version. The Plus model did not include the memory-aperture feature and handily navigated all of the PC Labs' tests. Furthermore, Windows performance in high-color modes showed negligible degradation; the Plus turned in a WinMark test score of 5.69 megapixels per second - faster than most accelerators using only 256 colors.

Even without the bugs in the Graphics Ultra Pro, the Plus offers a better value for most buyers. Unless you absolutely need 1,280-by-1,024 noninterlaced resolution, the $300 savings is worth the slight decrease in performance, and Windows users shouldn't detect any difference between the two models.

As a rule, boards that used a given processor tended to have similar scores. The Pycon WinJet Edge, with C&T's 82C481 and Wingine chips, edged out the others on WinMark performance. Close behind were the two ATI boards, which used the ATI Mach32 chip; these were followed closely by the S3 801-based boards (the NDI Volante Warp10 and the STB PowerGraph X-24). Among boards using a given chip, the vendor's optimization techniques for its Windows drivers contribute most to performance differences."

PC Magazine, January 1993

 

Setting it Up

There is no hardware configuration required for the Graphics Ultra Plus.


Downloads

Operation Manual
(missing)

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Original Utility Disk
(missing)

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VGA BIOS ROM
112-19310-101 / 112-19311-101

The 19310 chip is the 'ODD' chip located at U7.
The 19311 chip is the 'EVEN' chip located at U9.
Chip dumps here provided by Andy Welburn of Andy's Arcade.

Mach 8 DOS Tools

A cut-down version of the Ultra-8514 utility tools. Allows you to test the card, set the startup video mode, and change the video mode.

Mach 8 Windows 3.1 Drivers
Version 1.1, 26th July 1994

Windows 3.1 drivers for Mach 8 cards. Use the LOADER utility to install.

Mach 8 Windows 3.1 and 3.11 Drivers

ATI mach8 revision 3.0 256 color ATI Desktop driver for Windows 3.1 and 3.11. Runs on Mach8 cards with 1MB of accelerator memory, is faster than previously released drivers with an emphasis on stability. This driver does not support 16 color (4bpp) mode.

Mach 8 Windows 3.1 Drivers
Version 2.0, 21st June 1993

Windows 3.1 drivers for Mach 8 cards. Will work only if you have previously installed an ATI Windows 3.1 driver. If you have not done so, run the installation disk #1 that came with your video card and install the Windows 3.1 driver, before running this driver upgrade install program.

Mach 8 / Mach 32 Windows 3.1 Drivers
Version 2.3, 5th February 1994

Windows 3.1 drivers for Mach 8 cards. Will work only if you have previously installed an ATI Windows 3.1 driver. If you have not done so, run the installation disk #1 that came with your video card and install the Windows 3.1 driver, before running this driver upgrade install program.

Mach 8 / Mach 32 Windows NT Beta Drivers
22nd March 1993

For the MARCH 1993 Beta Release
of the Windows NT operating system. This version of the driver will run on these ATI cards: Graphics Ultra Pro/Ultra +/Ultra/Graphics Vantage/8514.
These Resolutions are NOT yet supported:
all 16 color modes, 8514/Ultra and Graphics Ultra 1280 by 1024 16 colors,
Graphics Ultra Pro and Graphics Ultra+
65535 colors if the APERTURE is disabled, and
800 by 600 24 bit color.

 

More Pictures


Board images courtesy of Andy Welburn of Andy's Arcade.