Diamond Stealth VRAM
The Stealth VRAM was an enhancement on the earlier Stealth from 1991 with 1 MB of fast VRAM as standard, accessible via a 32-bit wide memory bus. It also got the Sierra HiColor DAC as standard which was a cost option on the Stealth.
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Released | March 1992 |
| Bus | ISA 16-bit | |
| Chipset | S3 86C911 | |
| Standards | Hercules, CGA, EGA, VGA | |
| Memory | 1 MB VRAM | |
| Ports | 15-pin DSUB (video out) 26-pin VGA Feature connector |
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| RAMDAC | Sierra HiColor | |
| Part # | ||
| FCC ID | ||
| Price | At launch: $445 | |
| See Also | Diamond Stealth |
Board Revisions
Competition
In the Media
"Speedy but not surreptitious, the Stealth VRAM from Diamond Computer Systems will sneak its way into your heart with its rapid graphics performance, high resolution, moderate price, and multicolor abilities.
Although the board is too new to have established a street price, figure about $299 for the current standard configuration.
The Stealth [VRAM] is based on S3's 86C911 accelerator, but Diamond claims to have improved the chip's performance by enhancing the S3 drivers. In fact, it earned top honors on PC Magazine Labs' 16-color Windows tests and commended itself quite favorably when upped to 256 hues on the Windows tests. It was second only to the higher-priced ATI Graphics Ultra on the 256-color Windows tests. On our VGA tests, it shared best-of-the-S3-class scores with Portacom.
The board is amazingly compact, just about 6.75 inches long and XT-height. Most of the circuitry is surface-mounted and a VESA-style feature connector (a header) allows future enhancements.
The Stealth supports a 72-Hz refresh at 800-by-600-pixel resolution and either 60 Hz or 70 Hz at 1,024 by 768. Unfortunately, interlacing is required at its top, non-Windows 1,280-by-1,024 resolution level - at a horizontal frequency of 48.9 KHz. Including 1MB in the standard configuration was a good move, as it is required (as with other boards) for 256-color operation beyond VGA, for 16 colors at 1,280 by 1,024 or if you want use of the Sierra RAMDAC.
Diamond wrote VESA program calls into its proprietary (rewritten S3) BIOS and claims 100 percent VBE compatibility in its BIOS. We were unable to detect this on our tests, however. On the other hand, the Diamond-supplied Windows and display-list AutoCAD drivers worked flawlessly.
The Stealth is easy to get going, having only two jumpers for setup; one that was used for VRAM size selection - no longer necessary since the move to 1MB as standard equipment - and another for enabling/disabling the 16-bit BIOS. A four-switch DIP bank for matching monitor type for best refresh rate and enabling speed-enhancing features such as fast BIOS support is also present. The switches are accessible through the board's rear panel after installation and are well documented in the Stealth manual." PC Magazine, March 1992
Although the board is too new to have established a street price, figure about $299 for the current standard configuration.
The Stealth [VRAM] is based on S3's 86C911 accelerator, but Diamond claims to have improved the chip's performance by enhancing the S3 drivers. In fact, it earned top honors on PC Magazine Labs' 16-color Windows tests and commended itself quite favorably when upped to 256 hues on the Windows tests. It was second only to the higher-priced ATI Graphics Ultra on the 256-color Windows tests. On our VGA tests, it shared best-of-the-S3-class scores with Portacom.
The board is amazingly compact, just about 6.75 inches long and XT-height. Most of the circuitry is surface-mounted and a VESA-style feature connector (a header) allows future enhancements.
The Stealth supports a 72-Hz refresh at 800-by-600-pixel resolution and either 60 Hz or 70 Hz at 1,024 by 768. Unfortunately, interlacing is required at its top, non-Windows 1,280-by-1,024 resolution level - at a horizontal frequency of 48.9 KHz. Including 1MB in the standard configuration was a good move, as it is required (as with other boards) for 256-color operation beyond VGA, for 16 colors at 1,280 by 1,024 or if you want use of the Sierra RAMDAC.
Diamond wrote VESA program calls into its proprietary (rewritten S3) BIOS and claims 100 percent VBE compatibility in its BIOS. We were unable to detect this on our tests, however. On the other hand, the Diamond-supplied Windows and display-list AutoCAD drivers worked flawlessly.
The Stealth is easy to get going, having only two jumpers for setup; one that was used for VRAM size selection - no longer necessary since the move to 1MB as standard equipment - and another for enabling/disabling the 16-bit BIOS. A four-switch DIP bank for matching monitor type for best refresh rate and enabling speed-enhancing features such as fast BIOS support is also present. The switches are accessible through the board's rear panel after installation and are well documented in the Stealth manual." PC Magazine, March 1992
"Each of these products is based on the same chip, the S3 86C911, and all are fine boards. The elements that usually set boards apart from one another - speed and price - are not distinct issues with these products. Speed scores are competitive, and prices are low. The distinguishing factors in this roundup were driver support, setup, and board support.
While the scores were relatively close, we did find differences among the products.
The top performer, STB Wind/X Ultra was a fine all-round product. It was the quickest board on our high end platform is solidly built, and is backed by STB's superb support policies. The STB is the only board that ships with a bus mouse port.
The Diamond Stealth VRAM tied with Orchid [Fahrenheit 1280] for the second spot. It offers the most extensive driver support, with drivers available for OS/2. The speed scores were quick, the board is well designed, and Diamond offers impressive support policies to complement its product. " InfoWorld, May 1992
While the scores were relatively close, we did find differences among the products.
The top performer, STB Wind/X Ultra was a fine all-round product. It was the quickest board on our high end platform is solidly built, and is backed by STB's superb support policies. The STB is the only board that ships with a bus mouse port.
The Diamond Stealth VRAM tied with Orchid [Fahrenheit 1280] for the second spot. It offers the most extensive driver support, with drivers available for OS/2. The speed scores were quick, the board is well designed, and Diamond offers impressive support policies to complement its product. " InfoWorld, May 1992
Setting it Up
Downloads
Operation Manual Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
Original Utility Disk Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
VGA BIOS ROM Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
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