Graphics Adapter and Monitor for Basic PC 97

This section summarizes the PC 97 requirements for the graphics adapter and monitor. For complete details related to basic graphics adapter requirements, including recommendations for hardware acceleration, see the "Graphics Adapters" chapter in Part 4 of this guide.

37. Display adapter meets PC 97 minimum requirements

A Basic PC 97 system must contain a graphics adapter that permits a color depth of 16 bpp, minimum.

• Minimum resolution:
  • Basic PC 97: 800x600x16 bpp for Windows desktop and 640x480x16 bpp double buffered for DirectDraw-based full-screen applications.

  The minimum required resolution for a 7"– 10" LCD internal display is 640x480x8 bpp.

  • Workstation PC 97: 1024x768x16 bpp.
  • Entertainment PC 97: 1024x768x16 bpp.

  Display RAM requirements are tied directly to the minimum graphics resolution supported by the adapter. The requirement to support double buffering implies 1.5 MB of display RAM. However, PC 97 requirements do not specify minimum display RAM support; rather, the adapter designer can implement any solutions for supporting the minimum resolution requirements.

• Primary graphics adapter does not use legacy bus

  For the primary graphics adapter, the video bus must not use ISA. A higher-performance solution is required to optimize performance of the packed-pixel frame buffer. Possible implementations that meet this requirement can include PCI v. 2.1 for all system types or the Intel Accelerated Graphics Port 1.0 (AGP) interface for systems that have Pentium Pro-class processors. If the graphics adapter uses the PCI bus, it must comply with PCI v. 2.1 and additional requirements defined in the "PCI" chapter and the "Graphics Adapters" chapter in this guide.

• System operates normally with default VGA mode driver

  The default VGA driver is required for installing the operating system. The adapter must support 4-bit planar VGA mode as described in the Windows 95 DDK.

• Support for multiple adapters and multiple monitors

  This support ensures that the end user has guaranteed, automatic support for installing and using another graphics adapter, and support for simultaneous display on two or more monitors. The requirement is related to new capabilities in the Windows operating system. This requirement ensures baseline support in the hardware to allow the operating system to correctly configure use of multiple monitors or multiple graphics adapters. For complete information, refer to the "Graphics Adapters" chapter in Part 4 of this guide.

38. Support for NTSC or PAL TV output, if no large-screen monitor

This recommendation will not become a requirement for the Basic PC system in the future. For complete information, refer to the "Graphics Adapters" chapter in Part 4 of this guide.

39. Color monitor supports DDC 2.0 Level B, EDID, and 800x600, minimum

A monitor designed for or included with a PC 97 system must be compliant with Display Data Channel Standard v. 2.0, Level B (DDC2B), which defines the communication channel between the display and host system. In addition, the monitor must transmit an Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) structure containing unique ID Manufacturer Name and ID Product Code identifiers, and all required fields as described in Section 3 of Extended Display Identification Data Standard 2.0 (or higher).

For complete PC 97 requirements for monitors, including requirements for image color matching (ICC), ergonomic timing standards, and DDC support, see the "Video Components" chapter in Part 4 of this guide.

40. System supports MPEG-1 playback

Microsoft provides operating system support through Microsoft ActiveMovie. For information about performance and graphics hardware requirements to support video playback, see the "Video Components" chapter in Part 4 of this guide.

41. PC 97 DVD playback requirements, if PC system includes DVD-Video

All PC 97 systems that include DVD-Video support must provide PC 97 playback support for DVD content, as defined in the "Video Components" chapter in Part 4 of this guide. For other requirements related to DVD if it is implemented in a PC system, see the "Storage and Related Peripherals" chapter in Part 4 of this guide.