jericho_21 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Hello again, I was wondering about how a graphics card could be installed in an Atari 1040STE computer. I had heard through the grapevine that it is technically possible, but that it is extremely difficult. Is there anyone that can shed some light on this subject? I mean, am I correct in assuming that this can be done or not? If it can be done, where can I find information on how to install it? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moulinaie Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Hi, As there are solutions for the MegaST (using its internal bus connector), I think it is possible to have a graphic card for the STE. This would require some soldering, or, as for Vortex emulator cards, an adapter to pick up every signal from the MC68000. Then, if the graphic card follows the encoding of the Atari standard screens (bit planes for color and one plan for monochrom) there is little to do for the driver (as the one for the AlberTT card), and you could get extended resolutions with 16, 4 or 2 colors. But, if the card uses high color or true color mode, you have to write a complete VDI driver for it...!!! Guillaume; 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galax Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 A lot of work, it would still be a lot of work if you started with the Mega ST, TT/Mega STE, and Falcon which actually have bus connectors. You could do something like that uses the cartridge port, which is very impressive even if it's more of a graphics co-processor than what would normally be called a graphics card: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exxosuk Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 That looks awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jericho_21 Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 Hi, As there are solutions for the MegaST (using its internal bus connector), I think it is possible to have a graphic card for the STE. This would require some soldering, or, as for Vortex emulator cards, an adapter to pick up every signal from the MC68000. Then, if the graphic card follows the encoding of the Atari standard screens (bit planes for color and one plan for monochrom) there is little to do for the driver (as the one for the AlberTT card), and you could get extended resolutions with 16, 4 or 2 colors. But, if the card uses high color or true color mode, you have to write a complete VDI driver for it...!!! Guillaume; Truly, it would be a lot of work to do. But, at least it seems it can be done. I think that the biggest factor would be cost. It would probably be expensive, for sure. It would be interesting as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Is anyone actually working on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParanoidLittleMan Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Better buy a Mega STE or Mega ST - it costs some money but will save you from soldering at zillion points in STE. It"s not question can it be done - you can do almost everything - for instance adding some 2 GB latest card with DDR5 RAM. That's extreme example, but with proper interfacing and extra PSU it would work - slow, terribly slow because 8MHz CPU is not grown up for high data rates. "How to install it ?" - what is not done yet is not installable. Not done because installation would be extremely difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galax Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Is anyone actually working on this? Zamuel_a was working on it at one time, there's a thread about it here from 2009 to 2013: http://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=17013 Some discussion from last year about an FPGA graphics card for the TT: http://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=27522 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Thanks, I had pretty much forgotten about that one. Love to see it come to fruition! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jericho_21 Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 (edited) No one has chimed in for a while on this topic, so I guess I will again since I started the post. There was talk on Vezz's Atari ST Hardware Hacks website on hooking up a Tseng Labs ET4000 graphics card to a 1040STE or other ST computer. Would this apply to any of the ET4000 cards in existence or a certain type of ET4000? They can be found on the Internet, I am sure still. But, I am curious. I know that it would take work, and I do have the pertinent software and instructions in German and English from Vezz's site. I think it also needs a Panther-VGA interface to be soldered onto it. I don't know where to begin yet, as this is wishful thinking on my part. I know you all say get a Mega, or a TT, or even a Falcon. But, that is way too expensive for me to ascertain getting. I am thinking that since I have a 1040STE anyway, I should start there first. I know it isn't a top-of-the-line Atari 16/32-bit computer, but that's all I am faced with right now. I have no other options and wish that I did. Any advice is, as usual, greatly appreciated. Thanks again. Edited August 25, 2016 by jericho_21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank.lukas Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 You can build a VOFA ET4000 ISA Adapter into your 1040STE. It using only 68000 Signals ... -> http://atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=29732&sid=4646d04fb3815f52519f59d92f6caeb2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jericho_21 Posted September 4, 2016 Author Share Posted September 4, 2016 You can build a VOFA ET4000 ISA Adapter into your 1040STE. It using only 68000 Signals ... -> http://atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=29732&sid=4646d04fb3815f52519f59d92f6caeb2 Thanks for the information, Frank. Now, here is my next inquiry. There are different variations of the ET4000 ISA graphics card, at least that is my understanding. Which ones are compatible with your ISA adapter and the Atari 1040STE? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank.lukas Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 All ET4000 ISA 16bit cards with a ... - 14,x Mhz Quarz - Clockgenerator Chip will work. Cards with a PAL/GAL Chip and cards with a Gen/SyncDAC will not work ! ... search on atari-home.de and atari-forum.com for pictures. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jericho_21 Posted September 4, 2016 Author Share Posted September 4, 2016 All ET4000 ISA 16bit cards with a ... - 14,x Mhz Quarz - Clockgenerator Chip will work. Cards with a PAL/GAL Chip and cards with a Gen/SyncDAC will not work ! ... search on atari-home.de and atari-forum.com for pictures. Thanks. I will run with this information. This helps me out even further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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