On Sun, 22 Aug 1999, Karl F. Larsen wrote: > Are there any rule of thumb on how much ram the video card must > have to achieve a given resolution? I have a 1 meg card now and get 8 bit > 16 color when using a 1024x480 screen.
It's actually pretty simple. The formula is: (horizontal resolution) x (vertical resolution) x (bytes per pixel) Note: that's *bytes* per pixel. It's 8 bits per byte, so... 8 bpp = 1 byte/pixel 16 bpp = 2 bytes/pixel 24 bpp = 3 bytes/pixel 32 bpp = 4 bytes/pixel So, for example, [EMAIL PROTECTED] needs 1024 x 768 x 2 = 1,572,864 bytes. Now, it's 1024 bytes in a kilobyte, and 1024x1024 = 1,048,576 bytes in a megabyte. So, for [EMAIL PROTECTED], you need 1,572,864/1,048,576 = 1.5MB. Now, for [EMAIL PROTECTED], you need (1600x1200x4)/(1024x1024) = 7.32MB. So, basically, a video card with 8MB has enough memory for almost any currently realistic resolution. (3D video cards need more, to store textures and such.) With a 1MB card, you can get: 1024x768 @ 8bpp (786,432 bytes) 800x600 @ 16bpp (960,000 bytes) 640x480 @ 24bpp (921,600 bytes) > But windows 98 seems to get far better resolution with this card. > I wonder how? What type of video card is it? (E.g., Trident, Matrox, ATI...) > I will buy a new video card if I can figure out how much more ram > to get. The monitor is not special but it's a 13 inch called a 15 inch > screen. Odd. *All* the manufacturers do that these days. In their terms, you would have a "15 inch (13 inch viewable)" monitor. Sincerely, Ray Ingles (248) 377-7735 [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first woman she meets and then teams up with three complete strangers to kill again." - TV listing for the Wizard of Oz in the Marin Independent Journal
