Color Graphics Adapter

PCjr/Tandy Graphics AdapterEnhanced Graphics AdapterMulti-Color Graphics ArrayThe Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), originally also called the Color/Graphics Adapter or IBM Color/Graphics Monitor Adapter, introduced in 1981, was IBM's first graphics card and first color display card for the IBM PC. For this reason, it also became that computer's first color computer display standard.Cga p0.pngCGA 320×200 in 4 colors palette 0 (red, yellow, green, black background)Cga p1.pngCGA 320×200 in 4 colors palette 1 (cyan, magenta, white, black background)Cga p3.pngCGA 320×200 in 4 colors 3rd palette (tweaked), (cyan, red, white, black background)Cga 640x200.pngCGA 640×200 in 2 colors(1-bit)Cga 150x100.pngCGA 160×100 16 color mode(4-bit)CGA Partial Mandelbrot Set.pngA partial Mandelbrot set rendered in CGA palette 1Arachne CGA Mode.svgScreenshot of Arachne displaying its embedded frames and tables test pages in CGA 640×200 modePaku-paku5-dos.pngPakuPaku in 160×100 16 color modeCGA program interface.pngPCPaint in 320×200 3rd palette low intensity, showing a typical low resolution interface. Note the use of dithering to overcome the CGA palette limitations.CGA 640x200 game.pngSimCity in 640×200 monochrome. Note the use of dithering to simulate gray tones and non-square pixel ratio that deforms the fonts.320×200 palette 0320×200 palette 1640×200Microsoft Decathlon - Top: Game in composite mode, Bottom: Game in RGB mode, Left: with RGB monitor, Right: with composite monitorKing's Quest -Top: Game in composite mode, Bottom: Game in RGB mode, Left: with RGB monitor, Right: with composite monitorUltima II - Left: with RGB monitor, Right: with composite monitor The Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), originally also called the Color/Graphics Adapter or IBM Color/Graphics Monitor Adapter, introduced in 1981, was IBM's first graphics card and first color display card for the IBM PC. For this reason, it also became that computer's first color computer display standard. The standard IBM CGA graphics card was equipped with 16 kilobytes of video memory and could be connected either to a dedicated direct-drive CRT monitor using a 4-bit digital (TTL) RGBI interface, such as the IBM 5153 color display, or to an NTSC-compatible television or composite video monitor via an RCA connector. The RCA connector provided only baseband video, so to connect the CGA card to a standard television set required a separate RF modulator unless the TV had an RCA jack though with the former combined with an amplifier sometimes was more practical since one could then hook up an antenna to the amplifier and get wireless video. Built around the Motorola MC6845 display controller, the CGA card featured several graphics and text modes. The highest display resolution of any mode was 640×200, and the highest color depth supported was 4-bit (16 colors).