What is VGA?

The term Video Graphics Array can be used to refer to many different things, but the original usage was by IBM for the graphics standard implemented in their PS/2 computer line.

The original IBM VGA standard marketed in 1987 consisted of a 640 pixel by 480 pixel 16-color display at its highest resolution, but also included lower resolutions. Among those alternate modes, the 320 by 200 pixel 256-color "Mode 13h" was a common resolution for computer games because of the increased range of colors available to developers.

Some of the specifications for the VGA standard included the following:

256 kilobytes of video RAM
A palette of 262,144 colors
Refresh rates up to 70 Hz
Smooth-scrolling hardware support
A barrel shifter
Split-screen support
480 maximum lines, and a maximum of 720 horizontal pixels

Another aspect of the VGA standard is the physical connection from the monitor to the computer; VGA uses a 15-pin D-subminiature connector (often just "D-SUB", a family of plugs and sockets widely used in communications and computer devices). The VGA standard was so popular that subsequent monitors and graphic cards used the VGA connection standard for many years, up until the advent of the Digital Video Interface, or DVI.

VGA was very popular with programmers as there were tricks they could use to enable nonstandard display modes, even up to 800 by 600 pixels. Another popular "trick" mode was 320 by 240 with 256 colors;

Over twenty years after the debut of the PS/2 on the computer market, most video cards, monitors, laptops and other devices still come with that same 15-pin connector, or at least an adapter to use standard VGA. The popularity of high resolution LCD monitors has started to push the aging analog technology into its inevitable decline, but VGA will likely have its place among lower-end electronics for years to come.