Tech News
Back to home
Technology

Enthusiast fixes 30-year issue with S3 graphics card — hacking the VBIOS fixes black levels by scalpelling out the Virge DX’s ‘pedestal bit’

Source

Tom's Hardware

Published

TL;DR

AI Generated

A retro hardware enthusiast successfully fixed a 30-year-old issue with S3 graphics cards by hacking the VBIOS to address the 'pedestal bit' problem that caused washed-out black levels. By adjusting the hexadecimal value in the VBIOS code, the darkest blacks were restored to their proper color, eliminating the undesirable gray appearance. The enthusiast used debugging tools to locate and modify the pedestal bit, then dumped the VBIOS to a file, made the necessary tweaks, and flashed it back to the hardware. The fix resulted in a deep black background upon booting, confirming the successful elimination of the pedestal bit issue. This solution can potentially be applied to other S3 Virge DX models, offering a resolution to a long-standing problem in graphics card technology.

Read Full Article

Similar Articles

Slimline Commodore 64C Ultimate Edition computers go up for pre-order — firm reintroduces the C64’s sleeker 1986-1994 styling across the range

Slimline Commodore 64C Ultimate Edition computers go up for pre-order — firm reintroduces the C64’s sleeker 1986-1994 styling across the range

Commodore is reintroducing the C64C Ultimate Edition computers, featuring the sleeker 1986-1994 design, available for pre-order starting at $299. The new C64C models will be made using original injection molds and tooling from the 1980s. These machines will offer the same high-performance recreation of the original Commodore 64 using FPGA technology. Additionally, different editions like BASIC Beige, Starlight, and Founder's Edition will be available for pre-order, with shipping expected to begin in late 2026. Commodore hints at more retro tech initiatives to come in 2026.

Tom's Hardware•
Legendary ZSNES Nintendo emulator rewritten from scratch with GPU-acceleration, no vibe coding — new Super ZSNES has ‘far more accurate CPU and audio cores than the original’

Legendary ZSNES Nintendo emulator rewritten from scratch with GPU-acceleration, no vibe coding — new Super ZSNES has ‘far more accurate CPU and audio cores than the original’

The legendary ZSNES Nintendo emulator has been completely rewritten with GPU acceleration, resulting in the new Super ZSNES. This reboot, created by zsKnight and Demo, offers more accurate CPU and audio cores than the original version. The emulator now utilizes a GPU-powered PPU core and features a Super Enhancement Engine for improved performance. Despite being in its early stages with bugs to be fixed, Super ZSNES is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android, with an iOS release on the way.

Tom's Hardware•
Biohacker claims to have sequenced their own genome at the kitchen table with M3 Ultra Mac Studio, Claude, and a $3,200 sequencer — DIY project requires 100GB of data storage per run, oodles of RAM

Biohacker claims to have sequenced their own genome at the kitchen table with M3 Ultra Mac Studio, Claude, and a $3,200 sequencer — DIY project requires 100GB of data storage per run, oodles of RAM

A biohacker claims to have sequenced their own genome at home using a Mac Studio and biotech gadgets like the Oxford Nanopore MinION, costing $3,200. The DIY project requires significant data storage and RAM. Motivated by a family history of autoimmune disease, the individual emphasizes that this kitchen table genome sequencing is not a substitute for clinical diagnosis. The process involved using the MinION sequencer to target specific genes related to the autoimmune disease. The blogger provides detailed information on the equipment used and expenses incurred, welcoming others interested in genome sequencing to reach out for assistance.

Tom's Hardware•
Veteran Windows dev shows off AI running on 47-year-old PDP11 with 6 MHz CPU and 64KB of RAM — 'gloriously absurd' project runs transformer model written in PDP-11 assembly language

Veteran Windows dev shows off AI running on 47-year-old PDP11 with 6 MHz CPU and 64KB of RAM — 'gloriously absurd' project runs transformer model written in PDP-11 assembly language

Veteran Windows developer Dave Plummer showcased a unique project where he trained an AI model on a 47-year-old PDP-11 system with minimal resources - a 6 MHz CPU and 64KB of RAM. The model, named 'Attention 11,' was written in PDP-11 assembly language and successfully learned to reverse sequences of eight digits. Despite the system constraints, the AI model achieved 100% accuracy after about 350 training steps, demonstrating the essence of learning on a small scale. Plummer emphasizes the importance of efficiency and optimization in the face of compute resource limitations, suggesting that embracing these principles could provide a competitive edge in modern AI development.

Tom's Hardware•

We use cookies

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. For more information on how we use cookies, please see our cookie policy.