Famous Graphics Chips: IBM’s XGA

IBM introduced the eXtended Graphics Array XGA graphics chip and add-in board (AIB) in late October 1990, and it was the last graphics chip and AIB IBM would produce after having set all the standards for the industry it created.  Developed for the PS2 along with the VGA, the XGA was referred to as a Type 2 video subsystem (the VGA being a Type 1). XGA was a high-resolution graphics chip capable of displaying 1024 × 768 pixels, which IBM called PELs—a contraction of “Picture ELement.” It could display 256 colors from a palette of 256k—6-bits per primary. XGA added