DOSBox-X can emulate a wide range of PC hardware configurations spanning the entire DOS era. TheDocumentation Index
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machine setting in your [dosbox] configuration section controls which display adapter and system architecture DOSBox-X presents to software. Choosing the right machine type is essential for maximising compatibility and accuracy — whether you are running a 1981 text-mode application or a late-1990s SVGA game that demands 16 MB of video RAM.
Setting the Machine Type
Place themachine key in the [dosbox] section of your configuration file:
svga_s3, which provides the broadest compatibility for DOS games and Windows 9x guest installations.
Machine Type Categories
Monochrome / Early PC
MDA, Hercules — text and mono-graphics hardware from 1981–1984
CGA & MCGA
Color Graphics Adapter variants including composite and mono monitors
Tandy, PCjr & Amstrad
Enhanced CGA systems with built-in 3-voice sound (Tandy) and PCjr modes
EGA
Enhanced Graphics Adapter — 640×350 at 16 colors, Japanese JEGA variant
VGA & SVGA
VGA-only through a full range of S3, Tseng, Paradise, and ATI chipsets
VESA
VESA BIOS Extension modes including VBE 2.x and VBE 3.0
Japanese / Asian
NEC PC-98 (PC-9801/9821) and Fujitsu FM Towns
DOSBox-specific
Internal DOSBox-X SVGA emulation for testing or development
Monochrome and Early PC Hardware
The earliest IBM-compatible display standards produced text or high-resolution monochrome graphics only. These are useful when testing software written for original IBM PC hardware or for period-accurate emulation.MDA — Monochrome Display Adapter
MDA — Monochrome Display Adapter
mda emulates the original IBM Monochrome Display Adapter introduced in 1981. It supports 80×25 text mode only, with no graphics capability. Characters are rendered in green or amber depending on monitor choice. Use this when running software explicitly designed for the very first IBM PC display standard.Hercules variants
Hercules variants
The Hercules Graphics Card (1982) added a 720×348 monochrome graphics mode on top of MDA text capabilities.
Hercules cards were popular in the early 1980s for business software that needed graphics but could not afford CGA color monitors.
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
hercules | Standard Hercules Graphics Card |
hercules_plus | Hercules Plus with RamFont extension |
hercules_incolor | Hercules InColor — 16 attribute colors in text mode |
hercules_color | Hercules card with color output |
CGA — Color Graphics Adapter
CGA (1981) was IBM’s first color display standard, offering 320×200 at 4 colors or 640×200 at 2 colors. DOSBox-X supports several monitor configurations for CGA output.- Standard CGA
- CGA Composite
- MCGA
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
cga | Standard CGA connected to an RGBI color monitor |
cga_mono | CGA signal on a monochrome (green or amber) monitor |
cga_rgb | CGA on a direct RGB monitor — cleaner color output |
Tandy 1000 and IBM PCjr
Tandy 1000
tandy — Enhanced CGA with 16-color 160×200 mode, hardware sprites, and the iconic 3-voice Tandy/SN76496 sound chip. Many DOS games detect Tandy hardware and enable improved graphics and sound when present.IBM PCjr
pcjr, pcjr_composite, pcjr_composite2 — IBM’s home computer (1984) used a variant of CGA with 16-color support and a built-in 3-voice sound chip. The composite variants emulate PCjr output over composite NTSC.Tandy sound emulation is controlled separately by the
tandy setting in the [speaker] section. When machine=tandy, Tandy audio is automatically enabled.EGA — Enhanced Graphics Adapter
EGA (1984) raised the bar to 640×350 at 16 colors simultaneously from a 64-color palette. It remains the minimum target for a wide range of mid-1980s DOS games.| Value | Description |
|---|---|
ega | Standard IBM EGA — 640×350 16-color, backward-compatible CGA modes |
ega200 | EGA in 200-line mode for specific CGA-compatible titles |
jega | Japanese EGA (AX architecture) — adds Kanji character ROM and double-byte character support |
amstrad | Amstrad PC display system — CGA-compatible with Amstrad-specific extensions |
VGA and SVGA
VGA (1987) introduced 640×480 at 16 colors and the famous 320×200 Mode 13h at 256 colors. Super VGA chipsets extended this to higher resolutions with more colors.Standard VGA
vgaonly emulates a plain VGA adapter without any SVGA extensions. Video memory is limited to 256 KB. This is a lighter-weight option that is compatible with virtually all VGA-era software while using fewer host resources.
S3 Chipsets (Recommended)
S3 Incorporated produced some of the most popular SVGA chips of the early 1990s.svga_s3 (the default) emulates an S3 Trio64 and is the recommended choice for most DOS games and Windows 9x guest installations.
Full list of S3 variants
Full list of S3 variants
| Value | Chipset |
|---|---|
svga_s3 | S3 Trio64 (default — best general compatibility) |
svga_s3trio32 | S3 Trio32 |
svga_s3trio64 | S3 Trio64 (explicit) |
svga_s3trio64v+ | S3 Trio64V+ |
svga_s3virge | S3 ViRGE (early 3D accelerator) |
svga_s3virgevx | S3 ViRGE/VX (additional video memory) |
svga_s386c928 | S3 86C928 |
svga_s3vision864 | S3 Vision864 |
svga_s3vision868 | S3 Vision868 |
svga_s3vision964 | S3 Vision964 |
svga_s3vision968 | S3 Vision968 |
Tseng Labs Chipsets
ET3000 and ET4000
ET3000 and ET4000
| Value | Chipset |
|---|---|
svga_et3000 | Tseng Labs ET3000 |
svga_et4000 | Tseng Labs ET4000 — popular in the early SVGA era |
Paradise / Western Digital
svga_paradise emulates the Paradise PVGA1A / Western Digital WD90C chipset, common in many OEM systems of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
ATI Chipsets
Full list of ATI variants
Full list of ATI variants
| Value | Chipset |
|---|---|
svga_ati_egavgawonder | ATI EGA Wonder |
svga_ati_vgawonder | ATI VGA Wonder |
svga_ati_vgawonderplus | ATI VGA Wonder+ |
svga_ati_vgawonderxl | ATI VGA Wonder XL |
svga_ati_vgawonderxl24 | ATI VGA Wonder XL24 |
svga_ati_mach8 | ATI Mach8 |
svga_ati_mach32 | ATI Mach32 |
svga_ati_mach64 | ATI Mach64 |
DOSBox-X Internal SVGA
svga_dosbox and svga_dosbox_vbe2 are DOSBox-X’s own internal SVGA emulation modes, primarily useful for development, testing, and debugging scenarios where a specific real-world chipset is not required.
VESA BIOS Extensions
These values select specific VESA BIOS Extension (VBE) versions in addition to the underlying SVGA hardware. They are useful for testing software that relies on particular VESA API behaviors.| Value | Description |
|---|---|
vesa_nolfb | VESA without a linear frame buffer — banked access only |
vesa_oldvbe | Older VESA BIOS Extension (pre-VBE 2.0 behavior) |
vesa_oldvbe10 | VBE 1.0 behavior |
vesa_vbe3 | VESA VBE 3.0 — protected-mode interface, CRTC programming |
Japanese and Asian Hardware
- NEC PC-98
- FM Towns
The NEC PC-98 series defined the dominant Japanese personal computer standard from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s. PC-98 architecture differs substantially from IBM PC/AT: it uses a 640×400 display, a different memory map, different interrupt assignments, and a dedicated Kanji ROM.
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
pc98 | Generic NEC PC-98 emulation |
pc9801 | NEC PC-9801 specifically |
pc9821 | NEC PC-9821 (later, enhanced model) |
Quick-Reference Recommendations
Most DOS games
Use
svga_s3 (default). Provides S3 Trio64 SVGA with maximum compatibility for games from the late 1980s through the late 1990s.Windows 3.x / 9x guests
Use
svga_s3 or svga_s3trio64. The S3 Trio64 has well-tested Windows 9x driver support and integrates cleanly with IDE emulation.Lighter-weight VGA
Use
vgaonly when you do not need SVGA extensions and want slightly reduced overhead. Compatible with all VGA-era titles.CGA or EGA titles
Use
cga or ega for software that explicitly requires those adapters, or to reproduce authentic period visuals without later hardware artifacts.Japanese PC-98 software
Use
pc98 or pc9801 for NEC PC-98 game and productivity software. Remember that IBM PC software will not run in this mode.Composite color effects
Use
cga_composite to experience NTSC artifact colors as they appeared on a household television — some early 1980s games were designed around these color patterns.