Until 2000, OS/2 video drivers were hard to find and only supported the older video cards, and often did not use the full acceleration capabilities. Thanks to IBM licensing the SciTech drivers, you can now download a single driver set that handles more than 30 chip sets, almost everything that has been built in the last five years.
Except for Matrox, who continues to support their newer cards in OS/2, other card manufacturers have dropped OS/2 support. For this reason, I can recommend Matrox, not only for their OS/2 support, but their high quality of screen display. Except for heavy 3D users, this is an excellent card even if it is not the highest performing. It is fast enough in the G400 and G500 series, and the prices are reasonable.
The SciTech drivers support Matrox as well, so the simplest solution is to download the SciTech drivers. If you have a Software Choice subscription, you can get the latest from the IBM drivers site Here.. The alternate download site for SciTech drivers is at Hobbes: HTTP or FTP. The complete list of supported chipsets at Hobbes is here: Chip List.
Download the Scitech drivers into a new directory, named SciTech, not on the OS/2 system drive unless that is your only logical drive. Unzip the file with an OS/2 compatible unzip, then execute the program sdd70Xse.exe. That will create subdirectories. Read the README file!. I am convinced that five or ten minutes reading this before you install can save you much grief and time. More installs fail due to not reading the instructions than for any other reason.
Execute the setup command with the selected driver type option. To determine which option, you need to read the README. Setup will execute and tell you to reboot. Don't ignore this, reboot at that time.
When you have rebooted, open the OS/2 System folder, double click (DC) on System Setup, DC on System and you will see the screen options. Don't change them yet.
First, change to page 2 of the screen setup. There is a small + sign in the upper right corner. Click on it. Page 2 enables you to set up your monitor type. This must be done to avoid the wrong video settings that could damage your monitor.
Check your monitor type. If you are lucky, it will be written on the front. Mine says "NOKIA" in large letters and "Multigraph 447X" in small letters. If the information is not on the front, check the back plate that must have that labeling information.
Now open the display name list on page 2 and scroll until you see you make and model of monitor. Select that line. If you are curious about what screen rates that model supports, you can click on the "View Current Configuration" box, but it is not necessary. If you cannot find your monitor listed, it may be too old to handle anything more than 800x600 at 60 refresh rate. If that is the case, it's time for a new monitor. Your eyes will appreciate it.
Go back to page 1 by clicking on the - (minus) sign. Select your screen resolution and color depth, and select a refresh rate of 72 or higher if your monitor supports it. Once you have selected the correct monitor, the software will only present allowable rates on page 1. That is the reason for doing the selection first.
Close the properties page and reboot the system again for the changes you just set to take effect. If the reboot fails to show any display, reboot again and select recovery by pressing Alt-F1 when the OS/2 shows briefly in the upper left corner after the first OS/2 splash screen. Take recovery choice F3 to reset the video to default. Go back and read the README for more ideas about what might not be working.
If you have followed directions, the screen should come up with a new display which should be faster than before, unless you chose a much higher resolution or color depth.
Here are some resolution and color depth recommendations for most uses. These are starting points for typical use. There are no absolutes, but if you start with these, your system should perform well. You can always test other settings. Some of the setting changes will not require a reboot, but will happen after a brief blank screen.
| Monitor Size | Recommended Resolution |
| 15 | 800x600 |
| 17 | 1024x768 |
| 19 | 1280 x 1024 or 1024 x 768 |
| 20 | 1280 x 1024 |
| 21 | 1600 x 1200 on high quality monitors |
| 21 | 1280 x 1024 otherwise |
Color Depths for CPU Speeds
| CPU Clock Rate | <300 MHz | 300-600 MHz | 600 MHz-1 GHz | >1 GHz |
| Color Depth | 256 | 32768 or 65536 | 16 million | 4 billion |
| # of Bits of Color | 8 | 15 or 16 | 24 | 32 |
Really inexpensive monitors may be a bit fuzzy at these recommendations, as will older monitors where these are near the top limits the monitor can reach. Color depth affects only the video card. You should reduce the resolution to one size lower if your monitor is noticably blurry or fuzzy. The eyestrain you will get is not worth the extra screen pixels.
Current monitors are inexpensive and of pretty good quality. Name brands are more expensive, but generally of better quality. I recommend 17 inch for general use, 19 inch for someone who uses the system for long periods, and 20 or 21 for heavy graphics users.
I don't recommend 15 inch monitors because the small price differential for new 17 inch monitors is well worth the difference. I also recommend spending extra for quality if you use the system for more than one hour per day. Your eyes will be much less fatigued.
This upgrade is often overlooked by many people because it is not obvious how much of your visible screen performance depends on the video card. If your video card is two years old, this is a no brainer. One year old is a maybe.
Check your computer manual, or look inside the case, and determine if the video card is plugged into a PCI or AGP slot. AGP gives faster access to memory, but except for games and 3D displays, the difference between PCI and AGP performance is less than the difference between generations of video cards.
There are roughly two generations of video cards per year. New PCI cards are almost out of the market, but there are still many sources. AGP cards are the main stream today. You can ignore the 1X, 2X, 4X issues as those have little actual performance benefits. What they do have an effect on is the price.
First, find out what your current video card is. If the documentation doesn't identify the chip set, you may have to open the case and pull the video card. Do so carefully. Unplug the video cable first. Then remove the retaining screw and gently pull the card out, while avoiding the cables inside the case.
Look at the largest chip on the card - that is the video chip. Copy the information from the chip. Most important is the manufacturer, the chip type and version, and the year. While the chip is out, check the type of slot. If it looks the same as the others, it is PCI. If it looks different, slightly offset and a different color, it is AGP.
Carefully reassemble the system. First align the gold fingers on the card with the slot, then the metal hold down strap with the back opening. Press down carefully but firmly, and make sure the card is fully inserted into the slot with the metal tab touching the metal shelf. Align the tab slot and install the screw. Do not overtighten.
Now you search for a better card. Which one? For OS/2 users, there is one more step. You must verify, before you spend money, that the new card has an OS/2 driver. See the section Upgrade Your Video Driver for instructions.