S3 ViRGE 86C325 R1C3AD Biostar PCI 2MB Video Card VS16-AVBB VGA 3D Windows 95

S3 ViRGE 86C325 R1C3AD Biostar PCI 2MB Video Card VS16-AVBB VGA 3D Windows 95

The Biostar VS16-AVBB is a PCI bus video card built around the S3 ViRGE 86C325 integrated 2D/3D graphics processor. The ViRGE (Virtual Reality Graphics Engine) chip combines a 2D SVGA core with an on-board 3D accelerator on a single die, making it one of the first mainstream single-chip 3D graphics solutions for the PC. This card carries 2 MB of video memory and outputs through a standard HD-15 VGA connector.

Specifications & What's Included

• GPU / Chipset: S3 ViRGE On Board, part number 86C325 (R1C3AD revision)
• Video Memory: 2 MB
• Bus Interface: PCI
• Video Output: 1× VGA (HD-15 / DB-15)
• 3D Acceleration: Yes — S3 ViRGE integrated
• Board Manufacturer: Biostar
• Board Model: VS16-AVBB
• Country of Manufacture: China (chip manufactured in Taiwan, dated 1997 week 21)
• Form Factor: Standard PCI card (full-height bracket)
• Compatible OS: Windows 95, Windows 98, DOS

Applications

The S3 ViRGE family was introduced in late 1995 and became one of the most widely sold graphics chips of the mid-to-late 1990s, appearing in millions of budget and mid-range PCs of the Windows 95 era. It was designed for standard PCI-bus desktop systems and provided SVGA 2D output alongside hardware-accelerated 3D for APIs including Direct3D and S3's own ViRGE toolkit. While the 3D performance of the ViRGE was modest by later standards — earning it the nickname