4 layers62.8 × 53.3 mm
4 layers70 × 70 mm
Compaq S3 Virge GX VRAM Addon Board
jeffqchen/CompaqS3VirgeGXVRAM6A VRAM Expansion Board for the Compaq S3 Virge GX & Matrox Mystique 220 Video Card
- Size
- 70 × 70 mm
- Copper layers
- 4
- Thickness
- 1.6 mm
- Parts
- 22
- Nets
- 143
- Pads
- 424
- Tracks, vias
- 1,330, 179
- Pours
- 590
- Routed
- Yes
- KiCad
- KiCad 7 (file 20221018)
- Created
- 17 Aug 2023
- Updated
- 6 Feb 2026
Overview
Compaq S3 Virge GX VRAM Addon Board is an open-source printed circuit board by jeffqchen, from the jeffqchen/CompaqS3VirgeGXVRAM repository on GitHub, published under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence. It is a 4-layer board of 70 × 70 mm with 22 parts on 143 nets, routed with 1,330 tracks and 179 vias.
Its parts include 16 capacitors, 3 ICs and 2 connectors.
README
README.mdVRAM Expansion Board for Compaq S3 Virge GX & Matrox Mystique 220 Video Cards
The Compaq S3 Virge GX video card comes with 2MB of VRAM onboard, and a dual pin header interface for an add-on board to upgrade up to 4MB VRAM in total.
However, this add-on board is difficult to find at a reasonable price nowadays. Hence the need for this project.
Also, I've added additional support for a BIOS chip with a modern pinout scheme, in contrast to the weird one Compaq decided to use on their card. Just in case you are facing a corrupted BIOS situation, you can easily remove the stock one and install your own.
Extra Compatibility
Later, I've noticed that this expansion board is also completely compatible with the Compaq Matrox Mystique 220, boosting the total VRAM to 4MB.
To learn all the findings I obtained during creating this board, as well as how to build the board, please visit the Wiki pages.
Special Thanks
rain2xx - Twitter
- for extra photos of a 3rd party VRAM board
Shield: 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Parts
22| Qty | Value | Footprint | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 0.1uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0603_1608Metric_Pad1.08x0.95mm_HandSolder | C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, C9, C10, C11, C12, C13, C14, C15, C16 |
| 2 | ~ | Package_QFP:PQFP-100_14x20mm_P0.65mm | U1, U2 |
| 1 | LOGO | JeffLibrary:RainbowDash | G*** |
| 1 | SST39SF010-040 | Package_LCC:PLCC-32_THT-Socket | U3 |
| 1 | ~ | Compaq S3 Virge GX VRAM Addon Board:Bottom Pin Header | P1 |
| 1 | ~ | Compaq S3 Virge GX VRAM Addon Board:Top Pin Header | J1 |
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Questions
How big is the Compaq S3 Virge GX VRAM Addon Board PCB?
It measures 70 × 70 mm and has 4 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.
What parts does the Compaq S3 Virge GX VRAM Addon Board use?
22 parts. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.
Where can I download the Compaq S3 Virge GX VRAM Addon Board KiCad files?
From the jeffqchen/CompaqS3VirgeGXVRAM repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is KiCAD/Compaq S3 Virge GX VRAM Addon Board.kicad_pcb and its schematic KiCAD/Compaq S3 Virge GX VRAM Addon Board.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.
Can I use the Compaq S3 Virge GX VRAM Addon Board design in my own project?
Its repository publishes it under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence: you may reuse it on that licence's terms (keep the author's notice, and for a copyleft licence share your changes alike).