Artist PA-RISC Graphics
Artist was an integrated graphics adapter, based on HP CRX graphics for technical workstations. It was developed for the HP 9000 712 workstation, integrated CRX functionality in a small footprint and released in 1994.
When developing the 712 Gecko workstation, HP integrated as much technical features and functionality in VLSI circuits as possible. This included re-developing the onboard version of the CRX adapter (Stinger) into the Artist graphics chip.
Artist graphics adapters were found in LASI-based workstations such as HP 9000 712, HP 9000 715 and were technically (almost) identical to CRX devices with much more supported resolutions and refresh rates. HP Artist had 1 MB VRAM which could be extended to 2 MB.
HP integrated as much circuitry as possible with Artist to reduce manufacturing cost for the workstation subsystems. Cost of the HP 712 graphics subsystem was a third of the previous CRX system, the entry level Artist itself only a fifth of CRX.
HP Artist integrated almost everything but the VRAM into a single HP CMOS26B VLSI chip, at 80 MHz, while the internal DACs and color tables run at 135 MHz.
| Device | Resolution max |
Color max |
Double buffer |
3D | Output | Bus and formfactor Part number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artist | 1024×768 | 8-bit | Hardware | - | VGA | GSC (integrated) |
| Artist ext. mem |
1280×1024 | 8-bit | Hardware | - | VGA | GSC (integrated) |
Color Recovery
For Artist, HP developed HP Color Recovery Technology, a system to display millions of colors
within the cost constraints of an 8-bit (8-plane) graphics system.
At the time, users often chose 8-bit adapters due to the high cost of systems with 24 planes.
With HP Color Recovery, the HP video system takes 24-bit data from an application an dithers it down to 8-bit for the frame buffer, from where it is scanned through a DSP to the display, wherex millions of colors can be viewed.
Besides Artist, Color Recovery was also part of the HCRX-8 adapter.
Color Recovery was used in HP integrated Artist video systems on various 32-bit workstations such as HP 9000 712 workstation and some HP 9000 715 workstations (LASI-based).
Documentation
- Graphics Administration Guide for HP-UX 10.20 (.pdf) Hewlett-Packard (n.d.)
- Graphics Administration Guide for HP-UX 11 (.pdf) Hewlett-Packard (2006: B2355-IE003, Edition E0206)
- Support Matrix - HP-UX Workstations Processors, OS Versions and Graphics archive.org, Hewlett-Packard Company (2001: mirror)
- Famous Graphics Chips: HP›s Artist Graphics, Jon Peddie, computer.org 2020
- An Integrated Graphics Accelerator for a Low-Cost Multimedia Workstation (PDF, HP Journal 4/95) archive.org
- HP Color Recovery Technology (PDF, HP Journal 4/95) archive.org
- Some Terrific Idea, OpenBSD stories, Miod Vallat (May 2026)