ATI Technologies X1550 SERIES manual

Radeon® X1550 Series User ’ s Guide P/N 137- 71102 - 10[...]

ii Copyright © 2006, A TI T echnologies In c. All rights reserved. A TI, t he A TI logo, and A TI product and produc t-featu re names are tradem arks and/or registered trademarks of A TI T echnologies Inc. All other company and/or prod uct names are trademarks and /or registered trademarks of their res pective owners. Features, perform anc e and s[...]

iii Note: This graphics card is for use on ly with compatible UL Listed personal computers that have Installation Instructions detailing user installation of card cage accessories. L IMPORT ANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS • Read Instructions - All the safet y and operating instructions should be read before the product is operated. • Retain Instruction[...]

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v T able of Content s Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Radeon® X1550 Series Featu res 1 System Requirements 4 Before You Begin 4 Installing Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Graphics Card Bus Types 7 Basic Graphics Card Installation 7 Advanced Installation: AGP 9 Advanced Insta[...]

vi Installing Software and Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Installing Drivers and So ftware in Windows® 21 Monitor Configuration 22 To set up a multi-monitor displa y 23 Reinstalling Drivers 23 Installing the Cataly st™ Software Suite 24 Catalyst™ Control Center 27 Launching Catalyst™ Control Ce nter 27 Catalyst™ Control Center Dash[...]

vii CrossFire™ FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Troubleshooting 103 Product Registration 105 Customer Care 105 Additional Accessories 107 Compliance Info rmation 107 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Ind[...]

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Radeon® X1550 Series Features 1 CHAPTER 1: Introduction Congratulations on the purchase of your ATI Radeon® X1550 Series graphics card. We hope that you will enjo y countless hours of trouble-free computing. Radeon® X1550 Series Features Graphic Features • Native PCI Express® X16 bus support. • Four parallel rendering pipelines. • 32/MB/6[...]

2 Radeon® X1550 Series Features • Loss-less Z-buffer compression • Z Cache optimized for r eal-time shadow rendering. V ideoShader™ • Seamlessly integrates pixel shad ers with video in real time. • All format DTV/HDTV decoding. • Adaptive Per-Pixel- De-interlacing and Frame Rate Conversion. 512-bit Ring Bus Memor y Controller • Progr[...]

Radeon® X1550 Series Features 3 High Dynamic Range (HDR) Rende ring • 64-bit floating point HDR supported t hroughout th e pipeline • Includes support for blending and m ulti-sample anti-aliasing. • High precision 10 :10:10:2 integer fo rmat support. • Includes support for blending and m ulti-sample anti-aliasing. • 2x/4x/6x Anti-Aliasin[...]

4 System Requirements System Requirement s External Connections • 15-pin D-shell (female) VGA output. • DVI-I output. • S-V ideo output. Before Y ou Begin Before you begin installi ng your new graphics card, please do the following. Record Y our Serial and Part Numbers The serial number and 102 part numbe r printed on the graphics card are re[...]

Before You Begin 5 Write the numbers, shown in bold above, down before instal ling your new ATI product. Uninst all Previous Graphics Card Drivers To ensure the successful installatio n of your new Radeon® X1550 Series card, you must uninstall the drivers fo r the existing graphics card before removing it from your computer. T o uninstall previous[...]

6 Before You Begin[...]

Graphics Card Bus Types 7 CHAPTER 2: Inst alling Hardware This chapter will guide you through the physical instal lation of your new Radeon® graphics card. Graphics Card Bus T ypes There are three possible card bus type s. See the illustration below to determine if you have an AGP, PCI, or PCI Express® (PCIe™) graphics card. AGP, PCI, and PCIe?[...]

8 Basic Graphics Ca rd Installation Radeon® graphics cards that require a connection to the computer’s power supply will have a p ower cable connected to them. Installing the graphi cs card 1 T urn off the computer , mon itor , and other peripheral devices. 2 Unplug the computer ’ s power cord and disconnect all cables from the back of your co[...]

Advanced Installation: AGP 9 Advanced Inst allation: AGP There are two types of installation. If your graphics card does not require a separate connection to the comp uter’s po wer supply, follo w the Basic Install instructions. If your graphics ca rd require a separate connection to the computer’s power supply, fol low the Advanced Inst all in[...]

10 Advanced Installation: AGP Installing the graphi cs card 1 T urn off the computer , mon itor , and other peripheral devices. 2 Unplug the computer ’ s power cord and disconnect all cables from the back of your computer . 3 Remove the computer cover . If necessary , consult your computer ’ s manual for help in removing the cover . 4 Unscrew o[...]

Advanced I nstallation: PCIe™ 11 6 Align your A TI graphics card with the slot and press it in firmly until the card is fully seated. 7 Remove the power cable from th e hard drive power connector . 8 Connect the power extension cable to the 4-pin pow er connection on the graphics card. 9 Connect the power extension cable to the power supply . 10 [...]

12 Advanced Installation: PCIe™ Installing the Radeon® graphi cs card 1 T urn off the computer , mon itor , and other peripheral devices. 2 Unplug the computer ’ s power cord and disconnect all cables from the back of your computer . Graphics Card In stallation 1 Graphics Card 2 Power Supply 3 6-pin Power Cable Connector 4 6-pin Power Connecti[...]

Advanced I nstallation: PCIe™ 13 3 Remove the computer cover . If necessary , consult your computer ’ s manual for help in removing the cover . 4 Unscrew or unfasten and remove any existing graphics card from your computer . Note: If your computer has an on -board graphics capabi lity , y ou may need to disable it on the motherboard. For more i[...]

14 Connecting Devices Connecting Devices The following illustration shows typical conn ections found on ATI graphics cards: Connector T ypes VGA Supports an analog CRT monitor . DVI-I Supports a digital monitor . VGA-DVI-I Adapter Supports an analog monitor on a DVI-I connection. S-Video In/Out Supports a TV , VCR, or Camcorder . CA TV Supp orts a [...]

15 CHAPTER 3: Using Multiple Displays Connecting Y our Monitors Your Radeon® X1550 Series graphics card provides hardw are support for the following d isplay configuratio ns: • Single VGA. • Single DVI. • Dual VGA (DVI-I-to-VGA adapter use required). The TV Out connect ion supports the follow ing TV formats (cables not provided): • Composi[...]

16 Note: If you use multiple monitors, the Radeon® X1550 Series card must be the primary graphics car d. Normally , the system BIOS determines which graphics card will be the primary . T o connect your monitors 1 Power off your computer and monitors. 2 Plug the moni tor cables into their appropriate connectors. Connections and Adapte rs for the Ra[...]

Display Configurations 17 3 Power on your m onitors first, and then restart your computer so that W indows® can detect the new hardware settings. 4 When the New Hardware Found W izard appears, at the appropriate prompt insert the A T I Installation CD to load the drivers fo r your Radeon® X1550 Series card. T o set up a multi-monitor display 1 Fr[...]

18 Display Configurations Single TV S-Video Out The S-Video out can also support a composite connection via the S- Video-to-Composite adapter . Single HDTV display S-Video Out to HDTV (YPrPb) cable HDTV - High Definition T elevision CRT display + TV VGA connector + S-Video Out UNSUPPORTED CONFIGURA T ION if the CRT display is attached to the DVI-I [...]

Display Configurations 19 CRT display + CRT display + HDTV VGA connector + DVI-I connector with DVI-I-to-VGA adapter + S-Video Out to HDTV (YPrPb) cable UNSUPPORTED CONFIGURA TION Display Configuration Connector(s) Used Comments[...]

20 Display Configurations[...]

Installing Drivers and Software in Win dows® 21 CHAPTER 4: Inst alling Sof tware and Drivers This chapter will guide you through the installation of the drivers and software associated with your Radeon® X1550 Series graphics card. Inst alling Drivers and Sof tware in Windows® You will need to install t he Radeon® X1 550 Series drivers and softw[...]

22 Monitor Configuration 2 Run the AT I S E T U P ut ility . The A TISETUP u tility will start automatically when you insert th e A TI Installation CD -ROM into your optical drive after the operating sy stem has started. If your CD- ROM auto-run is not enabled o r the AT I S E T U P utility does not start automatically: a) Click the S t art button [...]

To set up a multi- monitor display 23 T o configure your primary display 1 Navigate to the Contr ol Panel and choose Display , or right-click on the desktop and choose Properties . 2 Choose the Settings tab and select the screen resolution and color depth that best suit your requirements and your moni tor ’ s performance. 3 Click Advanc ed and se[...]

24 Installing the Catalyst™ Softwa re Suite If your CD-ROM auto-ru n is not enabled and the A TISETUP utility does not start automatically, follo w these steps. 1 In the W indows® task bar , click St a r t . 2 From the S tart menu, sel ect Run. 3 Browse to SETUP .EXE on the root direct ory of the A TI Installation CD-ROM. 4 Click OK. Inst alling[...]

Installing the Cata lyst™ Software Su ite 25 Not all software componen ts are installed using the Express installation. Custom installatio n allows you to select individual software components for installation.[...]

26 Installing the Catalyst™ Softwa re Suite[...]

Catalyst™ Control Center 27 CHAPTER 5: Cat alyst™ Control Center The Catalyst™ Control Center is a graphical user application providing access to the display features containe d within the installed ATI hardware and software. Use the Cata lyst™ Control Center to fine-tune your graphics settings, enable or disable connected display devices, [...]

28 Launching Catalyst™ Control Center Other Quick Launch Access Point s Launching Cata lyst™ Control Cen ter Using the Syste m Tray 1 Right-click the ATI icon in the Windows® System Tray. 2 Select Catalyst™ Control Center from the popup menu. Launching Cata lyst™ Control Cen ter Using the Desktop Shortcut When you first installed Catalyst [...]

Launching Cata lyst™ Control Center 2 9 Catalyst™ Control Center: St andard View[...]

30 Catalyst™ Control Center Dashboard Cat alyst™ Control Center Dashboard The Catalyst™ Control Center Dashboar d is a graphical representation of the display features of the installe d ATI hardware and software. Use the Dashboard to fine-tune y our graphic se ttings, enable or disable connected display devices, and change the orient ation of[...]

Catalyst™ Control Center Views 31 • Profiles • Preferences •H e l p Cat alyst™ Control Center Views The Catalyst™ Control Cen ter Dashbo ard supports three types of views: •B a s i c • Advanced • Custom Basic V iew Basic View is the default view when Catalyst™ Control Center is launched for the very first time. It includes a wiz[...]

32 Hotkeys Manager Create a Custom View 1 In Advanced V iew , click Vi e w and select Define Custom V iew . 2 In the D efine a Custom V iew dialog, click the plus sign beside the graphics card name to expand the tree view . 3 Select the check box next to each aspect you wish to add to your custom view . 4 Click OK to save the changes. Hotkeys Manag[...]

Profiles Manager 33 Note: A hot key character is restrict ed to letters of the alphabet. Create a list of active hot ke ys 1 Open Hotkeys Manager . 2 Select an option from the List Hotkeys for drop-down menu. • Optionally , select an aspect from the According to list. 3 Select the hot key actions yo u want active. Note: A hot key action m ust hav[...]

34 Profiles Manager Note: A profile applies to a specific graphics card. If there is more than one graphics card installed in your computer , you need to select the appropriate card befo re creating, loading, or activating a profile. Note: Profiles Manager is only available in Advanced V i ew . Display Profiles Manager 1 Click Pr ofiles in the Dash[...]

Preferences 35 • If you choose Hotkeys assignment , select a Hot key modifier and a keyboard key . Activate an applicat ion, file, or shortcut when a profile is started 1 Open the Profiles Manager . 2 Click the Applica tions tab. 3 Click opens the following application, file or shortcut . 4 Click the browse (“...”) button and b rowse to the f[...]

36 Preferences The Catalyst™ Control Center Prefer ences page contains the following options: • Hide T oolt ips •A l w a y s o n T o p • Enable System T ray menu • Restore factory defaults • H i d e To o l b a r Te x t • Select a Language • Select a Skin Keep Catalyst™ Co ntrol Center Always on T op of all open applications on t h[...]

Preferences 37 Note: When a check mark appears next to Hide Splash Scree n the Catalyst™ Control C enter splash sc reen will n ot appear during start up. Show or hide the Catalyst ™ Control Center icon in the Windows® Sy stem Tray 1 Click Pr eferences button in the Advanced V iew of the Dash board. 2 Click Enable System T ray menu in the drop-[...]

38 Help Help Use the Catalyst™ Control Cent er Help feature to access the comprehensive online help system, gene rate a Problem Report, and get the installed version information. Display help for the aspect or feature you are using 1 Click the Help button in the Adva nced V iew of the Dashboard. 2 Select Help for this Page . • Optionally , clic[...]

Information Center 39 Information Center The Information Center provides deta iled in formation about the installed graphics hardware and associated software. • Graphics Software includes information such as installed 2D and 3D driver versions, OpenGL® ve rsion, and Catalyst™ Control Center version. • Graphics Hardware includes informatio n [...]

40 Displays Manager T o access system informatio n •C l i c k t h e System Information button to open the Windows® System Informatio n. Displays Manager The Displays Manager aspect is the central location for configuring your display devices and arranging your deskt op. Use the Displays Manager aspect to quickly change your display setup, arran [...]

Displays Manager Ad vanced View 41 Displays Manager Advanced Vi ew Use Display Manager Ad vanced View to set your desk top resolution, th e display refresh rate, and arrange your displays. To change your display configuration requires dragging and/or clicking or right-clicking a disp lay icon Access Displays Ma nager • From the T ree Menu, click [...]

42 Displays Manager Advanced View 3 Click Ye s to the Enable this display dialog. • Optionally , right-click the number 2 icon in the right-h and box and click Enable in the pop-up menu. Note: Repeat steps 2 and 3 above for each additional connected device. The number on the display icon will incremen t as more displays are added. Enable Extended[...]

Displays Manager Ad vanced View 43 2 Click Clone Main with [display device] . 3 Click Ye s to the Displays Manager Notification dialog. Note: Display device can be CR T , DFP , TV , or HDTV . Enable Stretch Main V ertically If the secondary displ ay is disabled: 1 From the T ree V iew pane, click Displays Manager . 2 Click and drag t he display dev[...]

44 Displays Manager Advanced View Note: Display device can be CR T , DFP , TV , or HDTV dep ending on the device connection. Swap displays in Extended Mode Use Swap displays to switch your d esktops when using multiple monit ors. 1 From the T ree V iew pane, click Displays Manager . 2 Right-click any Desktop icon. 3 Select Swap displays . 4 Click e[...]

Displays Manager Ad vanced View 45 Note: See your monitor manu al for sup ported refresh rates. Set ting a refresh rate higher than recommended by the monitor manufacturer could damage the monitor . Rotate the desktop 1 From the T ree V iew pane, click Displays Manager . 2 Right-click the desktop moni tor icon to be rotated. 3 Select a rotation opt[...]

46 Display Options Clicking Discard applies to all features of an as pect, not just the feature in the current view. Display Options The Display Options aspect gives you additi onal control to optimize performance of OpenGL® and Direct 3D® applications. Use 3D Refresh Rate Override to set a refresh rate of your choice when a full-screen applicati[...]

Display Options 47 Select a refr esh rate override Some applications may have a default refresh rate lower than the optimal setting for your monitor. 3D Refresh Rate Override enables you to set the refresh rate for full-screen applications or games utilizing Microso ft® DirectX® or OpenGL®. You can either set an explicit refresh rate, or make th[...]

48 Display Options Determine how display devices ar e detected Use this feature to determine how the Catalyst™ Control Center detects display devices connected to your computer. You can set the Catalyst™ Control Center to automatical ly detect all connected display devices when it is opened or you can manually dete ct connected devices when the[...]

Monitor Properties 4 9 Apply your settings 1 Click Appl y to save your changes and leave the Catalyst™ Control Center open. 2 Click OK to save your changes an d exit the Catalyst™ Control Center. Discard your settings •C l i c k D iscard to ignore any unsaved changes and resto re the settings that existed when the Catalyst™ Control Center w[...]

50 Monitor Properties Monitor Attributes Monitor Attributes provides information about the attached monit or. You can also enable Extended Display Identification Data. Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) uses the information provided by the attached monitor to determ ine the limits for the reso lution and refresh rate. Enable Extended Displ[...]

Monitor Properties 5 1 Apply your settings 1 Click Appl y to save your changes and leave the Catalyst™ Control Center open. 2 Click OK to save your changes an d exit the Catalyst™ Control Center. Restore default settings 1 Move the mouse to the bottom right-h and corner of the window . 2 Click Defaul ts . Note: Clicking Defa ults will restore t[...]

52 Monitor Properties Attributes Digital Panel Attributes provides info rmation about the connected digi tal display. Use DVI Settings and Image Scaling to con figure your digital display. Set Image Scaling 1 From the T ree V iew pane, expand Digita l Panel Properties . 2 Click Attribu tes . 3 Under Image Scaling, click to enable the desired settin[...]

Monitor Properties 5 3 Note: Use centered timings will not resize the de sktop to fit the screen, and may result in a centered image with a black border around it. Adjust the DVI Settings 1 From the T ree V iew pane, expand Digita l Panel Properties . 2 Click Attribu tes . 3 Under DVI Settings, click to enable the desired setting. Note: Reducing DV[...]

54 Avivo™ Color A vivo™ Color Use Avivo™ Color with ATI graphics cards that supports per-display color settings. Independently set the hue a nd saturation for each attached and enabled display. Set Hue Refers to a specific color within the vi sible spectrum of light, defined by its dominant wavelength. 1 From the T ree V iew pane, expand Digi[...]

HDTV Support 55 Note: Clicking Defa ults will restore the defaults for the current view only . Previous sett ings are not al tered and will b e saved once you click OK . Discard your settings •C l i c k D iscard to ignore any unsaved changes and resto re the settings that existed when the Catalyst™ Control Center was opened or the last time App[...]

56 HDTV Support Add 1080i mode to the Disp lays Manager Force butto n If the Predefined and Cust om HDTV Fo rmats list box is empty you can add a format. 1 From the T ree V iew pane, expand Digita l Panel Properties . 2 Click HDTV Support . 3 Click Add 1080i standard format to the Displays Manager . Add 1080p mode to the Display s Manager Force but[...]

HDTV Support 57 Add an HDTV format The Predefined and Cust om HDTV Formats list box should list any standard and optimized HDTV formats suppo rted by the digital pa nel’s EDID. If the list is empty, then no HDTV formats are nat ively supported. 1 From the T ree V iew pane, expand Digita l Panel Properties . 2 Click HDTV Support . 3 Select either [...]

58 3D 3 Click to highlight the desired an HDTV format in the Predefined and Custom HDTV Formats list box. 4 Click Apply Fo rmat . Apply your settings 1 Click Appl y to save your changes and leave the Catalyst™ Control Center open. 2 Click OK to save your changes an d exit the Catalyst™ Control Center. Restore default settings 1 Move the mouse t[...]

Standard Settings 59 •A P I - S p e c i f i c S t andard Settings The S tandard settings page provides access to a universal slider control where you can simultaneously adjust a ll of the standard 3D setti ngs for any type of 3D application. The slider en ables you to adjust for overall system performance, overall 3D image quality, or a balance b[...]

60 Standard Settings 2 Click Standard Settings. 3 If necessary , remove the check mark from Use custom settings . 4 Click and drag the Control slider to the left to select High o r Optimal Performance, or to the right to select High or Opti mal Quality . Preview your changes • The preview image automatically di splays your adjust ments. Optionall[...]

Anti-aliasi ng 61 Anti-aliasing Anti-aliasing is a technique used to smooth out the jagged edges of three- dimensional curved objects or objects with diagon al edges. Anti-aliasing can be set to favor eith er an increase in system processing performance or improved image quality: • Setting for performance is best used when the 3D image is animate[...]

62 Set the Anti-Aliasing preference manually Set the T ransparent Anti-Aliasing 1 Expand 3D in Advanced V iew . 2 Click T ransparent Anti-Aliasing . 3 Ensure the application override is enabled. T o do so, make sure the Let the Application Decide check box is not selected. 4 Click and drag the slider to the desired setting. Note: The slider control[...]

Adaptive Anti-aliasing 63 Note: Clicking Defa ults will restore the defaults for the current view only . Previous sett ings are not al tered and will b e saved once you click OK . Adaptive Anti-aliasing Adaptive anti-aliasing is a technique that applies a com bination of multi- sampling (MSAA) and super-sampling (SSAA) on 3D objects to improve edge[...]

64 Anisotropic Filtering 3 Ensure the application override is disabled. T o do so, make sure the Let the Application Decide check box is cleared. The slider control will become available. 4 Click the Contr ol slider and move the sele ctor to your preferred setting: • T o increase processing performance, move the slider to the left. • T o increa[...]

Catalyst™ A.I. 65 Discard your settings •C l i c k D iscard to ignore any unsaved changes and resto re the settings that existed when the Catalyst™ Control Center was opened or the last time Apply was used. Discard does not close the Catalyst™ Control Center. Clicking Discard applies to all features of an as pect, not just the feature in th[...]

66 Catalyst™ A.I. 2 Click Catal yst™ A.I. 3 If necessary , clear the check mark from Disable Catalyst™ A.I. 4 Click and drag to slider to the desired setting. Note: Change to Catalyst™ A.I. settings is not shown in th e 3D Preview . Preview your changes • The preview image automatically di splays your adjust ments. Optionally, double-clic[...]

Mipmap Detail Leve l 67 Mipmap Det ail Level Mipmapping is a texturing technique that preserv es the detail on a 3D object’s surface as it moves into the b ackground. A series of high- and low- resolution texture maps are stored in memory and selectiv ely used to create the object’s surface, depending on wh at level of detail is neede d. Mipmap[...]

68 All Settings Discard your settings •C l i c k D iscard to ignore any unsaved changes and resto re the settings that existed when the Catalyst™ Control Center was opened or the last time Apply was used. Discard does not close the Catalyst™ Control Center. Clicking Discard applies to all features of an as pect, not just the feature in the cu[...]

All Settings 69 3 Ensure the application override is disabled. T o do so, mak e sure the Let the Application Decide check box is cleared. The slider control will become available. 4 Click the Contr ol slider and move the selector to your preferred setting: • T o increase processing performance, move the slider to the left. • T o increase image [...]

70 All Settings Set the Cataly st™ A.I. setting 1 From the T ree V iew pane, expand 3D . 2 Click All Settings . 3 Scroll to Catalyst™ A.I. 4 Click the Contr ol slider and move the select or to the left to increase processing performance, or to th e right to increase image quality . Set the Mipmap detail level 1 From the T ree V iew pane, expand[...]

API Specific 71 Discard your settings •C l i c k D iscard to ignore any unsaved changes and resto re the settings that existed when the Catalyst™ Control Center was opened or the last time Apply was used. Discard does not close the Catalyst™ Control Center. Clicking Discard applies to all features of an as pect, not just the feature in the cu[...]

72 API Specific Set Support DXT texture for mats for Direct 3D® This option enables support for DirectX® compressed texture formats. DXT requires half the amount of memory to draw the sam e amount of textures. This frees up memory while achieving high quality graphics. 1 From the T ree V iew pane, expand 3D . 2 Click API Specific . 3 Select Suppo[...]

Color 73 3 Select Force 24-bit Z-buffer depth to place a check mark in the check box. Apply your settings 1 Click Appl y to save your changes and leave the Catalyst™ Control Center open. 2 Click OK to save your changes an d exit the Catalyst™ Control Center. Restore default settings 1 Move the mouse to the bottom right-h and corner of the windo[...]

74 Color Desktop Color Desktop Adjust the overall ri chness of color by using the Gamma control. To adju st the overall brightness use the Brightness control, and the overall contrast use the Contrast control. Display Color page to configure Deskt op 1 From the T ree V iew pane, click Color . 2 Select Desktop from the Set color correction for drop-[...]

Color Desktop 75 4 Click and drag either th e Gamma, Brightness, or Contrast to adjust all these settings simultaneously . Revert to last known All Channel se ttings 1 From the T ree V iew pane, click Color . 2 Select Desktop in Set color correction for . 3 Select All Channels . Reactivate your colo r settings Your desktop may retain the color sett[...]

76 Color Desktop Note: The preview image automatically displays the adjustment you have made. Set Color Contrast 1 From the T ree V iew pane, click Color . 2 Click and drag the Contr ol slider to your pr eferred setting: • T o increase the Contrast, move the slider to the right. • T o decrease the Contrast, move the slider to the left. • Opti[...]

Color - FullScreen 3 D 77 Color - FullScreen 3D Adjusting the Gamma control alters the overall ri chness of color. Adjusting the Brightness control alters the overall brightn ess. Adjusting the Co ntrast control alters the overall contrast. • Adjusting the Gamma can be useful for CAD appl ications that rely heavily on color coding or applica tion[...]

78 Avivo™ Video for Radeon® X1000 Series Apply your settings 1 Click Appl y to save your changes and leave the Catalyst™ Control Center open. 2 Click OK to save your changes an d exit the Catalyst™ Control Center. Restore default settings 1 Move the mouse to the bottom right-h and corner of the window . 2 Click Defaul ts . Note: Clicking Def[...]

Standard Settings 79 S t andard Settings To quickly adjust your video settin gs choose one of the video presets or use the Video Wizard to configure your display devices. Start the V ideo Wizard 1 From the T ree V iew pane, expand Vi d e o . 2 Click S tandard Settings . 3 Click the Wiz ar d button. Select a V ideo Preset 1 From the T ree V iew pane[...]

80 Standard Settings 3 Select a preset from the V ideo Presets menu. Apply your settings 1 Click Appl y to save your changes and leave the Catalyst™ Control Center open. 2 Click OK to save your changes an d exit the Catalyst™ Control Center. Restore default settings 1 Move the mouse to the bottom right-h and corner of the window . 2 Click Defau[...]

Standard Settings 81 3 Click and drag the Gamma control slider to t he desired position. Set Contrast Contrast is the difference between the brightest and darkest parts of an image. 1 From the T ree V iew pane, expand Vi d e o . 2 Click Adjustm ents . 3 Click and drag the Contrast control slider to the desired position. Set Brightn ess Brightness i[...]

82 Standard Settings Restore default settings 1 Move the mouse to the bottom right-h and corner of the window . 2 Click Defaul ts . Note: Clicking Defa ults will restore the defaults for the current view only . Previou s settings are not altered and will be saved once y ou click OK . Discard your settings •C l i c k D iscard to ignore any unsaved[...]

Standard Settings 83 • Optionally , select in Theater Mode (full-screen) if you want the video content to be displayed on both displays. The Secondary display displays the same content as the primary . Set video aspe ct ratio 1 From the T ree V iew pane, expand Vi d e o . 2 Click Theater Mode . 3 Select Match the source video to maintain the aspe[...]

84 Standard Settings • Auto Detect lets the multimedia driver to select the best deinterlacing scheme for d iff erent video sources and sizes. • Bob deinterlacing, when selected, removes every other line of the video image and is recommended for mot ion video. • Adaptive deinterlacing, when selected, reacts to the amount of motion in the vide[...]

Standard Settings 85 All Settings The All Settings page combines all of the principal Video features onto a single page, without any preview window, allowing quick access and adjustment. This page is useful when it is not n ecessary to preview the adjusted settings because the effect is al ready known or understood. Let the application contr ol vid[...]

86 Standard Settings 2 Click All Settings . 3 Scroll to Video Adjus tments . 4 Adjust the Contrast control slider to the desired position. Adjust Saturation Saturatio n is the measure of amount of color in an image. 1 From the T ree V iew pane, expand Vi d e o . 2 Click All Settings . 3 Scroll to Video Adjus tments . 4 Adjust the Saturation control[...]

Standard Settings 87 3 Scroll to Overlay Display Mode . 4 Under Extended desktop shows overlay: select in S tandard Mode if you want the video content to be disp layed on the primary display only . • Optionally , select in Theater Mode (full-screen) if you want the video content to be displayed on both displays. The Secondary display displays the[...]

88 VPU Recover Restore default settings 1 Move the mouse to the bottom right-h and corner of the window . 2 Click Defaul ts . Note: Clicking Defa ults will restore the defaults for the current view only . Previou s settings are not altered and will be saved once y ou click OK . Discard your settings •C l i c k D iscard to ignore any unsaved chang[...]

VPU Recover 89 Enable VPU Recover 1 From the T ree V iew pane, click VPU Recover . 2 Click Enable VPU Recover . Prepare an error report You can chose to send an error report to ATI if VPU Recover is activated. This report assists ATI in determining the cause of the problem. This information is then used to develop more stable graphic drivers. 1 Fro[...]

90 VPU Recover An email is created containing the er ror report for submission to ATI Technologies. Note: No personal information is included in the error report. Apply your settings 1 Click Appl y to save your changes and leave the Catalyst™ Control Center open. 2 Click OK to save your changes an d exit the Catalyst™ Control Center. Restore de[...]

VPU Recover 91 2 Click Catal yst™ A.I. 3 If necessary , clear the check mark from Disable Catalyst™ A.I. 4 Click and drag to slider to the desired setting. Note: Change to Catalyst™ A.I. settings is not shown in th e 3D Preview . Apply your settings 1 Click Appl y to save your changes and leave the Catalyst™ Control Center open. 2 Click OK [...]

92 VPU Recover[...]

Using TV Out 93 CHAPTER 6: Using TV Display and Capture Features This chapter describes how to use the TV display and vi deo capture features of your Radeon® X1550 Series card. Using TV Out Your Radeon® X1550 Series has TV Out capability. Viewing Y our PC’ s Display on a TV You can attach your Radeon® X1550 Series to a TV and a monitor at the [...]

94 Using TV Out 2 Determine if your TV supports either a S-V ideo or Composite video connection. 3 Looking at the back of your PC, locate your S-V ideo Out. Using an S- V ideo cable, attach one end of the cab le to your graphics card and the other to your TV. Refer to the illustrat ion. 4 Power on your TV first, then your compu ter . Using a Monito[...]

Connecting to HDTV 95 occurs because the display adjusts to fit the dimensions of your TV. To correct the monitor’s display, use the mon itor’s control buttons to adjust its display size and position. Some single-frequency monit ors may not work with TV display enabled. If you experience problems when TV di splay is enabled, disable TV disp lay[...]

96 Connecting to HDTV The HDTV Component Video Adapter can be used in place of the standard A/V Output cable to connect to an HD TV or other componen t input device, using component v ideo cables. Note: Input and output cables length s should not exceed 50 feet (15m). Installing your A TI HDTV video cable 1 T urn on your component input devi ce, an[...]

Connecting to HDTV 97 2 T urn on your computer . Note: Y our TV will not display anything unt il W indows starts. This can take several minutes. Using Y our A TI HDTV Video Cable Use the HDTV Video Cable to watch DVD movies and play video game s on your High Definition Television. For maximum performa nce when you watch DVD movies or play computer [...]

98 Connecting to HDTV[...]

99 CHAPTER 7: CrossFire ™ F AQ The following are frequently-ask ed questions about CrossFire™. For the latest info rma tion, please consult the CrossFire™ Web site at: ati.com/cro ssfire 1 What combination of products ar e requir ed to build a working CrossFir e™ system? T wo components are required: • T wo CrossFire™ Edition graphics c[...]

100 T o access and enable CrossFire™ in Catalyst™ Control Center, do the following: • In Advanced V iew , click CrossFire™ and check the En able CrossFire™ box. When CrossFire™ is succ essfully enabled, all display devices except the one used by C rossFire™ will be disab led. Multiple monit ors/ displays that are disabled when Cr ossF[...]

101 In this scenario both graphics cards will op erate as 12-pipeline graphics cards while in CrossFire™ mode. 9 What happens if two CrossFir e™ graphics cards have different clock speeds? Both cards will continue to operat e at their individual clock speeds; neither card is “stepped down”. The composit ing engine on the CrossFire™ card m[...]

102 12 What type of performance improvement is expected? Performance enhancements experi enced on a CrossFire™ system depend on the application or game being used. Performance improvements can be increased up to 100%, and the latest graphics- intensive programs will generally see over 80% performance improvement at high resolu tions and image-qua[...]

Troubleshooting 103 CHAPTER 8: Reference This chapter provides information on troubleshooti ng, where to get additional accessories, how to register your product, plus warranty and compliance information. T roubleshooting The following troubleshooting tips may help if you experience problems. ATI’s documentation con tains helpful installatio n/co[...]

104 Troubleshootin g No Display • Check that the card is seated properly in its expansion slot. • Ensure that the monitor cable is securely fastened to the card. • Make sure that the monitor and computer are plugg ed in and receiving power . • If necessary , disable any bui lt-in graphics capabilities on your mother board. For more inform a[...]

Product Registration 105 Product Registration To activate Customer Care you must register your product with ATI at: ati.com/onlin e/registrat ion Customer Care For detailed instructions on how to use your ATI product, refer to the Online User’s Guide included on you r ATI installation CD-ROM. HDTV/HDTV Adapter T roubleshooti ng Problem Possible S[...]

106 Customer Care If you require fu rther assistance w ith your product, th e following Customer Care options are available: ATI Customer Care will work to resolve your issue and help you to get your ATI product up and running. If your issue is not resolved, our techni cians will determine whether the difficulty you are exp eriencing is the result [...]

Additional Accessories 107 • A TI C ustomer Care is unable to assist with refunds, returns, or exchange specific inquiries. If reso lving the problem being experienced is critical to your d ecision to keep the product, it is your responsibility t o ensure that you kn ow and are within the period of time your resel ler wi ll allow fo r refunds, re[...]

108 Compliance Information • Connect the equipmen t to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. • Consult the dea ler or an expe ri enced radio/TV technician for he lp. Industry Canada Compliance St atement ICES-003 This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003. Cet appareil numérique de l[...]

Compliance Information 109 W aste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive Compliance This product was manu factured by ATI Technolo gies Inc.[...]

110 Compliance Information[...]

111 CHAPTER 9: Glossary 2D Acronym for “two dimensional,” a term applied to computer graphics that are “flat.” Typical desktop applica tions such as wo rd processors, spreadsheet programs, or other prog rams that manipulate print or simpl e graphics (such as pictures or line art) are generally considered to be operating within a 2D environm[...]

112 surfaces, allowing game pr ogrammers to include mo re texture and lighting details without affecting performance. Adaptive Anti -aliasing Adaptive anti-aliasing is a technique that applies a com bination of multi- sampling (MSAA) and super-sampling (SSAA) on 3D objects to improve edge smoothness and fine detail. Multi -sampling works best on sm[...]

113 operation is only available in Rad eon® CrossFire™ graphics cards running Microsoft® Direct 3D® and OpenGL® gam es or applications. Anisotropic Filtering A technique that preserves the surface de tails of an object as it recedes into the distance by utilizing and blendin g together the object’s texture maps. This makes 3D objects appear[...]

114 single display within its exi sting ambient lighting environment, or to bett er color match two or mo re adjacent monitors. Back Buffer A type of offscreen memory used to provide smoo th video and 2D graphics acceleration. This techniqu e uses two frame buffers, so the process is often referred to as “double- buffering.” While the cont ents[...]

115 Brightness The amount of white or black that i s applied to all colors onscreen. By making the screen “brighter” you are adding more whit e to it. This should not be confused w ith luminosit y, which measures the actual light le vel emitted from the computer display. Buffer A name referring to portions of on -boa rd video memory. One large [...]

116 Component Video Typically used on DVD players and HDTV systems, component video is a standard Red/Green/Blue (RGB) color si gnal for televisi ons. The signal is split and compressed into separate luminance and color values—luminance (“Y”), red minus luminance (R-Y), and blue minus lumi nance (B-Y). The value for green is not transmitted. [...]

117 through a shadow mask and o nto the b ack of the glass sc reen. The electron beams activate separate red, green, and blue values in various strengths in order to produce a colored image. Dashboard The dashboard is the part of th e Catalyst™ Control Cen ter used to display a graphical representation of the f eatures available in installed ATI [...]

118 equal the dot pitch . If the monitor i s set to lower resolu tions, the pix els will be comprised of multiple dot s. DVI Acronym for “Digital Vide o Interface,” a standard video connection used on many current computer disp lays . There are three types of DVI connections: DVI-A (ana log), DVI-D (digital), and DVI-I (integrated, capable of e[...]

119 Frames Per Second In terms of 3D graphics, refers to the rate at which the graphic processor can render new screens per second. Higher rates equals better, more naturalistic performance fo r such things as games set in a 3D environment. Sometimes abbreviated to “fps.” Gamma Sometimes confused with brightness, gamma actual ly refers to the c[...]

120 HDTV Acronym for “High Definition Televisio n,” a format that produces much greater picture quality than a st andard television, and in a wide-screen format that matches that of a movie theater screen. The two most popular formats are 1080i and 720p, where the numb er represents how many horizontal scan lines they have, and th e following l[...]

121 Keyframe Interpolation This feature is also known as “morphing.” In an animation, a start and end point are picked as the key frames. In a 3D rendering, the start point could have a character with a neutral expr ession, and the end point could have that same character smili ng. Additional frames are interpol ated (inserted) between the two [...]

122 flicker-free. The acronym refers to the National Televi sion Systems Committee, which devised this color video standard in 1953. Offscreen Memory An area of memory used to preload im ages so that they can be quickly drawn to the screen. Offscreen memory refers to all of the remaining video memory not taken up by the front buffer, which hol ds t[...]

123 card. PCI replaced the older ISA and VESA bus standards, and was itself superseded by the AGP standard for the main graphics card bu s. PCI Express® (PCIe™) The successor standard to the PCI and AGP bus standards, with a significantly faster serial communi cations system, further opening up bandwidth for more communicatio ns between such per[...]

124 the display may look three dim ensional, but it is really just a 2D grid of pixels designed to appear that way. Resolution The resolution of any display is the number of pixels that can be depicted on screen as specified by the number of horizontal rows against the number of vertical columns. The default VGA resolution of many vid eo cards is c[...]

125 SDTV SDTV is an acronym for “Standard Definitio n Television” that identi fies lower resolution systems when compared to Hi gh Definition Television (HDTV) systems. SDTV systems use the same 4:3 aspect ratio and 480 scan lines to produce a picture as regul ar analog television sets, but digital decoding enhanced of the signal, displa ying a[...]

126 image quality. Anti-aliasing perform ance is improved, providing better overall detail and image quality. The en hanced anisotropic filtering ensures sharper and clearer pictures at high er frame rates, and the new 3Dc™ compression technology makes it possib le to display higher polygon count s for 3D rendered objects. Specular Highlight The [...]

127 contain 4-pins within a singl e connection housi ng and are commonly foun d on consumer DVD players, VCRs, game consoles, and related devices. T exel Short for “texture element,” the 3D e quivalent of a pixel, describing the base unit of the surface of a 3D object , such as a sphere; for a 2D object, such as a circle, the base unit is a pix[...]

128 T rilinear Filterin g A sampling method used to produce r ealistic-looking 3D objects. Trili near filtering averages one of the bilinear filter mipmap leve ls along with the standard mipmap samples. V ector Adaptive Deinterlacing A technique that provides smoother, less jagged edges for interlaced video playback. Interlaced video consists of al[...]

129 within the graphical processor, the more com plex polygons that can be generated per clock cycle, and hence fi ner, more naturalistic detail and movement is possible. VGA Connector A type of graphics connector, someti mes also called an analog connector. It is the most comm on type of video conn ector available, consisting of 15 - pins set in t[...]

130 while “Pb” and “Pr” represent the blue and red channels respectively, both of which have the luminance value subtracted from them . It is an equivalent color space to the chrominance-based YCbCr, which is used for digital video. Z-buffer The portion of video memory th at keep s track of which onscreen elements can be viewed and which ar[...]

131 Index Numerics 102 part number 4 1080i 56, 57, 120, 129 1080i mode 56 1080p 56 16:9 (aspect ratio) 113, 120 2D 111 3D 58, 59, 61, 62, 69, 73, 77, 90, 100, 101, 111, 120, 125, 126 3D Preview 60, 62, 64, 66, 67 3D Settings 58 3Dc 111, 125 4:3 (aspect rat io) 113, 120, 125 480i 105, 120, 125, 129 480p 105, 125, 129 5:4 (aspect rat io) 113 720p 57,[...]

132 Anti-Aliasing prefer ence 68 API-Specific 71 appearance of the Catalyst Control Center 37 Application Programm abl e Interface (API) 59, 71 Apply a Hotkey 33 Aspect 113 Aspect Ratio 57, 78, 83, 87, 113 ATI Overdrive 122 ATISETUP utility 22, 23, 24 Avivo ™ Color 113 Avivo Color 54 B Back Buffer 114 back buffer 115 Basic 31 Basic View 31 Biline[...]

133 Color quality 44 Compliance Information 107 compliance in formation 103 Composite Engine 116 Composite Video 116, 126, 129 Compositing Engine 101, 126 composition of the profile 34 configuration multiple monitors 23 primary monitor 23 configuration tips 103 Connecting Devices 14 Contrast 74, 81 contrast 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 80, 85, 104, 113 Cont[...]

134 Digital 104 Digital Flat Panel (DFP) 43, 44, 45, 55, 56, 104 Digital flat-panel (DFP) display 4 Digital Panel properties 51 Digital Video Interface 118 Direct 3D 46, 70, 71, 72, 101, 113, 117, 124, 126 DirectX 117 Disable Catalyst ® A.I. 66, 91 Disable Catalyst A.I. 65 Display Color page 74 Display Data Channel (DDC) 49 Display Detection Optio[...]

135 Extended Mode 42, 43, 44, 82, 86 external conn ectors 4 F FCC Compliance 107 Flat Shading 118 Fog 118 Force 24-bit Z-buffer dep th 72 Force butt on 45 Force changes to a specific display se tting 45 Force TV Detection 46 Force TV detection 48 Frame Buffer 118 frame rate 72, 111 Frames per second (fps) 119 FullScreen 3D 77 G games TV display 95 [...]

136 Hue 54, 78, 80, 81, 86, 113, 120, 124 HydraVision 22, 24, 120 HyperZ HD 120 I Image Scaling 52 Industry Cana da Compliance 108 Information Center 39 installation tips 103 Installing drivers 21 interlaced 83 K Keyframe interpolation 121 KTX Buffer Region Extension 121 L Let the application control the video adjustments 80, 85 Let the Applicatio [...]

137 P PAL 122, 125 PCI 122, 123 PCI Express 4, 99 PCI Express (PCIe) 112, 123 Pentium 4 Péritel 124 Pipeline 100, 101, 123 Pixel 72, 101, 123 pixel shaders 125 pixel-by-pixe l 128 Pixel-shading 125 power supply 4 Predefined and Custom HDTV Form ats 55, 56 Preferences 31, 35 Preview your changes 60, 62, 64, 66, 67 Prince of Persia 65 Product Regist[...]

138 safety instructions iii Same on all displays 86 Saturation 54, 80, 81, 86, 113, 120, 124 Save your Profile 35 Scale to full screen 83, 87 scaling 128 SCART 124 Scissor Mode 101, 124, 126 Search for Help 38 SECAM 125 secondary display device 41 Select a deinterlacing mode 84, 87 Select a Language 37 Select a skin 37 Separate Video 126 serial num[...]

139 SuperTiling 101, 126 SurroundView 24, 102 S-Video 126 Swap display 44 Switch Views 31 SXGA 124 System Informa tion 40 system require ments 4 System Tray Icon 37 T Temperat ure 54 Temporal anti- aliasing 61 temporal filtering 129 Texel 127 texture buffer 115 Texture mappin g 127 Texture Preference 127 the same on all displays 82 Theater Mode 78,[...]

140 VGA 4, 124 VGA connector 129 Video 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 104, 105 Video Adjustments 88 video aspect ratio 83, 87 Video Graphics Array 129 Video Immersion II 129 video memory 115 Video Preset 79 Video Wizard 79 VideoShader HD 129 Views 30 VPU Recove r 88, 89, 129 W Wait for display refresh 68 Wait for vertical refresh setting 70 Wa[...]