AMD Radeon R9 270X User manual

AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 Graphics
User Guide
Part Number: 54243_enu_1.0

© 2014 Advanced Micro Devices Inc. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer
The information contained herein is for informational purposes only, and is subject to change without notice.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, it may contain technical
inaccuracies, omissions and typographical errors, and AMD is under no obligation to update or otherwise
correct this information. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect
to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this document, and assumes no liability of any kind, including
the implied warranties of noninfringement, merchantability or fitness for particular purposes, with respect to
the operation or use of AMD hardware, software or other products described herein. No license, including
implied or arising by estoppel, to any intellectual property rights is granted by this document. Terms and
limitations applicable to the purchase or use of AMD’s products are as set forth in a signed agreement between
the parties or in AMD's Standard Terms and Conditions of Sale.
Trademarks
AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, AMD Athlon, AMD Catalyst, AMD CrossFire, AMD FirePro, AMD Radeon, Catalyst
Control Center, HydraVision, SurroundView, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro
Devices, Inc.
HDMI is a licensed trademark of HDMI Licensing, LLC.
Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other
countries.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
Windows and Windows Vista are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/
or other jurisdictions.
PCI Express and PCIe are registered trademarks of PCI-SIG.
Other product names used in this publication are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of
their respective companies.
Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
Manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories.
Rovi Corporation
This device is protected by U.S. patents and other intellectual property rights. The use of Rovi Corporation's
copy protection technology in the device must be authorized by Rovi Corporation and is intended for home
and other limited pay-per-view uses only, unless otherwise authorized in writing by Rovi Corporation.
Reverse engineering or disassembly is prohibited.
USE OF THIS PRODUCT IN ANY MANNER THAT COMPLIES WITH THE MPEG ACTUAL OR DE FACTO VIDEO
AND/OR AUDIO STANDARDS IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT ALL NECESSARY LICENSES UNDER
APPLICABLE PATENTS. SUCH LICENSES MAY BE ACQUIRED FROM VARIOUS THIRD PARTIES INCLUDING,
BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IN THE MPEG PATENT PORTFOLIO, WHICH LICENSE IS AVAILABLE FROM MPEG LA,
L.L.C., 6312 S. FIDDLERS GREEN CIRCLE, SUITE 400E, GREENWOOD VILLAGE, COLORADO 80111.
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AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 Graphics © 2014 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Important Safety Instructions
Note: This product is for use only with compatible UL-listed personal computers that have installation
instructions detailing user installation of this class of product.
Read all instructions before beginning installation. All safety and installation instructions should be read
before the product is installed or operated.
Retain all instructions. Safety, installation, and operating instructions should be retained for future reference.
Heed all warnings. All warnings regarding the product and its operating instructions should be obeyed.
Use appropriate grounding.
Caution:
[Where applicable] For continued protection against the risk of electric shock and fire, install this accessory
only in products equipped with a three-wire grounding plug, a plug having a third (grounding) pin. This is
a safety feature. Do not remove the grounding pin of a three-pin plug.
Attach product securely. All product-securing screws or fasteners should be completely tightened in order to
provide continuous bonding between the product and the PC chassis, as appropriate.
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© 2014 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 Graphics

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AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 Graphics © 2014 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Contents
Chapter 1 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 System Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 Requirements for Single-card Installations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
1.1.2 Requirements for AMD CrossFire Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
1.2 Recording the Serial and Part Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
1.3 Uninstalling the Old Driver (Windows XP). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.4 Uninstalling the Old Driver (Windows Vista/Windows 7). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2 Hardware Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.1 Installation Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
2.1.1 Replacing an Existing Card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.1.2 Installing the First Card for this PC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2 Installing the Graphics Card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Chapter 3 Software Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
3.1 AMD Drivers and Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.2 Installing the AMD Catalyst Software Suite (Windows OS). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter 4 Display Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
4.1 AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.2 Display Configurations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.2.1 Multiple Displays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
4.3 Using Adapters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.4 Configuring the Display (Optional). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Chapter 5 AMD CrossFire Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
5.1 AMD CrossFire Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
5.2 Installing; Graphics CardsAMD CrossFire Graphics Cards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
5.3 EnablingAMD CrossFire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Chapter 6 Using the Control Center Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
6.1 Control Center Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6.2 Starting the Control Center Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6.3 Using the Control Center Help System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Chapter 7 Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
© 2014 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 Graphics

7.1 Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
7.1.1 Graphics Card Installation Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
7.1.2 Troubleshooting AMD CrossFire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
7.1.3 HDTV Adapter Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
7.2 Customer Care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7.2.1 Contact Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7.2.2 Disclaimer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7.3 International Compliance Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7.3.1 FCC Compliance Information (USA). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
7.3.2 Industry Canada Compliance Statement (Canada). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7.3.3 CE Compliance Information (European Union). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7.3.4 Electrical Safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7.3.5 VCCI ITE Compliance Information (Japan). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7.3.6 KC Certification Information (Korea). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7.3.7 BSMI Certification Information (Taiwan). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7.3.8 C-Tick (Australia and New Zealand). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
7.3.9 Product Environmental Compliance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
7.3.10 Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive Compliance (European
Union). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
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AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 Graphics © 2014 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Chapter 1
Getting Started
Before you begin installing your new AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 graphics card,
please make sure you have the proper system requirements and have completed the
required preinstallation tasks as outlined in this chapter.
1.1 System Requirements
1.1.1 Requirements for Single-card Installations
Minimum requirements for installing a single AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 graphics
card:
•PCI Express® based PC with one ×16 lane graphics slot available on the
motherboard.
•AMD Athlon™ or Intel Pentium® 4 CPU.
•Power supply requirements:
•AMD Radeon™ R9 270X—500 watt or better power supply with one 6-pin
PCIe® power connector.
•AMD Radeon R9 270—500 watt or better power supply with two 6-pin
PCIe power connectors.
Certified power supplies are strongly recommended; for a list of certified power
supplies, see ati.amd.com/certifiedpsu.
•4 GB RAM (6 GB RAM or greater is recommended for AMD CrossFire™
technology).
•CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive for installing software.
•Use of three or more displays with AMD Eyefinity technology requires
DisplayPort-capable displays or AMD Eyefinity validated dongles. For more
information, see Chapter 4 Display Configuration (p. 11).
•64-bit operating system (highly recommended).
•Windows Vista® or Windows® 7 for full feature functionality.
© 2014 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 Graphics

1.1.2 Requirements for AMD CrossFire™ Technology
Minimum requirements for installing an additional graphics card for
AMD CrossFire configuration:
•AMD CrossFire certified motherboard. For an up-to-date listing of
AMD CrossFire certified motherboards, see support.amd.com/us/certified/
Pages/certified-components.aspx.
•A second AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 graphics card.
•One AMD CrossFire internal bridge interconnect per additional board
(included).
•Power supply requirements:
•AMD Radeon R9 270X—600 watt or better power supply with two 6-pin
power connectors.
•AMD Radeon R9 270—600 watt or better power supply with four 6-pin
power connectors.
For an up-to-date listing of certified power supplies, see support.amd.com/us/
certified/power-supplies/Pages/listing.aspx.
•Certified system case with good airflow and cooling (highly recommended).
For more information, see Empty Cross-Reference jla1323455569707.xml.
1.2 Recording the Serial and Part Numbers
Write down the serial number and part number before installing the graphics card.
The serial number and 102 part number on the graphics card are required for
registration and free support. They are located on a sticker on the back of the card.
The emphasized numbers in bold are required for registration and free support.
Figure 1–1 Sample Serial and Part Numbers
2 Getting Started
AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 Graphics © 2014 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

1.3 Uninstalling the Old Driver (Windows® XP)
Follow these steps to uninstall the existing graphics card driver in preparation for
installation of a new card.
1. With the current graphics card still in the computer, close all open applications.
2. On the Windows taskbar, click Start ▷ Control Panel and then double-click Add
or Remove Programs.
3. Select the current graphics card driver and then click Change/Remove.
Use the wizard that appears to remove the current display driver.
4. Turn off the system after the driver has been removed.
Note: If the previously installed graphics card has any additional software
installed, this software may also need to be removed before restarting the
computer. For example, DVD Player or Multimedia applications.
1.4 Uninstalling the Old Driver (Windows Vista®/
Windows® 7)
Follow these steps to uninstall the existing graphics card driver in preparation for
installation of a new card.
1. With the current graphics card still in the computer, close all open applications.
2. Click Start ▷ Control Panel.
3. Click Device Manager. If you are using the Category View of the Control Panel,
do one of the following:
➭For Windows Vista, click System and Maintenance and then Device
Manager.
➭For Windows 7, click System and Security and then Device Manager
under the System group.
4. Expand Display Adapter and then right-click the driver for the graphics card
you are replacing.
5. In the shortcut menu that appears, click Uninstall.
The driver for the old graphics card is uninstalled.
6. Turn off the system.
Getting Started 3
© 2014 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 Graphics

4 Getting Started
AMD Radeon™ R9 270X/R9 270 Graphics © 2014 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.