ATI Technologies Nexus GA User manual

Nexus
™
GA
User’s Guide
Version 1.0 - September 1997
P/N: 107-40084-10 Rev. A
Copyright © 1997, ATI Technologies Inc.
ATI and Nexus are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ATI
Technologies Inc. All other company and/or product names are trademarks and/
or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers. Pricing, availability,
features, performance and specifications are subject to change without notice.
Product may not be exactly as shown in the diagrams.
All rights reserved, including those to reproduce this manual or parts thereof, in
any form without the express written permission ofATI Technologies Inc.
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Disclaimer
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, ATI
Technologies Inc. assumes no liability to any party for errors or omissions
contained in the Software or related documentation, any interruption of service,
loss or interruption of business or anticipatory profits or for incidental or
consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use
of the Software and related documentation.
ATI Technologies Inc. reserves the right to make changes without further notice
to a product or system described herein to improve reliability, function or
design.
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Table of Contents
1. Getting Started................................................ 1
Introduction.....................................................................1
What You'll Need ...........................................................2
Related Documentation.................................................2
2. Installing Your Hardware.............................. 3
Installing your Nexus GA .............................................4
About Monitor Sensing .................................................9
3. Installing Your Software..............................11
About ATI Software .....................................................11
Installing Software .......................................................11
4. Using Nexus GA 3D Features....................... 13
Viewing 3D Graphics...................................................14
ATI Displays Control Panel ........................................15
A. Troubleshooting Tips.................................... 25
Before Contacting Customer Support .......................25
Solutions to Common Problems.................................25
B. Specifications................................................. 29
Video Mode Table ........................................................29
Memory Upgrade .........................................................32
Specifications.................................................................33
C. Compliance Information .............................. 35
D. Glossary.......................................................... 39
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Page 1
Getting Started
Introduction
Nexus GA represents the next generation in 2D and 3D
rendering and graphic acceleration for your PCI-based
Mac OS computer. Equipped with all the 3D hardware
drawing capabilities in demand by designers, your new
graphics accelerator provides:
¥ QuickDraw 3D acceleratation providing superior 3D
rendering performance and advanced imaging and
Þltering techniques
¥ QuickDraw acceleratation supporting 2D resolutions
up to 1920x1080 in millions of colors.
The ATI Displays control panel provides quick access to
all of Nexus GAÕs easy-to-use features, and you have
instant access to help using ATI Guide, the ATI Apple
Guide.
A glossary of the bold terms used throughout this manual
is available in the ÒGlossaryÓ on page 39 of this user guide
and also in the ATI Guide.
NOTE
1
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WhatYou'll Need
The Nexus GA card runs with the following minimum
system requirements:
¥ Power Macintosh or Mac OS compatible computer,
with a PCI expansion slot
¥ Mac OS 7.5.5 or later software
¥ Apple monitor or VGA-style monitor
¥ QuickDraw 3D 1.5.1 or later (included)
¥ Minimum 16MB of system memory (QuickDraw 3D
requires 16MB of system memory)
Nexus GA and ATI Multimedia components are Mac OS 8
compatible.
Related Documentation
The README Þle summarizes the latest product
revisions. Double-click the README icon on the
installation disk to open this Þle.
The Nexus GA card comes with ATI Guide, which
provides online help for making the best use of your
cardÕs features. Access the ATI Guide by clicking on the
Apple Guide icon on the ATI Displays control panel.
NOTE
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InstallingYour Hardware
Nexus GA fits into connectors called expansion slots, inside
your computer.
Your Mac OS computer has one or more slots, each designed to
accept Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) cards.
The following procedure details the installation of a card in a
typical Mac OS PCI-based tower computer. If your computer
does not match this configuration, please refer to the expansion
card installation instructions that came with your computer.
!
WARNING
• The manufacturer assumes no liability for any damage,
caused directly or indirectly, by improper installation of
components by unauthorized service personnel. If you
do not feel comfortable performing the installation,
consult a qualified technician.
• Make sure power is off during installation; otherwise,
damage to system components, the graphics accelerator
card, and injury to yourself may result.
NOTE
2
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Installing your Nexus GA
Turn off your computer, and disconnect the monitor cable.
Remove the computer cover. If necessary, consult your
computer system manual for removal instructions.
!
IMPORTANT
• If your computer stops responding (hangs) after
installing the Nexus GA card, you may have an
incompatible graphics accelerator extension.
• Restart your computer and hold down the SHIFT key
during startup. This disables all extensions from loading.
After disabling extensions, you can update the graphics
accelerator extension by installing the software included
with your card. For more information about installing
the software, see “Installing Software” on page 11.
1
2
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Choose the PCI expansion slot you wish to use.
Touch the metal part of the power supply case.
Touching the grounded portion of the power supply case
discharges your body’s static electricity.
Lower the auxiliary fan.
3
4
Power Supply
5
To lower the fan, squeeze the sides to unlatch it.
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Remove the metal access cover from the expansion slot you
want to use.
Align the connector on the card with the PCI expansion slot
and press firmly until fully seated.
Do not force the card. The card should fit snugly into the
expansion slot.
6
1.To release the
access port cover,
pull the two levers
next to the access
port apart.
2. Slide the access port cover out and away from the access port.
7
Connector
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If you plan to use multiple displays, you must install a card for
each monitor. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for each card.
Replace the auxiliary fan.
Replace the computer cover.
Connector PCI Expansion Slot
8
9
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Connect the monitor cable to the card.
If you have an Apple monitor, connect it to the Apple monitor port.
If you have a VGA monitor, connect it to the VGA monitor port.
Only connect one monitor to the card.
If your monitor is connected to the Apple monitor port, it must
support Apple’s Monitor Sense protocol, either directly or
through an appropriate adapter. For more information, see
“About Monitor Sensing” on page 9.
Installation of your Nexus GA card is now complete and you
are ready to install the software. See “Installing Software” on
page 11.
10
Apple monitor port
VGA monitor port
!
WARNING
• Serious damage to your system may occur if you
connect more than one monitor to the card. If you have
more than one monitor, you must connect it to another
graphics card.
NOTE
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About Monitor Sensing
Apple’s Monitor Sensing specification allows video display
cards to identify the attached monitor. During startup,
Nexus GA checks the status of three of the fifteen pins on the
Apple monitor port. It then auto-configures itself according to
the monitor sense code detected and enables all resolutions
supported by the monitor. Since Nexus GA relies on this sense
code to correctly auto-configure during startup, the monitor
must supply the appropriate sense code.
In a case where your monitor does not supply the sense code
information, a display adapter can be used to set the appropriate
sense code for your monitor. Typically, a display adapter is used
to connect a VGA monitor to the Apple monitor port, or to
supply the correct monitor sense code information.
If the display adapter supplies the sense code information for
only one resolution, then only one resolution will be available,
even if the monitor supports multiple resolutions. A resolution
of 640 x 480 is usually the default resolution. Therefore, when
using an adapter to supply the sense code, it must be designed to
supply the proper code for the monitor you are using it with;
otherwise, the Nexus GA card cannot correctly auto-configure
itself for the attached monitor.
Although the Nexus GA card does not output Sync-on-Green
(SOG) signals, adapters are available to overlay the Composite
Synchronization Signal and send it through the Green video
signal line so that you can use an SOG monitor. Monitors
requiring an SOG signal usually have only three BNC
connectors (RGB).
For more information about obtaining a sense code or
synchronization signal adapter, contact ATI Customer Support
or a computer retailer. For information about how to contactATI
Customer Support, select the Support button on theATI
Displays control panel.
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InstallingYour Software
About ATI Software
Nexus GA requires that several components be added to your
System folder. The Nexus GA Installer does this for you,
installing the following components:
ATI Displays Control Panel
TheATI Displays control panel lets you configure your card and
access software and hardware features. These features are
described in the section “ATI Displays Control Panel” on
page 15.
ATI Multimedia Components
ATI’s Multimedia Components are placed in the Extensions
folder, located within the System folder. They enable all of the
advanced features of your card, including 3D and 2D
acceleration.
ATI Guide File
The ATI Guide file is the online help for the ATI Displays
control panel. It is placed in the Extensions folder within the
System folder. For more information about using theATI Guide,
see “ATI Guide” on page 24.
Installing Software
Insert the ATI Installation disk.
Double-click on the Nexus GA Installer icon.
The ATI splash and legal notice screens appears.
1
2
3
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Follow the instructions that appear on the screen.
Under most circumstances, you should click Standard Install.
However, if you only want to install certain parts of the ATI
multimedia software, click Custom Install.
Upon completion of the installation process, a file containing a
list of installed files and their location on your hard disk is created
allowing you to locate any file installed during the installation
process.
The installer application checks your system to determine if you have
the latest versions of the required software. If you do not have the
appropriate Apple software, a dialog appears explaining what software
needs to be installed. The Nexus GA accelerator card includes the
required version of QuickDraw 3D.
When you see a message that the installation was
successful, click Restart.
Your computer restarts.
or
To perform further installations, click Continue.
The Nexus GA Standard Install window appears.
or
To return to Finder, click Quit.
You need to manually restart your computer to complete the
installation of Nexus GA’s software.
3
NOTE
4
To complete the
installation, you
must restart
your computer.
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Using Nexus GA 3D Features
Your Nexus GA turns your PCI-based Mac OS computer into a
3D and 2D graphics powerhouse.You can use your new
graphics accelerator card to:
• render 3D worlds and animation in real time, using
embedded 3D hardware drawing capabilities.
• appreciate true-color, high-performance in resolutions up to
1920x1080.
• develop high-performance, high-resolution, true-color 3D
graphics with full QuickDraw 3D RAVE (Rendering
Acceleration Virtual Engine) support.
• play arcade-style 3D games and experience virtual reality
at home or in cyberspace using QuickDraw 3D
acceleration.
• create full-page, full-color layouts on a single screen
without having to scroll.
• enjoy high resolutions and color depths using Nexus GA’s
WRAM technology, without affecting system
performance.
The following information describes these new 3D features in
more detail and suggests ways you can optimize your computer
to get the most out of your new card.
4
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Viewing 3D Graphics
Nexus GA’s QuickDraw 3DAcceleration supports the following
advanced 3D graphics capabilities:
• QuickDraw 3D RAVE Support
• Perspectively correct texture mapping functions
• Single pass Bilinear/Trilinear filtering
• 16-bit z-buffering (a process that removes hidden surfaces)
• Flat and Gouraud shading
• Floating-point setup engine
• Mip-Mapping
• Alpha blending and fog effects
• Specular Highlights
• Shadows and Spotlights
• Texture lighting
These features make it possible to quickly render 3D graphics,
produce atmospheric effects, calculate light and color shading,
and determine which objects are in the foreground and which
are in the background.
Nexus GA only displays 3D graphics in thousands and millions
of colors. When you use 256 colors, there are too few colors to
display complex 3D textures, so 3D acceleration is not
supported.
You can use the 3D Memory Monitor to see how memory on
your Nexus GA is allocated when displaying 3D graphics. This
allows you to optimize 3D performance.You can also adjust the
compression of textures using the 3D Texture Compression
feature.
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ATI Displays Control Panel
TheATI Displays control panel provides access to the advanced
3D features that Nexus GA has to offer. To open the ATI
Displays control panel, choose Control Panels from theApple
menu, then choose ATI Displays.
For detailed instructions on how to set up and use these features,
please refer to the ATI Guide, which can be accessed through
the ATI Displays control panel.
Status Area
Look in the Status Area to determine your current monitor,
screen resolution, and color depth. To change these settings, use
the Monitors feature.
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Identify Displays
If you have more than one display connected to your computer,
you can identify and configure each display. The ATI Displays
control panel identifies all the displays connected to your
computer, but only configures displays that are connected toATI
cards.
Display Details
The Details window gives you information about specific
software components needed to enable each of Nexus GA’s
features. Check the Details window to determine the files and
version numbers of the software components installed in your
System folder during the installation process. Using the
pull-down menu, the Details window also lists the Mac OS
multimedia software required for Nexus GA, such as
QuickDraw 3D.
Monitors
The Monitors feature provides access to the standard Mac OS
Monitors & Sound control panel.You can use this panel to
select color depths and resolutions, and set up multiple
monitors. For more information on the Monitors & Sound
control panel refer to the Mac OS Guide that comes with your
computer.
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