ATI Technologies FIRE GL 8700 User manual

Fire GL 8700
User's Guide
Version 1.0 P/N 137-50003-10 Rev. A
© Copyright 2001, by ATI Technologies Inc.
All rights reserved, including those to reproduce this guide or parts thereof, in any form without
the express written permission of ATI Technologies Inc.
Products may not be exactly as shown. Features, performance, and specifications may vary
depending on operating environment and are subject to change without notice. Trademarks
and/or registered trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.
Adobe and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated, which may be registered in
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ATI is a registered trademark of ATI Technologies Inc. in Canada, the United States and/or
other countries.
Fire GL is a trademark of ATI Technologies Inc. in Canada, the United States, and/or other
countries.
MS-DOS, Windows, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, DirectDraw and Direct3D
are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries.
Pentium is a registered trademark and AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) is a trademark of the
Intel Corporation.
OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc.
AutoCAD, AutoShade, 3D Studio and HEIDI are registered trademarks or trademarks of
AutoDesk Inc.

ii
Disclaimer
The manufacturer (MFR) reserves the right to make changes to this document and the
products which it describes without notice. The MFR shall not be liable for technical
or editorial errors or omissions made herein; not for incidental or consequential
damages resulting from the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.
The MFR makes no representation that the interconnection of products in the manner
described herein will not infringe on existing or future patent rights, nor do the
descriptions contained herein imply the granting of license to make, use or sell
equipment constructed in accordance with this description.
Documentation Updates
ATI is constantly improving its product and the associated documentation. To
maximize the value of your ATI product you should ensure that you have the most
up-to-date documentation. ATI’s documentation contains helpful
installation/configuration tips and other valuable product feature information. To
access the latest documentation for your product visit
http://www.ati.com/online/docupdate.

iii
Table of Contents
Getting Started.......................................................................1
Using this Guide ...................................................................................................... 2
Viewing the User's Guide Online...................................................................... 3
Do you Need a Printout of the Online User's Guide? ....................................... 3
Fire GL 700 Features ............................................................................................. 4
System Requirements and Tools.............................................................................. 5
Quick Installation..................................................................................................... 6
Installation Steps............................................................................................... 6
Installing the Hardware and Software..................................7
Installing the Hardware............................................................................................ 7
Preparing your Computer.................................................................................. 7
Installing the Card........................................................................................... 12
Connecting the Cables and Completing the Installation................................. 16
Installing the Software........................................................................................... 19
Before you Start: Information, Tips, and Hints............................................... 20
Software Installation for Windows NT4.0...................................................... 21
Software Installation for Windows 2000 and Windows XP ........................... 23
Using Your Fire GL 8700 .....................................................25
Changing the Video Settings.................................................................................. 26
How to Switch to the Display Properties? ...................................................... 26
Setting Resolution, Color Depth and Refresh Rate......................................... 26
Setting a DualScreen Configuration................................................................ 2
Selecting your Monitor ................................................................................... 31
Adjusting the Monitor Display ....................................................................... 34
Configuring Application Profiles........................................................................... 37
How to switch to the Configuration dialog? ................................................... 37
Activating a configuration profile:.................................................................. 37
HYDRAVI SI ON for Fi re GL

iv
Reference .............................................................................40
Removing the Fire GL 8700 Drivers...................................................................... 40
Troubleshooting ..................................................................................................... 42
Technical Details ................................................................................................... 45
Features and erformance............................................................................... 45
in Assignments ............................................................................................. 47
Video Modes................................................................................................... 49
Compliance Information ........................................................................................ 51

1
CHAPTER 1
Getting Started
The FIRE GL™ 8700 is an entry-level workstation 3D and 2D
graphics accelerator. The card is ideal for complex MCAD and
digital contents creation applications.
The FIRE GL™ 8700 features include:
• OpenGL® double-buffer overlay support
• Full suport for DirectX® 8.1
• Dual monitor support
• Pre-configuration to maximize the performance of most
popular operating systems and CPUs
IN THIS CHAPTER
! Using this Guide on page 2
! Fire GL 8700 Features on page 4
! System Requirements and Tools
on page 5
! Quick Installation on page 6

2 Getting Started
Using this Guide
For your convenience, this online User’s Guide has been
formatted as an Adobe®Acrobat®PDF file. This format gives
you great flexibility when using this documentation.
Many hyperlinks provide easy access to any information you
may want. To make it useful in a printed format, too, a -
hyperlinked - table of contents and page numbers are provided.
Because it was designed to be used online and printed, some of
the images may not print clearly or appear very clearly on
screen.
The organization of this Guide is as follows:
Installing the Hardware and Software on page 7 provides
instructions for installing your Fire GL 8700 card and software
and connecting video output devices to your card.
Using Your Fire GL 8700 on page 25 explains how you can
take advantage of the advanced software utilities of your Fire
GL 8700.
Reference on page 40 provides troubleshooting tips and
regulatory compliance information for your card.
HYDRAVISION for Fire GL provides information on
installing and using ATI® HYDRAVISION™, a desktop
management utility to control multiple display desktops.

Getting Started 3
Viewing the User's Guide Online
You can also read the User's Guide online—important
hypertext links, such as Table of Contents entries, World Wide
Web, and email addresses are active.
Place your mouse cursor over Table of Contents entries or main
headings. If the hand icon changes to a pointing index finger,
simply click and you will move to that place in the document.
Some email or World Wide Web addresses inside this manual
may be active as well. Go directly to a Web, FTP site, or email
program simply by clicking on an active link. Displaying the
provided bookmark and thumbnail views may help you with
the orientation and navigation in the User's Guide.
This manual might be displayed with slightly-reduced
magnification in your Reader. If you experience any difficulty
reading certain files online, use the Reader’s Zoom To feature
from the View menu and increase the magnification to about
150%. To view some screenshot images perfectly clear you
may need a larger magnification.
Do you Need a Printout of the Online User's
Guide?
You can easily print this User's Guide to access it off-line. The
manual then will look like any standard document with a table
of contents and page numbers.
For printing the User’s Guide, a print resolution of 600 dpi -or
higher - is recommended.

4 Getting Started
Fire GL 8700 Features
• RADEON™ 8800LE GPU and 64 MB DDR memory
• CHARISMA ENGINE™ II supports Transformation,
Clipping and Lighting (T&L)
• PIXEL TAPESTRY™ II, the 3D rendering engine, ensures
fast fill rates in 32-bit true color resolution
• Full DirectX 8.1 support
• High resolutions up to 2048 x 1536, 32-bit
• DDC1/2b/2b+ monitor support on all operating system
platforms
• Dual monitor resolutions up to 2x 1600x1200, 32-bit
• Monitor support:
- Dual screen Analog + Digital
- Single screen Analog
- Single screen DVI (Digital)
• Optimized OpenGL® software drivers for advanced
workstation performance
• Increased productivity in a stable 3D model environment
• Customize and tune applications to meet your specific
requirements using the display profile utilities
Note:
For more detailed information on features and
performance please refer to the section Technical
Details on page 45.

Getting Started 5
System Requirements and Tools
Computer
system
• Pentium® 4/III/II/CeleronTM; AMD®
K6/Athlon® or compatible
• 128 MB of system memory
256 MB for best performance
• Motherboard with free AGP 2x/4x slot
• CD-ROM drive
Operating
system
• Windows® NT 4.0 with Service
Pack 5 (or higher),
• Windows® 2000 with Service Pack 1
(or higher)
• Windows® XP
Service Pack
Information for
Windows NT 4.0
and
Windows 2000
You must be running Windows NT 4.0,
updated with Service Pack 5 (or higher) prio
r
to installing the Fire GL 8700 drivers.
For some languages you can perform the
Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack update from
the Fire GL CD when you run the Quick
Start utility.
You must be running Windows 2000,
updated with Service Pack 1 (or higher) prio
r
to installing the Fire GL 8700 drivers.
The Service Packs are available from
Microsoft's web page, www.microsoft.com.
Tools
• A screwdriver to remove and reinstall
the PC cover screws and card
mounting screws. See your PC
manual for specific requirements.
• Fire GL CD-ROM for Fire GL 8700
Monitor
• High-resolution MultiSync or multi-
frequency monitors or other VGA
monitors.
• Digital flat-panel (DFP) TFT LCD
displays and digital CRT displays

6 Getting Started
Quick Installation
• Brief instructions on how to get to work with the Fire GL
8700 in the shortest possible time.
• Recommended for experienced users and system
administrators only.
• For more detailed information on installation and operation
of your graphics accelerator, please refer to the
corresponding sections of the Fire GL 8700 User’s Guide.
Installation Steps
1 Un-install the drivers and software for your old graphics
card.
2 Set the display driver to Standard VGA (only for
Windows NT 4.0).
Disable any on-board graphics solution on the
motherboard.
3 Shut down and disconnect your computer system.
4 Remove the installed (AGP, PCI, or ISA) VGA card.
5 Install the new Fire GL 8700 card.
6 Reassemble and connect your computer system.
7 Install the Fire GL 8700 drivers and configuration software
from the Fire GL CD:
• automatic Quick Start utility or
• Start > Run > X:\START EXE
where Xis the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive