ATI Technologies RADEON 8500 User manual

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RADEON
™
8500
RADEON
™
8500LE
RADEON
™
7500
User’s Guide
Version 5.0
P/N 137-40282-50 Rev. D
Copyright © 2002, ATI Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
ATI and all ATI product and product feature names 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 owners. Features,
performance and specifications are subject to change without notice. Product may not
be exactly as shown in the diagrams.
Reproduction of this manual, or parts thereof, in any form, without the express written
permission of ATI Technologies Inc. is strictly prohibited.

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Disclaimer
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, ATI
Technologies Inc. assumes no liability with respect to the operation or use of ATI
hardware, software or other products and documentation described herein, for any act
or omission of ATI concerning such products or this documentation, for any
interruption of service, loss or interruption of business, loss of anticipatory profits, or
for punitive, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing,
performance, or use of the ATI hardware, software, or other products and
documentation provided herein.
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. With
respect to ATI products which this document relates, ATI disclaims all express or
implied warranties regarding such products, including but not limited to, the implied
warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
Product Notice
MACROVISION
A.Apparatus Claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 4,631,603, 4,577,216, 4,819,098, and
4,907,093 licensed for limited viewing users only.
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must be printed in an appropriate place in such materials:
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and other limited viewing uses unless otherwise authorized by Macrovision
Corporation. Reverse engineering or disassembly is prohibited.

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Table of Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Features At A Glance.................................................................................. 2
RADEON 7500 ...................................................................................... 2
RADEON 8500 and RADEON 8500LE................................................ 2
ATI’s CATALYST™ Software Suite ........................................................3
Multiple Displays and 3D Gaming Experience...................................... 3
Direct 3D® and OpenGL® ....................................................................3
HydraVision™ ....................................................................................... 3
Multiple Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Connecting Your Monitor(s) ......................................................................4
CATALYST Software Suite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
ATI Displays Tab.........................................................................................5
Enabling/Disabling Secondary Displays................................................ 6
Enabling Extended Desktop Mode.........................................................6
Dynamic Display Reassignment ............................................................6
Virtually Repositioning Your Displays.................................................. 8
Ratiometric Expansion ........................................................................... 8
ATI Color Tab .............................................................................................9
ATI Options Tab........................................................................................ 11
ATI Overlay Tab ....................................................................................... 12
Direct 3D® Control Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Main and Custom Settings........................................................................14
Direct 3D® Compatibility Settings ..........................................................17
OpenGL® Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Main and Custom Settings........................................................................19
OpenGL® Compatibility Settings............................................................ 22
Using TV Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
View your PC’s display on a TV.......................................................... 23
Connecting to a TV or a VCR .................................................................. 23
Starting Windows® with TV Display Enabled.................................... 25
Using SCART Connectors for European TVs ..................................... 25
How To Enable/Disable The TV Display ............................................ 25
Using and Adjusting TV Out................................................................ 26
How TV Display Cannot Be Used....................................................... 26
Using a Monitor vs. Using the TV Display.......................................... 26
Adjusting Monitor Display................................................................... 27

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Viewing Text on a TV.......................................................................... 27
Reducing Edge Distortion ....................................................................28
Changing Display Configurations........................................................ 29
Using Games and Applications............................................................ 29

1
Introduction
The RADEON family of graphic accelerators
delivers ground breaking 3D graphics performance.
• Designed and built by ATI Technologies Inc.
• Powered by the RADEON Visual Processing Unit
(VPU).
• Awesome 3D gaming performance.
• Support for OpenGL®applications.
• Support for Direct 3D®applications.
• High resolution in 3D up to 2048x1536.
• Best performance for today’s and tomorrow’s
applications.
• Supports TV-out to connect your PC to your TV or
VCR.

2
Features At A Glance
RADEON 7500
The RADEON 7500 provides high performance
acceleration for today's demanding 3D graphic
applications. Its main features are:
• VIDEO IMMERSION™ which provides industry-
leading DVD playback and digital TV decode
capability
• CHARISMA ENGINE™ which is the main VPU,
providing the necessary power to accelerate
today’s 3D games and applications
• PIXEL TAPESTRY™ which can apply 3 textures
at once to a complex 3D gaming scene
• TV output support
RADEON 8500 and RADEON 8500LE
In addition to the features of the RADEON 7500, the
RADEON 8500 series also provides:
• TRUFORM™ technology which makes the curved
surfaces of 3D objects look smoother and more
life-like
• SMARTSHADER™ technology which can
realistically create the visual properties of any
material, like glass, metal, wood, and produce 3D
depth by rendering the object’s shadows
• SMOOTHVISION™ which provides users with
various degrees of jagged edge removal from 3D
images, allowing users to configure their own high
quality or high performance gaming experience
• PIXEL TAPESTRY™ II which provides even
greater 3D rendering power
• Digital flat panel support (RADEON 8500 only)

3
ATI’s CATALYST™ Software Suite
Multiple Displays and 3D Gaming Experience
ATI’s CATALYST Software Suite provides multiple
display functionality, and the advanced graphic
features, such as TRUFORM, for the ultimate 3D
gaming experience. For help on installing the
CATALYST Software Suite, refer to the Getting
Started Guide.
The CATALYST Software Suite installs the ATI
display tabs. These tabs are accessed through the
Windows®Display Control Panel, through the
Advanced... button located on the Settings tab. For a
detailed explanation of each ATI tab, refer to
CATALYST Software Suite on page 5.
Direct 3D®and OpenGL®
The CATALYST Software Suite supports the latest
versions of Direct 3D®and OpenGL®. Your 3D
game titles will come to life, as you can tweak the
game’s settings for maximum 3D image quality or
3D gaming performance.
ATI’s Direct 3D®and OpenGL® tabs are available
through the Windows®Display Control Panel,
through the Advanced... button located on the
Settings tab.
For a detailed explanation of the Direct 3D®and
OpenGL®tabs, refer to Direct 3D® Control Panel
on page 14, and OpenGL® Control Panel on
page 19.
HydraVision™
You can also use HydraVision for advanced multi-
monitor management. For more information please
refer to the HydraVision User’s Guide PDF located
on your ATI Installation CD.

4
Multiple Displays
Connecting Your Monitor(s)
The RADEON 8500 provides hardware support for
one DVI-I monitor or two VGA monitors using the
DVI-I-to-VGA adapter. A TV can also be used to
expand your desktop by using the S-Video out. The
RADEON 7500 provides support for one VGA
monitor and Composite output to a TV.
Plug the monitor cable into your card (if you are
running multiple monitors, connect their cables to the
appropriate connectors), then turn on the PC and
monitor(s).
To connect a flat panel directly to your RADEON
8500, use the DVI-I connector. To connect a VGA
monitor to the DVI-I connector, use the
DVI-I-to-VGA adapter as shown below.
When you use multiple monitors with your card, one
monitor will always be Primary. Any additional
monitor(s) will be designated as Secondary.
COMP OUT
CRT
S-VIDEO OUT
DVI-I-TO-VGA
ADAPTER
DVI-I
CONNECTOR
VGA
CONNECTOR
AVAILABLE ON
FROM
MONITOR
RADEON 8500
ONLY
S-VID OUT
DVI
CRT
RADEON 8500 RADEON 7500
STANDARD VGA
MONITOR
CONNECTOR
COMPOSITE OUT
STANDARD VGA
MONITOR
CONNECTOR

5
CATALYST Software Suite
The following section provides an explanation of
each ATI tab available after installing the
CATALYST Software Suite.
ATI Displays Tab
The ATI Displays tab provides the multi monitor
features. Here you can enable/disable display devices
and swap the assignment of Primary and Secondary
displays.
Features presented in the following pages may not
be supported in all operating systems and/or may
appear differently.
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6
Enabling/Disabling Secondary Displays
1Access the Windows®Control Panel. Double-
click Display.
2Click on the Settings tab and then the
Advanced... button.
3Click on the ATI Displays tab.
4Click the enable/disable button for the
display device you want to enable/disable.
5Click OK or Apply to save the changes.
Enabling Extended Desktop Mode
1Access the Windows®Control Panel. Double-
click Display.
2Click on the Settings tab.
3Click the monitor icon for the display onto which
you want to extend your desktop.
4Click Yes to enable the selected display.
5Checkmark the Extend my Windows desktop
onto this monitor check box (Windows®may
automatically place it there).
6Click OK or Apply to save the changes.
Dynamic Display Reassignment
You can change the assignment of your Primary and
Secondary display on the fly, without rebooting.
However, before you can change the assignment of
the Primary display, at least one Secondary display
must be enabled, and Extended Desktop mode must
be enabled.
To enable a Secondary display, refer to the section
Enabling/Disabling Secondary Displays.