ATI Technologies Radeon X1950 Pro User manual

Radeon®X1950 Pro
CrossFire™
Getting Started Guide
P/N 137-41210-10

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Copyright © 2006, ATI Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
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to change without notice. Product may not be exactly as shown in diagrams.
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Note: This graphics card is for use only with compatible UL Listed
personal computers that have Installation Instructions detailing user
installation of card cage accessories.
LIMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
•Read Instructions - All the safety and operating instructions should
be read before the product is operated.
•Retain Instructions - The safety and operating instructions should be
retained for future reference.
•Heed Warnings - All warnings on the product and the operating
instructions should be adhered to.
•Compatibility - This option card is for use only with IBM AT or
compatible UL Listed personal computers that have Installation
Instructions detailing user installation of card cage accessories.
•Grounding - For continued protection against risk of electric shock
and fire, this accessory should be installed only in products equipped
with a three-wire grounding plug, a plug having a third (grounding) pin.
This plug will only fit into a grounding-type power outlet. This is a
safety feature. If you are unable to insert the plug into the outlet,
contact your electrician to replace the obsolete outlet. Do not defeat
the safety purpose of the grounding-type plug.
•Secure Attachment - All card securement pins shall be completely
tightened as to provide continuous bonding between the option card
and the PC chassis.
•Lightning - For added protection for this product during a lightning
storm, or when it is left unattended and unused for long periods of
time, unplug it from the wall outlet, and disconnect the antenna or
cable system. This will prevent damage to the product due to lightning
and power-line surges.
•Power Lines - An outside antenna system should not be located in
the vicinity of overhead power lines or other light or power circuits, or
where it can fall into such power lines or circuits.
•Antenna Installation - When installing an outside antenna system,
extreme care should be taken to keep from touching such power lines
or circuits, as contact with them may be fatal.

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Table of Contents
Installing CrossFire™Graphics Cards . . . . . . . . . . 1
Installing the CrossFire™Bridge Interconnects 3
Display Configurations 4
Installing Software and Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Windows®New Hardware Found 5
Installing the Catalyst™Software Suite 5
Enabling CrossFire™. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Launching Catalyst™Control Center Using the Start Menu 7
Other Quick Launch Access Points 7
Welcome to CrossFire™. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
CrossFire™Overview 9
Allowable Radeon®X1950 Pro CrossFire™System Components 9
CrossFire™Rendering Modes 9
CrossFire™FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
System Requirements 18
External Connections 18
Uninstall Previous Graphics Card Drivers 19

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Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Troubleshooting 21
Product Registration 25
Customer Care 25
Additional Accessories 27
Compliance Information 27
FCC Compliance Information 27
Industry Canada Compliance Statement 28
CE Compliance Information 28
Informations de conformité de la CE 28

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CHAPTER 1:
Getting Started
Congratulations on the purchase of your Radeon®X1950 Pro card. The
CrossFire™Getting Started Guide will help you to successfully install your
new graphics card and associated software, and enable CrossFire™.

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System Requirements
External Connections
• DVI-I output.
• 15-pin VGA.
•S-Video.
Hardware • Intel®Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon®.
• 512MB of system memory; 1GB or more for best
performance.
• Optical drive for installation software (CD-ROM or
DVD-ROM drive).
• Specialized PCI Express®450 watt or greater power
supply recommended. Consult your computer system
manual to ensure the power supply is designed to
accommodate a high-end graphics card with a peak
dissipation above 75 watts.
Operating
System •Windows
® XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2).
•Windows
® XP Professional x64 Edition.
•Windows
® 2000.
•Windows
®Vista Ready.
Monitor • High-resolution MultiSync or multi-frequency monitors
or any other type of VGA monitor.
• Digital flat-panel (DFP) displays or digital CRT display.
CrossFire™
Compatibility If you are planning on using this graphics card as part of a CrossFire™system, the following is required:
•ACrossFire
™certified motherboard with two (2) PCI
Express®X16 slots and correct PCIe™chipset driver.
(See ati.com/crossfire for a list of CrossFire™
certified motherboards.)
• A second Radeon®X1950 Pro graphics card
•TwoCrossFire
™Bridge Interconnects.
More information on the requirements for each of these
components can be found within the CrossFire™FAQ.

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Uninstall Previous Graphics Card Drivers
To ensure the successful installation of your new Radeon®X1950 Pro card,
you must uninstall the drivers for the existing graphics card before removing
it from your computer.
To uninstall previous drivers
With your current graphics card still in your computer:
1Close all applications that are currently running.
2Navigate to the Control Panel and select Add/Remove Programs.
3Select your current graphics card drivers and select Add/Remove. The
wizard will help you remove your current display drivers.
Note: If the previously installed graphics card has any additional
software installed, it should also be removed at this point.
4Turn off your system and remove the old graphics card.

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