ATI Technologies RADEON X1950 XTX User manual

ATI
Radeon
®
X1950 XTX
User’s Guide
P/N 137-41074-10

ii
Copyright © 2006, ATI TechnologiesInc. All rights reserved.
ATI, the ATI logo, and 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
registeredtrademarksoftheirrespective owners.Features,performanceandspecificationsaresubject
to change without notice. Product may not be exactly as shown in diagrams.
Reproductionofthismanual,orpartsthereof,inanyform,withouttheexpresswrittenpermissionofATI
Technologies Inc. is strictly prohibited.
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 ofanticipatory
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 productor 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.
Macrovision
Apparatus Claims of U.S. Patent Nos.4,631,603; 4,819,098; 4,907,093; and 6,516,132 licensed for
limited viewing uses only.
This product incorporates copyright protection technology that is protected by US patents and other
intellectual property rights. Use of this copyright protection technology must be authorized by
Macrovision,andisintendedfor home andother limited viewing uses only unlessotherwiseauthorized
by Macrovision. Reverse engineering or disassembly is prohibited.

iii
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.

iv

v
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Radeon® X1950 XTX Features 1
Before You Begin 4
Installing Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Connecting Devices 9
Using Multiple Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Connecting Your Monitors 11
Display Configurations 13
Installing Software and Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Installing Drivers and Software in Windows®15
Monitor Configuration 16
To set up a multi-monitor display 17
Reinstalling Drivers 17
Installing the Catalyst™Software Suite 18
Catalyst™Control Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Help 21
Displays Manager 21
Video 22
Display Options 22
Color 23
Monitor Properties 23
CrossFire™23
Component Video Properties 24
Digital Panel Properties 24
Hotkeys Manager 25
Profiles Manager 25
Preferences 25
CrossFire™26
Profiles Manager 27

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Using TV Display and Capture Features . . . . . . . 29
Using TV Out 29
Connecting to HDTV 31
Using the Radeon® X1950 XTX
with CrossFire™. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
CrossFire™Overview 35
CrossFire™Rendering Modes 35
Super Anti-aliasing Mode 39
CrossFire™FAQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Troubleshooting 49
Product Registration 53
Customer Care 53
Additional Accessories 55
Compliance Information 55
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Radeon® X1950 XTX Features 1
CHAPTER 1:
Introduction
Congratulations on the purchase of your ATI Radeon® X1950 XTX
graphics card. We hope that you will enjoy countless hours of trouble-free
computing.
Radeon® X1950 XTX Features
Graphic Features
• Native PCI Express®X16 bus support.
• 256MB or 512 MB GDDR4\GDDR3 on-board memory.
• Full support for Microsoft ® DirectX®Shader Model 3.0.
• High performance Ultra-Threaded shader engine.
• Eight vertex shader processors.
• Forty-eight pixel shader processors.
• 512-bit internal ring-bus memory controller.
• 256-bit 8-channel memory interface.
• Native PCI Express®x16 bus interface.
SmoothVision™
• Full-scene anti-aliasing method that smooths uneven edges and
improves blurred images.
• 2x/4x/6x Anti-aliasing modes with a loss-less compression up to a
ratio of 6:1 at all resolutions.
• 2x/4x//8x/16x Anisotropic Filtering modes with up to 128-tap
texture filtering.
HyperZ™
• Ensures optimal hardware performance by discarding irrelevant
object data that is not visible to the user.

2 Radeon® X1950 XTX Features
• Conserves video memory bandwidth.
• Loss-less Z-buffer compression
• Z Cache optimized for real-time shadow rendering.
VideoShader™
• Seamlessly integrates pixel shaders with video in real time.
• All format DTV/HDTV decoding.
• Adaptive Per-Pixel- De-interlacing and Frame Rate Conversion.
512-bit Ring Bus Memory Controller
• Programmable intelligent arbitration logic.
• New fully associative texture, color, and Z/stencil cache designs.
• Hierarchal Z-buffer with Early Z test.
• Lossless Z Compression (up to 48.1)
• Fast Z-Buffer Clear.
• Z Cache optimized for real-time shadow rendering.
• Optimized for performance at high display resolutions, including
widescreen HDTV resolutions.
Ultra-Threaded Shader Engine
• Support for Microsoft ® DirectX®9.0 Shader Model 3.0
programmable vertex and pixel shaders in hardware.
• Full speed 128-bit floating point processing.
• Up to 512 simultaneous pixel threads.
• Dedicated branch execution units for high performance dynamic
branching and flow control.
• Dedicated texture address units for improved efficiency.
• High resolution texture support (up to 4k x 4k).
• Up to 1,536 instructions per rendering pass.
• 3Dc+ texture compression
• High quality 4:1 compression for normal maps and luminance
maps.
• Works with any single-channel or two-channel data format.
• Multiple Render Target (MRT) support.

Radeon® X1950 XTX Features 3
• Render-to-vertex buffer support.
• Complete feature set also supported in OpenGL®2.0
High Dynamic Range (HDR) Rendering
• 64-bit floating point HDR supported throughout the pipeline
• Includes support for blending and multi-sample anti-aliasing.
• High precision 10:10:10:2 integer format support.
• Includes support for blending and multi-sample anti-aliasing.
• 2x/4x/6x Anti-Aliasing modes
• Sparse multi-sample algorithm with gamma correction,
programmable sample patterns, and centroid sampling.
• New Adaptive Anti-Aliasing modes.
• Temporal Anti-Aliasing mode.
• Lossless Color Compression (up to 6:1) at all resolutions,
including widescreen HDTV resolutions.
• 2x/4x/8x/16x Anisotropic Filtering modes
• Up to 128-tap texture filtering.
• Adaptive algorithm with performance and quality options.

4 Before You Begin
System Requirements
Before You Begin
Before you begin installing your new graphics card, please do the
following.
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® 550 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.
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:
• A CrossFire™ 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 CrossFire™ Edition graphics card from the same
product series that works as the Master graphics card.
More information on the requirements for each of these
components can be found within the CrossFire™ FAQ.

Before You Begin 5
Record Your Serial and Part Numbers
The serial number and 102 part number printed on the graphics card are
required for registration. They are located on a sticker on the back of the
card.
Write the numbers, shown in bold above, down before installing your new
ATI product.
Uninstall Previous Graphics Card Drivers
To ensure the successful installation of your new Radeon® X1950 XTX
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.
XSerial number (S/N)
Y102 part number (P/N)

6 Before You Begin

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CHAPTER 2:
Installing Hardware
This chapter will guide you through the physical installation of your new
Radeon graphics card.
LConsult your system builder or OEM to ensure that your system has an
adequate power supply. A PCI Express®compatible system has a
specialized 12V graphics card power connector. A 450 watt or greater
power supply is 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.
Graphics Card Installation
1Graphics Card
2Power Supply

8
Installing the graphics card
1Turn off the computer, monitor, and other peripheral devices.
2Unplug the computer’s power cord and disconnect all cables from the
back of your computer.
3Remove the computer cover.
If necessary, consult your computer’s manual for help in removing the
cover.
4Unscrew or unfasten and remove any existing graphics card from
your computer.
Note: If your computer has an on-board graphics capability, you may
need to disable it on the motherboard. For more information, see your
computer documentation.
5Locate the appropriate slot and, if necessary, remove the metal back-
plate cover.
6Align your ATI graphics card with the slot and press it in firmly until
the card is fully seated.
36-pin Power Cable Connector
46-pin Power Connection
5Power connector to Graphics Card
6Power connector to Power Supply
LWARNING - Wait approximately 20 seconds after unplugging the
power cord before disconnecting a peripheral or removing a
component from the motherboard to avoid possible damage to the
motherboard.
LWARNING - Remember to discharge your body’s static electricity by
touching the power supply or the metal surface of the computer
chassis.

Connecting Devices 9
7Connect the power cable to the 6-pin power connection on the
graphics card.
8Screw in or fasten the graphics card securely. Make sure the cables
are not interfering with anything inside the computer (for example, a
cooling fan) and replace the computer cover.
9Reconnect any cables you have disconnected and plug in the
computer’s power cord.
10 Turn on the monitor, and then your computer.
Connecting Devices
The following illustration shows typical connections found on ATI
graphics cards:
LYour computer will beep, possibly show a warning message on your
display, and the boot process will stop if the graphics card is not correctly
connected to the power supply.
Connector Types
VGA Supports an analog CRT monitor.

10 Connecting Devices
DVI-I Supports a digital monitor.
VGA-DVI-I Adapter Supports an analog monitor on a DVI-I connection.
S-Video In/Out Supports a TV, VCR, or camcorder.
CATV Supports a TV antenna or cable service.
Composite Supports a TV, VCR, or camcorder.

Connecting Your Monitors 11
CHAPTER 3:
Using Multiple Displays
Connecting Your Monitors
Your Radeon® X1950 XTX graphics card provides hardware support for
two DVI-I monitors and a VGA monitor using the supplied DVI-I-to-VGA
adapter. It also provides TV output via an S-Video Out connector.
Connections and Adapters for the Radeon® X1950 XTX Card
1 Standard VGA Monitor Connector. To connect a VGA monitor
to the DVI-I connector, plug the supplied DVI-I-to-VGA adapter
into the DVI-I connector, then plug your monitor cable into the
adapter.
2DVI-I-to-VGA Adapter.
3 DVI-I Connection. To connect a digital display.

12 Connecting Your Monitors
Note: If you use multiple monitors, the Radeon® X1950 XTX card
must be the primary graphics card. Normally, the system BIOS
determines which graphics card will be the primary.
To connect your monitors
1Power off your computer and monitors.
2Plug the monitor cables into their appropriate connectors.
3Power on your monitors first, and then restart your computer so that
Windows®can detect the new hardware settings.
4When the New Hardware Found Wizard appears, at the appropriate
prompt insert the ATI Installation CD to load the drivers for your
Radeon® X1950 XTX card.
To set up a multi-monitor display
1From the Start button click Control Panel, then Display. Click the
Settings tab to access the basic multi-monitor configuration settings.
Note: ATI provides Catalyst™Control Center software that provides
many additional configuration features. It can be accessed by clicking
the Advanced button from the Display Properties > Settings tab.
2Select the Monitor icon identified by the number 2.
3Click Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor.
4Set the Screen Resolution and Color Quality as appropriate for the
second monitor. Click Apply or OK to apply these new values.
• Refer to your Windows®online help and documentation for
further information on using the Settings tab.
Note: When you use multiple monitors with your card, one monitor
will always be Primary. Any additional monitors will be designated
as Secondary.

Display Configurations 13
Display Configurations
Your Radeon® X1950 XTX graphics card provides dual display
functionality. The following table lists the different ways you can connect
displays to your card.
Note: * Both DVI ports support dual-link DVI output compatible
with single-link DVI flat panel displays as well as ultra-high
resolution dual-link DVI flat panel displays.
Display
Configuration Connector(s) Used Comments
Single DFP
display DVI-I connector DFP - digital flat panel display.
DFP Display* +
DFP Display DVI-I connectors
DFP Display +
HDTV DVI-I connector + S-Video-to-
Component
adapter
Usingsupplied S-Video to Component
adapter.
Single CRT
display DVI-I connector with DVI-I-to-VGA
adapter
CRT - cathode ray tube analog
display.
CRT display +
HDTV DVI-I-to-VGA adapter +
Componet Adapter
to HDTV (YPbPr)
cable
DFP display +
HDTV DVI-I connector + HDTV cable
(YPbPr)
HDTV (YPrPb) adpater
CRT display +
DFP display DVI-I-to-VGA adapter + DVI-I
connector
CRT display +
CRT display DVI-I-to-VGA adapter + DVI-I-to-
VGA adapter
The DVI-I connector can support a
CRT display using the DVI-I-to-VGA
adapter

14 Display Configurations