ATI Technologies X1900 - Radeon XTX 512 MB PCIE Video Card User manual

Radeon®X1900
CrossFireTM Edition
User’s Guide
P/N 137-40974-10
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Copyright © 2005, 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.
Reproduction of this manual, or parts thereof, in any form, without the express written permission of
ATI 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.
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Apparatus Claims of U.S. Patent Nos.4,631,603, 4,577,216, 4,819,098, and 4,907,093 licensed for
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Documentation Updates
ATI is constantly improving its product and associated documentation. To maximize the value of your
ATI product, you should ensure that you have the latest documentation. ATI’s documentation contains
helpful installation/configuration tips and other valuable feature information.
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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
Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
System Requirements 2
External Connections 3
Types of CrossFire™ Connections 3
Before You Begin 4
Record Your Serial and Part Numbers 4
Uninstall Previous Graphics Card Drivers 4
Installing Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Installing CrossFire™ Graphics Cards 8
Installing CrossFire™ Ready Graphics card 10
Connecting devices for CrossFire™ 11
Using Multiple Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Display Configurations 13
Connecting Your Monitors for Multiple Display 13
Enabling Multiple Displays 16
Installing Software and Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Installing Drivers and Software in Windows® 17
Software Installation Prerequisites 17
Monitor Configuration 19
Installing the Catalyst™ Software Suite 20
Catalyst™ Control Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Launching Catalyst™ Control Center 23
Launching Catalyst™ Control Center Using the Start Menu 23
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Other Quick Launch Access Points 24
Help 25
Displays Manager 25
Video 26
Display Options 27
Color 27
Monitor Properties 28
Component Video Properties 28
Digital Panel Properties 28
Hotkeys Manager 29
Profiles Manager 29
Preferences 29
CrossFire™ 30
To access CrossFire™ 30
CrossFire™ FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Welcome to CrossFire™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
CrossFire™ Overview 39
Allowable CrossFire™ System Components 39
CrossFire™ Rendering Modes 39
SuperTiling 40
Scissor Mode 41
Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR) Mode 42
Super Anti-aliasing Mode 44
Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Troubleshooting 47
Product Registration 51
Customer Care 51
Getting Additional Accessories 53
Compliance Information 53
FCC Compliance Information 53
Industry Canada Compliance Statement 54
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
(WEEE) Directive Compliance 54
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
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Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
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1
CHAPTER 1:
Getting Started
Congratulations on the purchase of your ATI Radeon®X1900 CrossFireTM
Edition graphics card. We hope that you will enjoy countless hours of
trouble-free computing.
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System Requirements
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.
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.
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