ATI Technologies X850 - Radeon Xt Platinum Edition 256 Mb Agp User manual

Radeon®X850
CrossFire™Edition
User’s Guide
P/N 137-40863-10

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Copyright © 2005, ATI Technologies Inc. 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
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performance and specifications are subject 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
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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,
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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.
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Apparatus Claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 4,631,603, 4,577,216, 4,819,098, and 4,907,093
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Documentation Updates
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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
CrossFire™ FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Welcome to CrossFire™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
CrossFire™ Overview 7
Allowable CrossFire™ System Components 7
CrossFire™ Rendering Modes 7
SuperTiling 8
Scissor Mode 9
Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR) Mode 10
Super Anti-aliasing Mode 11
Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
System Requirements 15
External Connections 15
Before You Begin 16
Record Your Serial and Part Numbers 16
Uninstall Previous Graphics Card Drivers 16
Installing Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Installing the Radeon® X850 CrossFire Edition Master Graphics
Card 20
Using Multiple Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Connecting devices for CrossFire™ 23
Display Configurations 24
Connecting Your Monitors for Multiple Display 24
Enabling Multiple Displays 27
Installing Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Installing Drivers and Software in Windows® 29

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Software Installation Prerequisites 29
Monitor Configuration 31
Reinstalling Drivers 32
Installing the Catalyst™ Software Suite 32
Catalyst™ Control Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Launching Catalyst™ Control Center 35
Launching Catalyst™ Control Center Using the Start Menu 36
Other Quick Launch Access Points 36
Help 37
Displays Manager 37
Video 39
Display Options 39
Color 40
Monitor Properties 40
Component Video Properties 41
Digital Panel Properties 41
Hotkeys Manager 41
Profiles Manager 42
Preferences 42
CrossFire™ 43
Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Troubleshooting 45
Product Registration 49
Customer Care 49
Warranty Information 51
Hardware Warranty Service Statement 51
Warranty Service 51
Limitations 52
Getting Additional Accessories 52
Compliance Information 53
FCC Compliance Information 53
Industry Canada Compliance Statement 53
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
(WEEE) Directive Compliance 54
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

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Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

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1
CHAPTER 1:
CrossFire™ FAQ
The following is a listing of frequently-asked questions about CrossFire™.
For the latest information, please consult the CrossFire™ Web site at:
ati.com/crossfire
1What combination of products are required to build a working
CrossFire™ system?
Three components are required:
• a CrossFire™ Edition graphics card that works as the Master
graphics card.
• a CrossFire™ Ready graphics card from the same brand-family
that works as the Slave graphics card.
• a CrossFire™ Ready motherboard (which contains two PCIe™
X16 slots).
More information on the requirements for each of these components
can be found within this FAQ.
2What graphics cards work with CrossFire™?
A CrossFire™ graphics card works with all members of the same
brand-family. Thus a Radeon® X850 CrossFire™ Edition can be used
as the Master graphics card with any Radeon® X850 product.
3What motherboards support CrossFire™?
The optimal configuration for a CrossFire™ system is one based on a
Radeon® Xpress 200 CrossFire™ Edition motherboard.
Motherboards from other manufactures will be certified as
CrossFire™ Ready when they become available.
4Are there specific CMOS motherboard settings for CrossFire™?
On some motherboards, the CMOS may be set by default to support
only a single PCI Express® X16 slot. Ensure that both PCIe™ X16
slots are enabled in the CMOS.

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5Which slot does the CrossFire™ Master card go into on the
motherboard?
The CrossFire™ Master card must go into the primary PCI Express®
slot (slot zero) on the motherboard.
Note: To determine which PCIe™ slot is the primary slot, consult
your motherboard manual.
Alternately, to determine whether or not a CrossFire™ Edition card is
in the correct slot, connect your display directly to the DVI-I
connection on the Master graphics card instead of using the
CrossFire™ DMS-59™ connector, with both graphics cards seated in
their respective slots on the motherboard. If an image appears on the
screen upon boot-up, the card has been placed in the correct slot on
the motherboard.
6Are there any software settings required for CrossFire™ to
work?
Yes, there is a setting in the Catalyst™ Control Center that needs to be
enabled for CrossFire™ to operate. When all of the hardware and
software has been properly set up and installed, the following
CrossFire™ aspect appears in Catalyst™ Control Center: