MSI Twin Turbo-128 User manual

Introduction
TWIN TURBO 128 FOR
PCI POWER MACINTOSH

Introduction
Revision 2.0
Twin Turbo-128 is a trademark of Integrated Micro Solutions
Incorporated.
Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer
Copyright © 1996 Integrated Micro Solutions Incorporated
All Rights Reserved.
Printed in USA

Introduction
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................I
ABOUT THE TWIN TURBO-128......................................................II
ABOUT MONITORS AND RESOLUTION..........................................II
ABOUT TRUE COLOR...................................................................III
ABOUT ACCELERATION...............................................................III
CHAPTER 1: INSTALLING THE HARDWARE..............1
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS..............................................................2
UNPACKING..................................................................................2
INSTALLING THE TWIN TURBO-128..............................................3
CHAPTER 2: INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE...............6
GENERAL......................................................................................7
TO INSTALL: .................................................................................7
CHAPTER 3: CONTROL PANELS....................................10
TWIN TURBO CONTROL PANEL..................................................11
RESOLUTIONSELECTION.............................................................12
BIT DEPTH SELECTION...............................................................15
PAN-ZOOM .................................................................................16
GENERAL CONTROLS..................................................................17
MONITOR CONTROL PANEL........................................................18
GAMMA SELECTION....................................................................19
SOUND & DISPLAYS...................................................................20
APPENDICES...........................................................................I
APPENDIX A TROUBLESHOOTING.............................................. II
Computer seems to boot but there is no display:..................... II
APPENDIX B SPECIFICATIONS................................................. IV
Hardware Specifications........................................................ IV
Apple Standard Video Connector Pinouts............................VII
Mini D-Sub Video Connector Pinouts................................VIII
APPENDIX C FCC CLASS B STATEMENT................................ IX
FCC Class B Statement......................................................... IX

Introduction
Introduction
About the Twin Turbo-128
Congratulations on your purchase of the Twin Turbo-128, a high
performance 128-bit display adapter for PCI Power Macintosh
computers.
The Twin Turbo-128 provides the latest in computer graphics
technology on one single board. Features such as a high speed 32-
bit PCI bus interface, 128-bit VRAM graphics acceleration, and
Video Playback acceleration make the Twin Turbo-128 one of the
fastest graphics boards ever to be used on the Macintosh.
Applications can operate at high resolution or in true color without
any noticeable degradation in performance. Video playback is
accelerated with special hardware that is included on the Twin
Turbo-128 display adapter.
About Monitors and Resolution
The Twin Turbo-128 supports a multitude of screen resolutions
and monitor refresh rates. Resolution is the dimension of the
display in pixels, for example 1024 x 768. For any given monitor
size, pixels are larger at low resolutions and smaller at high
resolutions. A multi-sync monitor may be able to display some or
all of the available resolutions supported by the Twin Turbo-128.
In low resolution, text and images may be larger, but there will be
less workspace on the desktop. In high resolution, text and
images will be smaller, but there will be more desktop available.
The Twin Turbo-128 Control Panel included allows the user to
quickly select the best resolution for a particular application. The
monitor’s refresh rate relates to the amount of screen flicker that
the user perceives. The higher the number, the less the screen
flickers and eye fatigue is reduced. Some monitors are limited in
there maximum resolution at a particular screen refresh rate. In
this case, the screen refresh rate is compromised for increased
screen resolution.

Introduction
About True Color
True Color is so called because 24 bits (binary digits) of
information are used to define each pixel. The 24-bits are divided
as eight bits for the red channel, eight bits for the green, and eight
bits for the blue. The total number of colors that can be defined by
a 24-bit diplay board is 28* 28* 28, which equals 16.7 million
colors. While you’ll never be able to see all 16.7 million colors
displayed at once, you will appreciate the smooth, continuous
transitions in a shaded object.
The preferred display mode for QuickTime video playback is 16-
bits per pixel. Special YUV-RGB hardware on the Twin Turbo-
128M and M2 will be used to accelerate software MPEG movie
playback in future software releases.
About Acceleration
The Twin Turbo-128 processes 128-bits of graphics data every
two clock cycles. Graphics performance is inversely proportional
to the amount of color used to define each pixel. When running
the Twin Turbo-128 in 256 color mode, 16 pixels are processed
in two clock cycles. In thousands of colors mode, 8 pixels are
processed in two cycles, and in millions of color mode, 4 pixels
are processed in two cycles. Maximum graphics performance is
achieved by using the lowest possible color mode for each
application. A word processing application would operate best in
256 color mode, while a Photo-Retouching program would
operate best in millions of color mode.
Unlike DRAM based graphics accelerator cards, screen resolution
and refresh rate have little effect on graphics acceleration
performance on the Twin Turbo-128. A typical DRAM based
graphics card might only be able to display 800 x 600 pixels at
16.7 million color mode, and have degraded graphics
performance.

Chapter 1 :
Installing the Hardware

Chapter 1: Installing the Hardware
System Requirements
The system requirements for the Twin Turbo-128 are as
follows:
• PCI based Power Macintosh
•8 MB of RAM Minimum
•An Apple 13” color monitor or larger. Higher
resolutions are best used on 17” or larger monitors. A
multis-ync monitor is preferred in order to take
advantage of on-the-fly resolution switching.
Unpacking
In the Twin Turbo-128 package you will find the following
items:
•Twin Turbo-128M, M2, or M8 display adapter
•Twin Turbo-128 software disk
•Twin Turbo-128 Manual
•Warranty/Registration Card

Chapter 1: Installing the Hardware
WARNING Do not remove the board from its anti-
static bag until you are ready to install it in your
computer. Removing the board could expose it to
potentially harmful static electricity.

Chapter 1: Installing the Hardware
Installing the Twin Turbo-128
If you are unfamiliar with your computer or have never
installed an expansion card, please refer to your computer
manual and read the following instructions before
proceeding.
1. Turn off your computer and all attached
peripherals. Leave everything plugged in to
AC power.
2. Remove the cover from the computer’s main
unit.
Refer to your computer’s manual for instructions
3. Touch the power supply case to discharge
any static electricity you may have.
4. Remove the Twin Turbo-128 display
adapter from its anti-static bag.
Handle the board from its edges and the metal
bracket at the end. Avoid touching the connector pins
or any components on the board.
5. Install the board into any PCI expansion slot. If
you are installing the Twin Turbo display
adapter, use the slot closest to the outside of the
computer. This is required if you have installed
the optional VRAM DIMM memory modules.
Refer to figures 1-1 through 1-3.

Chapter 1: Installing the Hardware
Figure 1-1
Installing the Twin Turbo-128M
Figure 1-2
Installing the Twin Turbo-128M2

Chapter 1: Installing the Hardware
Figure 1-3
Installing the Twin Turbo-128M8
6. Make sure that the Twin Turbo-128 does not
touch any other expansion boards or wires.
If there is not enough clearance, then choose another
PCI slot.
7. Replace the cover on the computer and connect
the monitor to the Twin Turbo-128 display
adapter.
You may use either the Apple standard video
connector or the VGA style video connector
provided at the rear of Twin Turbo-128 display
adapter.
Note: The resolutions available for display is
dependent on which video connector is being used.
See Chapter 3 for more detailed information.

Chapter 2 :
Installing the Software

Chapter2: Installing the Software
The installation of the software for the Twin Turbo-128 is a
simple task. Copying two files from the included floppy
disk to the “System Folder” and restarting the computer is
all that is needed for the Twin Turbo-128 Display Adapter.
Twin Turbo-128 floppy disk includes the following files:
Twin Turbo™ Acceleration
Twin Turbo™ Control Panel
To Install:
1. Start up your computer.
2. Insert the Twin Turbo software disk
into your floppy disk drive.
3. A “ReadMe” file is included which has any
late breaking information which is not
included in this manual. It should be read
before installing any software
4. Copy the software to your computer.
See figure 2.1
Drag the two files on the floppy to the
“System Folder”

Chapter2: Installing the Software
Figure 2.1
Files to be Copied
5. A dialog window will appear asking if it is
acceptable to place the file where it belongs
in the “System Folder”. See figure 2.2.
Click on“OK”.
Figure 2.2
Dialog Box
6. When the copying is complete you must restart
your computer for the software to take effect.
Restart the computer.

Chapter 3:
Control Panels

Chapter 3: Control Panels
10
The Twin Turbo Control Panel is used to control features of
the Twin Turbo-128 such as resolution selection, color depth
changes, panning and zooming, and general controls. The
Twin Turbo Control Panel is shown in figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1
Twin Turbo Control Panel

Chapter 3: Control Panels
11
The Resolution button provides a mechanism to select
the desktop size that is being displayed by the Twin
Turbo-128. The Resolution button is the preferred
method of changing screen resolutions.
To display the sub-menu controls, click on the Resolution button
icon.
On-the-fly resolution switching is selected by first selecting
the board to be changed on the pop-up menu. The list of
resolutions available to be selected is displayed. The
resolution will change on-the-fly when the new resolution is
selected. Sometimes the color depth will be reduced if there
is insufficient video memory on the Twin Turbo-128 for the
new resolution selected. Table 3.1 shows the available color
depths and refresh rates for each resolution on the various
Twin Turbo-128 Display Adapters. Not all resolutions may
be available if you are using a monitor which uses Apple’s
fixed monitor sense codes.

Chapter 3: Control Panels
12
If you have installed an Apple compatible multi-sync
monitor to the Apple standard video connector on the back
of the board, you will be able to select only certain
resolutions which are “safe” for the particular monitor
connected.
If you have installed your VGA compatible monitor into the
VGA connector on the board, you will see VGA compatible
resolutions instead of the Apple standard resolutions.
If you are using the Apple 20” monitor or an equivalent
with an external sense code adapter or using the VGA
connector on the board, you will be able to select some of
the higher resolutions such as 1600 x 1200 by holding down
the “Option” key on the keyboard when you press the
Resolutions button. A dialog box will be displayed for 5
seconds after the resolution is changed for confirmation. If
the new resolution is not displaying properly, after 5
seconds, the display will revert to the previous resolution.
This is added insurance to protect you from selecting a non-
compatible resolution for your particular monitor.
Refer to Appendix A should you accidentally select an
incompatible resolution.

Chapter 3: Control Panels
13
Resolution Color Depths Refresh
(Hz)
640 x 480 256, Thousands, Millions 60, 66
800 x 600 256, Thousands, Millions 60, 72
832 x 624 256, Thousands, Millions 75
1024 x 768 256, Thousands, Millions* 72, 75
1152 x 870 256, Thousands, Millions* 75, 100
1280 x 1024 256, Thousands*, Millions** 75
1384 x 1040 256, Thousands*, Millions** 75
1600 x 1200 256, Thousands*, Millions** 60, 65, 75
1920 x 1080 256, Thousands*, Millions** 60, 72
Table 3.1
Display Resolution Chart
Note: The color depths marked with an asterisk (*) are only
available on the Twin Turbo-128M or when the optional
VRAM DIMM’s are installed on the Twin Turbo-128M2.
The color depths marked with a double asterisk (**) are only
available on the Twin Turbo-128M8.

Chapter 3: Control Panels
14
The Bit-depth button provides a mechanism to select the
available colors to be displayed by the Twin Turbo-128.
The Bit-depth button is the preferred method of
changing colors.
To display the sub-menu controls, click on the Bit-depth button
icon.
The color depth can be changed between 256 colors,
Thousands (65,565) of colors, and Millions (16.7 M) of
colors instantly via the Monitors Control Panel. Greyscale
can be selected when using 256 colors mode. It is desirable
to use the lowest colors possible for a particular application
as the Twin Turbo-128 Display Adapter operates faster in
reduced color depths. Refer to Table 3.1 for the available
colors at a particular resolution.