RADEON™ 9800 SERIES User’s Guide P/N 137-40462-30 Copyright © 2003, ATI Technologies Inc. All rights reserved. ATI and all 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 registered trademarks of their respective owners. Features, performance and specifications are subject to change without notice. Product may not be exactly as shown in the diagrams.
Disclaimer While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, ATI Technologies Inc.
Table of Contents Disclaimer...................................................................................................... i Product Notice......................................................................................... i Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Features At A Glance .................................................................................. 2 ATI’s CATALYST™ Software Suite .....................................................
Using TV Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 View your PC’s display on a TV .............................................................. 32 Connecting to a TV or a VCR .................................................................. 33 Starting Windows® with TV Display Enabled .................................... 34 To Enable/Disable The TV Display.......................................................... 35 Using and Adjusting TV Out....................................
1 Introduction The RADEON™ 9800 Series graphics accelerator delivers unsurpassed 3D graphics performance. • Powered by the RADEON 9800 Series Visual Processing Unit (VPU). • Third generation to support the latest Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 and OpenGL features. • Cinematic experience with a new level of quality and consistency. • Third generation 8-pixel pipeline architecture. • Support for AGP 8X specification. • 256-bit DDR memory interface. • Support Direct 3D® and OpenGL® applications.
2 Features At A Glance The RADEON 9800 Series includes: • CINEMATIC RENDERING: With its highly programmable cinematic shader engines, the RADEON 9800 Series of visual processors are designed to bring the most detailed worlds to life with motion picture effects.
3 ATI’s CATALYST™ Software Suite Multiple Displays and 3D Gaming Experience ATI’s CATALYST Software Suite provides multiple display functionality, and the advanced graphic features, such as SMARTSHADER 2.1, for the ultimate 3D gaming experience. For help installing the CATALYST Software Suite, refer to the Getting Started Guide. The CATALYST Software Suite installs the ATI display tabs. These tabs are accessed through the Windows® Display Control Panel, through the Advanced...
4 HYDRAVISION™ In addition to the multiple display functionality available with ATI’s CATALYST Software Suite, you can also use HYDRAVISION for advanced multi-monitor management. For more information on HYDRAVISION, please refer to the HYDRAVISION User’s Guide PDF located on your ATI Installation CD.
5 Multiple Displays Connecting Your Monitor(s) Your RADEON 9800 Series provides hardware support for one DVI-I monitor or two VGA monitors using the supplied DVI-I-to-VGA adapter. A TV can also be used to expand your desktop by using the S-Video out. Plug the monitor cable into your card (if you are running multiple monitors, connect their cables to the appropriate connectors), then turn on the PC and monitor(s). To connect a flat panel directly to your card, use the DVI-I connector.
6 Display Configurations Your RADEON 9800 Series graphics accelerator card provides dual display functionality and TV Out. The following table lists the different ways you can connect displays to your card.
7 CATALYST Software Suite The following section provides an explanation of each ATI tab added to the Display Properties after installing the Catalyst Software Suite. i Features presented in the following pages may not be supported in all operating systems and/or may appear differently. ATI Displays Tab The ATI Displays tab provides multiple monitor features. Here you can enable/disable display devices and swap the assignment of Primary and Secondary displays.
8 Enabling/Disabling Secondary Displays 1 Access the Windows® Control Panel. Double-click Display. 2 Click the Settings tab and then the Advanced... button. 3 Click the ATI Displays tab. 4 Click the enable/disable button for the display device you want to enable/disable. 5 Click OK or Apply to save the changes. Enabling Extended Desktop Mode 1 Access the Windows® Control Panel. Double-click Display. 2 Click the Settings tab.
9 To enable a Secondary display see Enabling/Disabling Secondary Displays on page 8. To enable Extended Desktop Mode see Enabling Extended Desktop Mode on page 8. 1 Access the Windows® Control Panel. Double-click Display. 2 Click the Settings tab and then the Advanced... button. 3 Click the ATI Displays tab. The ATI Displays tab shows you the display(s) that are active. The Primary display has the button depressed.
10 2 Click OK or Apply to save the changes. Ratiometric Expansion Your RADEON 9800 Series offers ratiometric expansion (or digital panel scaling as it is commonly known). This expands a low resolution image to fill a higher resolution panel. However, ratiometric expansion is only available on the Primary display. Therefore, if a flat panel display (FPD) is set as Secondary, the Extended Desktop mode is disabled and the resolution is less than the FPD’s native resolution.
11 ATI Color Tab The ATI Color Properties page allows you to configure Gamma, Brightness, and Contrast color settings for both your desktop and full screen 3D environments. You can also save settings to a color Profile for easy recall later. In addition, you can assign unique hotkey combinations that allow you to adjust Gamma, Brightness, and Contrast color settings within your full screen 3D applications.
12 NOTE: Some 3D applications can switch easily between full screen mode and windowed mode, and do not load their own Color settings. In windowed mode, you can make slider adjustments or select a different profile, then switch back to full screen mode to see the effect immediately. NOTE: When assigning hotkeys, you need to be especially careful that the assigned keys do not conflict with a 3D application's function keys, or hotkeys assigned by other applications.
13 Profiles dropdown list Lists all of the Desktop or Full Screen 3D profiles that you have saved. Selecting a profile from the list loads those custom color settings for either your Desktop or your full screen 3D application (depending on the state of the radio buttons). To create a new profile, simply type in a name and click Save. Save button Click this to save your current color settings to a Desktop or Full Screen 3D profile, using the name you specified in the list box.
14 Hotkeys button Click this to open the Color Hotkeys Settings dialog. There you can assign hotkeys for adjusting your color settings within a full screen 3D application environment. To activate this button, you must select the Full Screen 3D radio button. Defaults button Click this to restore all of the color settings to the default values, then click Apply or OK. Color Hotkeys Settings Modifier key Modifier key, which can be any combination of Alt, Ctrl, or Shift.
15 Add button Add a hotkey combination to the assigned list. Remove button Remove a hotkey combination from the assigned list. Disable hotkeys checkbox Disables all hotkeys. To disable a single hotkey combination, remove it from the assigned list. ATI Options Tab The ATI Options tab provides detailed driver information and access to the card’s specifications. You can also enable or disable the ATI taskbar icon.
16 ATI Options Tab Version Information Provides the Catalyst version number, 2D version number and the driver build information. Details button Provides access to the Details tab which lists the card’s hardware details and driver information. Reactivate all warning messages This allows you to reactivate any disabled graphics warning messages. Enable ATI taskbar icon application Unchecking this allows you to disable the ATI taskbar applications and removes the ATI icon from your system tray.
17 ATI Overlay Tab The ATI Overlay tab allows you to configure the brightness, contrast, saturation, hue and gamma properties of your video overlay. Video Overlay Video overlay allows for the viewing of streaming video on your PC. However, there is only one video overlay, which is only available on the Primary display. The video overlay controls are automatically activated during playback of any video file type that supports overlay adjustments.
18 ATI Overlay Tab Brightness Use this slider to adjust the brightness of the video image. Contrast Use this slider to adjust the contrast in the video image. Saturation Use this slider to adjust the vividness of the color. Sliding it all the way to the left removes all color and produces a black and white picture. Hue Use this slider to adjust the pureness or tint of the red, green and blue components of the color. Gamma Use this slider to adjust the overall intensity of the video image.
19 Clone Mode Settings Clone Mode Options Standard Video content is displayed on your Primary display only. Theater Mode Video content is displayed on your Primary and Secondary displays. Video content is displayed on your Secondary display(s) is always in full screen mode. Note: your computer must be set for 16-bit color depth or higher to use this mode. Same on all Video content is displayed on your Primary and Secondary display is exactly the same manner.
20 Direct 3D Control Panel Using this tab, you can fine-tune the settings for Direct 3D applications. Main and Custom Settings The Main Settings allows you to optimize for performance by moving the slider to the left, or improve overall image quality by moving the slider to the right. Selecting Custom Settings disables the Main Settings slider and allows you to fine-tune the Direct3D settings of your RADEON 9800 Series.
21 Main Settings slider This allows you to select the kind of application experience you’d like to have. Moving the slider to the left will maximize application performance, while moving the slider to the right will optimize 3D image quality. Moving this slider from one position to the next changes the individual Custom Settings sliders found below.
22 Texture Preference slider Selecting this decides whether your application should use high quality or high performance textures. Moving the slider to the right delivers the highest quality experience. Moving the slider to the left emphasizes a high performance solution while still providing good visuals. Mipmap Detail Level slider This will allow you to choose the texture quality of the mipmaps the application will use. Mipmaps are a collection of different sized textures of the same image.
23 Direct 3D Compatibility Settings Support DXT texture formats May eliminate problems with certain Direct 3D games that display vertical and horizontal lines around textures or display text incorrectly. This setting should only be Enabled if you are experiencing these issues, as it may cause problems with other games. Alternate pixel center This may eliminate problems with some Direct 3D games which display vertical and horizontal lines around textures, or text that appears incorrect.
24 OpenGL Control Panel Using this tab, you can fine-tune the settings for OpenGL applications. Main and Custom Settings In the Main Settings you can maximize overall performance by moving the slider to the left, or you can enhance overall image quality by moving the slider to the right. Selecting Custom Settings disables the Main Settings slider allowing you to fine-tune the OpenGL settings of your RADEON 9800 Series.
25 Main Settings slider This allows you to select the kind of application experience you’d like to have. Moving the slider to the left will maximize application performance, while moving the slider to the right will optimize 3D image quality. Moving this slider from one position to the next changes the individual Custom Settings sliders found below.
26 Texture Preference slider Selecting this decides whether your application should use high quality or high performance textures. Moving the slider to the right delivers the highest quality experience. Moving the slider to the left emphasizes a high performance solution while still providing good visuals. Mipmap Detail Level slider This will allow you to choose the texture quality of the mipmaps the application will use. Mipmaps are a collection of different sized textures of the same image.
27 OpenGL Compatibility Settings Force Z-buffer depth This allows you to explicitly set the Z-Buffer depth. Most applications will work best when Disabled is selected Triple Buffering Enabling this feature improves a game’s frame rate when vertical sync is enabled. This only applies if the frame rate is less than the vertical sync refresh rate. In low memory situations, enabling this feature may impact application performance.
28 OpenGL Hardware Acceleration This feature must be enabled for hardware acceleration of OpenGL applications. This setting should only be disabled if you are experiencing serious rendering problems. Disabling this feature will significantly decrease OpenGL performance. Defaults button This button allows you to reset the OpenGL Compatibility Settings to default values.
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30 SMARTGART™ SMARTGART is a suite of testing and diagnostics tools that perform a variety of bus tests to determine the optimal settings for your ATI graphics accelerator installed in your computer. SMARTGART automatically configures your graphics device to the optimal settings. SMARTGART does not actually disable any AGP functionality in your computer’s hardware.
31 Some motherboard specifications may claim chipset support for Fast Writes but may not be compatible with many different graphics accelerators. This setting is disabled for many computers because the motherboard is not capable of supporting this feature. Retest All Click this button to retest all graphic bus capabilities. All tests and diagnostics are initiated immediately following a system restart. Any settings that have previously been set to Off will be turned on, providing the test passes.
32 Using TV Out View your PC’s display on a TV Your RADEON 9800 Series has TV Out capability. You can attach your graphics card to a TV and monitor at the same time. Or you can connect it to your VCR and record your monitor’s display. TV display is ideal for playing games, giving presentations, watching movies, and browsing the Internet. The following tips will help you get the most out of your TV Out feature.
33 Connecting to a TV or a VCR To connect your RADEON 9800 Series card to a TV or a VCR, use an S-Video cable. However, most TVs (and VCRs) have a Composite video input, in which case you can use the supplied S-Video-to-Composite video adapter. If your TV has cable input only, you can connect your graphics card to your TV through your VCR or an RF modulator (available in most electronics stores). Connecting Your S-Video Out to a TV or VCR 1 Turn off your PC and your TV (or VCR).
34 S-Video Out S-Video In OR Composite In PC TV or VCR NOTE: Newer TVs may have the Video Input on the front panel S-Video Cable OR S-Video-to-Composite Adapter Starting Windows® with TV Display Enabled The TV screen may become scrambled during the initial Windows® logo display. This is only a temporary effect and your screen will be restored within a few seconds. During start up, your RADEON 9800 Series will go through a sequence of mode settings, during which your TV display will remain blank.
35 To Enable/Disable The TV Display 1 Access the Windows® Control Panel. Double-click Display. 2 3 4 5 Click the Settings tab and then the Advanced... button. Click the ATI Displays tab. Click the TV button. Click the enable/disable button. Click OK or Apply to save the changes. Using and Adjusting TV Out For information about how to use TV display, right click the ATI taskbar icon, point to Help, then point to ATI Television Display.
36 Using a Monitor vs. Using the TV Display Using your TV for your PC’s display is ideal for playing games, giving presentations, watching movies, and browsing the Internet. However, the display on your monitor may change or looked squashed. This occurs because the display adjusts to fit the dimensions of your TV. To correct the monitor’s display, use the monitor’s control buttons to adjust its display size and position. Some single frequency monitors may not work with TV display enabled.
37 To Use Larger Display Fonts 1 Access the Windows® Control Panel. Double-click Display. 2 For Windows® XP, click the Appearance tab. For Windows® Me, Windows® 2000, click the Settings tab, the Advanced... button, then the General tab. 3 In the Font Size box, select the size you want your displayed fonts to be. 4 Click Apply. If prompted, click Yes to restart your PC.
38 Reducing Edge Distortion When using a TV for your PC’s display, you may see some edge distortion on the left and right side of your TV screen. This effect depends on your TV and the PC application you are running. To reduce edge distortion, you can increase the TV display’s horizontal size. To Increase the Horizontal Size 1 Access the Windows® Control Panel. Double-click Display. 2 Click on the Settings tab and then the Advanced... button. 3 4 5 6 Click on the ATI Displays tab.
39 To Increase the TV Contrast 1 Access the Windows® Control Panel. Double-click Display. 2 Click on the Settings tab and then the Advanced... button. 3 Click on the ATI Displays tab. 4 Click on the TV button. 5 Drag the Contrast slider to the right to increase the contrast. 6 Click OK or Apply to save the changes you have made. Changing Display Configurations If you move your PC to a place where you are using TV display only, make sure that you have the TV display feature enabled.
40 NSTC/PAL Support for RADEON 9800 Series The RADEON 9800 Series can support both NTSC and PAL TV standards. The default setting is NTSC. To change to PAL requires configuring a switch on the video graphics accelerator card. For complete information on changing this switch see the Getting Started Guide that came with your RADEON 9800Series video card.
