ATI FirePro V7750, FirePro V7800, FirePro V8700, FirePro V8750, FirePro V8800 User Manual

...

ATI™ CrossFire™ Pro

User Guide

Contents

Legal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Important Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Installing ATI CrossFire Pro Graphics Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Enabling ATI CrossFire Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

ATI CrossFire Pro FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Part Number: 107-40413-20

ATI™ CrossFire™ Pro

User Guide

The contents of this document are provided

in connection with Advanced Micro Devices,

Inc. (“AMD”) products. AMD makes no

representations or warranties with respect to

the accuracy or completeness of the contents

of this publication and reserves the right to

discontinue or make changes to products,

specifications, product descriptions, and

documentation at any time without notice.

No license, whether express, implied, arising

by estoppel or otherwise, to any intellectual

property rights is granted by this publication.

Except as set forth in AMD’s Standard Terms

and Conditions of Sale, AMD assumes no

liability whatsoever, and disclaims any

express or implied warranty, relating to its

products including, but not limited to, the

implied warranty of merchantability, fitness

for a particular purpose, or infringement of

any intellectual property right. AMD’s products

are not designed, intended, authorized or

warranted for use as components in systems

intended for surgical implant into the body, or

in other applications intended to support or

sustain life, or in any other application in

which the failure of AMD’s product could

create a situation where personal injury,

death, or severe property or environmental

damage may occur. AMD reserves the right to

discontinue or make changes to its products

at any time without notice.

Trademarks

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, ATI, the ATI logo,

AMD Athlon, AMD LIVE!, AMD Phenom, AMD

Sempron, AMD Turion, AMD64, All-in-Wonder,

Avivo, Catalyst, CrossFireX, FirePro, FireStream,

HyperMemory, OverDrive, PowerPlay,

PowerXpress, Radeon, Remote Wonder,

Stream, SurroundView, Theater, TV Wonder,

The Ultimate Visual Experience, and

combinations thereof are trademarks of

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

HyperTransport is a licensed trademark of

the HyperTransport Technology Consortium.

Blu-ray Disc is a licensed trademark of

the Blu-ray Disc Association.

HDMI is a licensed trademark of HDMI

Licensing, LLC.

DisplayPort is a licensed trademark of Video

Electronic Standards Association.

Microsoft, Windows, and Vista are registered

trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation in

the United States and/or other jurisdictions.

Other names are for informational purposes

only and may be trademarks of their

respective owners.

Dolby Laboratories, Inc.

Manufactured under license from Dolby

Laboratories. Dolby and the double-D symbol

are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories.

reserved.

Macrovision

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, and is

intended for home and other limited viewing

uses only unless otherwise authorized by

Macrovision. Reverse engineering or

disassembly is prohibited.

Disclaimer

While every precaution has been taken in

the preparation of this document, Advanced

Micro Devices, Inc. assumes no liability with

respect to the operation or use of AMD

hardware, software or other products and

documentation described herein, for any

act or omission of AMD 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 AMD hardware,

software, or other products and documentation

provided herein. Ensure that you have the

latest documentation.

ATI™ CrossFire™ Pro

User Guide

Important Safety Instructions

Note: This product is for use only with

compatible UL-listed personal computers that

have installation instructions detailing user

installation of this class of product.

Read all instructions before beginning

installation. All safety and installation

instructions should be read before the

product is installed or operated.

Retain all instructions. Safety, installation,

and operating instructions should be retained

for future reference.

Heed all warnings. All warnings regarding the

product and its operating instructions should

be obeyed.

Use appropriate grounding.

CAUTION:

For continued protection against

the risk of electric shock and fire,

install this accessory only in

products equipped with a

three-wire grounding plug, a plug

having a third (grounding) pin. This

is a safety feature. Do not remove

the grounding pin of a three-pin

plug.

Attach product securely. All product-securing

screws or fasteners should be completely

tightened in order to provide continuous

bonding between the product and the PC

chassis, as appropriate.

ATI™ CrossFire™ Pro

User Guide

Introduction

ATI™ CrossFire™ Pro leverages ATI CrossFireX™

technology to scale professional OpenGL

applications in a windowed mode by

combining the computational power of two

discreet ATI FirePro

cards to drive a single display. Note that

unlike ATI CrossFireX, ATI CrossFire Pro does

not allow more than two discreet cards

to be combined.

™

workstation graphics

Figure 1–1 ATI CrossFire Pro Diagram

ATI™ CrossFire™ Pro

User Guide Chapter 1

Modes

ATI CrossFire Pro significantly scales high-end

DCC, CAD, and VizSim applications on a single

display using the following modes:

> Frame Rendering:

> AFR (Alternate Frame Rendering):

In this mode, all even frames are

rendered on one GPU, and all odd

frames are rendered on the other.

> Most useful for SPECviewperf and

geometry-limited applications. ATI

CrossFire Pro significantly scales

applications such as Autodesk

Maya, UGS NX, UGS Teamcenter,

and Ensight.

> SFR (Split Frame Rendering): In this

mode, each frame is split into two

sections, and each GPU renders

one section.

> Most useful for VizSim, broadcast,

and video applications that are

fillrate limited.

Figure 1–2 ATI CrossFire Pro AFR Rendering

ATI™ CrossFire™ Pro

User Guide Chapter 1

Modes, cont’d.

> Full Scene Anti-aliasing: This mode

provides higher quality anti-aliasing than

single discrete workstation cards.

> Most useful for digital mock-ups, optical

simulations, TV productions, and video

applications requiring a high level of

image/line quality.

Note: Example applications are trademarks or

registered trademarks of their respective

owners.

For more information on ATI CrossFire Pro,

please visit http://ati.amd.com/products/

workstation.html.

Figure 1–3 ATI CrossFire Pro SFR Rendering

ATI™ CrossFire™ Pro

User Guide Chapter 2

Installing ATI CrossFire Pro Graphics Cards

These instructions assume that a PCIe®

graphics card has already been successfully

installed in the secondary slot (slot one), and

that the primary slot (slot zero) is empty.

Note: Consult your system builder or OEM to

ensure that your system has an adequate

power supply.

For an up-to-date listing of CrossFire Pro

certified motherboards, see ati.amd.com/

products/certification

1. Make sure the computer, monitor, and

other peripheral devices are off.

2. Unplug the computer power cord and

disconnect the monitor cable from the

back panel of the computer.

CAUTION:

To avoid possible damage to the

motherboard, wait approximately

20 seconds after unplugging the

power cord before disconnecting

a peripheral or removing a

component from the motherboard.

5. Align the new workstation card in the

primary PCIe slot next to the existing

graphics card and press firmly until the

card is fully seated.

Note: You may need to hold open the PCIe

card slot-locking mechanism with your

finger when you seat the card.

6. Fasten the workstation card securely to

the back panel.

7. Connect external power to the

workstation card from the systems power

supply, if necessary.

Consult your ATI FirePro workstation

card’s user guide, if necessary

3. Remove the computer cover.

If necessary, consult the computer

manual for help removing the cover.

CAUTION:

Remember to discharge your

body’s static electricity by

touching the power supply case

or the metal surface of the

computer chassis.

4. Locate the primary PCIe slot on the

motherboard. If necessary, remove the

corresponding back panel cover.

Figure 2–1 ATI FirePro Card Installation

ATI™ CrossFire™ Pro

User Guide Chapter 2

Installing ATI CrossFire Pro Graphics Cards, cont’d.

8. Connect the two ATI FirePro workstation

cards using the ATI CrossFire Pro flex

connector.

Note: Connect the cards using only one flex

connector on the “top” ATI CrossFire Pro

connector tab (the one closest to the bracket)

on each card

Figure 2–2 ATI CrossFire Pro Flex Connector Installation

1. Newly installed ATI FirePro card

2. ATI CrossFire Pro ﬂex connector

ATI™ CrossFire™ Pro

User Guide Chapter 2

Installing ATI CrossFire Pro Graphics Cards, cont’d.

9. Make sure that no cables are interfering

with anything inside the computer

(for example, a cooling fan) and then

replace the computer cover.

10. Reconnect any cables you have

disconnected and plug in the computer

power cord.

11. Turn on the monitor and then the

computer.

™

Enable ATI CrossFire Pro in ATI Catalyst

Control Center as described in Chapter 3

Enabling ATI CrossFire Pro.

Figure 2–3 ATI CrossFire Pro Connector Tabs

1. Top connector

2. Bottom connector (do not use)

ATI™ CrossFire™ Pro

User Guide Chapter 3

Enabling ATI CrossFire Pro

Note: The CrossFire option will not appear

unless two workstation cards are installed

in the system and connected using an

ATI CrossFire Pro flex connector.

1. From the Graphics Settings tree, expand

CrossFireX and click Configure.

2. From the Graphics Adapter list, select the

graphics card to act as the display GPU.

3. Select Enable CrossFireX.

4. Click Apply.

ATI™ CrossFire™ Pro

User Guide Chapter 4

ATI CrossFire Pro FAQ

The following are frequently asked questions

regarding ATI CrossFire Pro technology.

How do you connect two discreet

FirePro cards to enable this feature?

ATI CrossFire Pro requires only one ATI

CrossFire Pro flex connector to connect the

two discreet workstation cards to enable this

feature. The flex connector should be connect

to the “top” connector tab (the one closest to

the bracket).

Can any two ATI FirePro cards be

connected to enable this feature?

Currently, only identical ATI CrossFire

Pro-ready cards can be combined to enable

this feature. All mid-range or greater ATI

FirePro cards are ATI CrossFire Pro-ready. This

line-up currently includes the following cards:

ATI FirePro

graphics accelerators.

™

V5700, ATI FirePro™ V5800,

™

V7750, ATI FirePro™ V7800,

™

V8700, ATI FirePro™ V8750,

™

V8800, and ATI FirePro™ V9800

Which driver do I need to run

applications in the CrossFire Pro mode?

Driver version 8.63 and Catalyst version 8.6x

(or later) will support this feature.

Is this feature platform or chipset

dependent? Which platforms does this

feature support?

This feature is designed to provide open

support for all AMD and Intel chipsets.

Currently, it supports AMD 790FX, 790X, and

790GX platforms and Intel X58, X48, X38, 975X,

and 955X platforms. No proprietary bridge or

licensing is required to use this feature.

Which professional applications

currently scale on ATI CrossFire Pro?

Currently, many Alternate Frame Rendering

(AFR) applications that are geometry bound

show good performance scaling, including

Autodesk Maya, Ensight, UGS Teamcenter,

and UGS NX.

What is the optimal hardware for using

this feature?

ATI CrossFire™ Pro technology performs

best with PCIe

If you are using a workstation that does not

support PCIe

performance variation.

2.0 and up configurations.

2.0, you may see some

There are two ATI CrossFire Pro

connector tabs and only one flex

connector supplied in the box. Which tab

should I connect the flex connector to?

All ATI FirePro boards have two ATI CrossFire

Pro connector tabs to accommodate future

requirements. Currently, ATI CrossFire Pro

requires only one flex connector, which

should be connected to the first cutout

(the one nearer to the bracket).

Note: Example applications are trademarks

or registered trademarks of their respective

owners.

Which operating systems are supported

for this feature?

ATI CrossFire Pro™ is supported on Windows

XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Linux.

ATI FirePro V7750, FirePro V7800, FirePro V8700, FirePro V8750, FirePro V8800 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual