ATI RADEON X850 User Manual

RADEON® X850 Series

User’s Guide

P/N 137-40814-10

ATI

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Copyright © 2004, ATI Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.

ATI and ATI product and product feature names are t rademarks 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 specificatio ns 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, withou t the express writt en 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 ot her 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 interr uption 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 In c. 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 A TI 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 non­infringement.

Product Notices

Dolby* Laboratories, Inc.

Manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories. Confidential Unpublished Works.
© 1992-1997 Dolby Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved.

Macrovision

Apparatus Claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 4,631,603, 4,577,216, 4, 819,098, and 4,907,093 licensed for
limited viewing uses only.

This product incorporates copyright prot ecti on techno log y t hat is prot ected by met hod claims o f certa in
U.S. patents and other intellectual property rights owned by Macrovision Corporation and other rights
owners. Use of this copyright protection technology must be authorized by Macrovision Corporation,
and is intended for home and other limited viewing uses only unless otherwise aut horized by
Macrovision Corporation. Reverse engineering or disassembly is prohibited.

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.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

L

• 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
tightened as to provide continuous bonding between the option card
and the PC chassis.

• Outdoor Antenna Grounding - Since an outdoor antenna or cable
system is connected to the product, be sure that the antenna or cable
system is grounded so as to provide some protection against voltage
surges and built-up static charges. Article 810 of the National
Electrical Code, ANSI/NFPA 70, provides information with regard to
proper grounding of the mast and supporting structure, grounding of
the lead-in wire to the antenna discharge unit, size of grounding
conductors, location of antenna-discharge unit, connection of
grounding electrodes, and requirements for the grounding electrode.

• 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.

• Note to CATV System Installer - This reminder is provided to call
the CATV systems installer’s attention to Section 820-40 of the NEC,
which provides guidelines for proper grounding and, in particular,
specifies that the cable ground shall be connected to the grounding
system of the building, as close to the point of cable entry as
practical.

- All card securement pins shall be completely

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Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

System Requirements 1
External Connectors. 1

Using Multiple Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Connecting Your Monitors 3

Display Configurations 4

CATALYST™ Control Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Launching CATALYST™Control Center 7

Launching CATALYST™ Control Center Using the Start Menu 7
Other Quick Launch Access Points 8

Displays Manager 9
3D Settings 10
Video 10
Display Options 10
Color 11
VPU Recover 11
Monitor Properties 12
Component Video Properties 12
TV Properties 12
Digital Panel 13
Hotkeys Manager 13
OVERDRIVE™ 3 13
Profiles Manager 14
Preferences 14
Help 15

15

1

Using TV Display and Capture Features. . . . . . . 17

Using TV Out 17

Viewing Your PC’s Display on a TV 17
Connecting to a TV or VCR 17
Using a Monitor vs. Using TV Display 19
Viewing Text on a TV 19
Using TV Display Alone 19
Using Games and Applications 19

Connecting to HDTV 20

2

Using Your ATI HDTV Video Cable 21

Capturing Video 21

Connecting your media device for video capture 22
Setting the Windows® Volume Control 23

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Uninstalling Old Graphics Card Software 25
Windows® New Hardware Found 25
Installing the CATALYST™ Software Suite 26
Solution Selector 27

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

CHAPTER 1:

Introduction

System Requirements

Hardware • Intel® Pentium® 4/III; Celeron II™.

• 128 MB of system memory; 256 MB or more for best
performance.

• Motherboard with free PCI Express™ slot and correct
PCIe chipset driver. Note: The RADEON® X850
Series requires a free expansion slot next to the PCI
Express™ slot.

• CD-ROM drive (for installation software).

• PCI Express™ compatible system with a specialized
12v graphics card power connector. 350 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.

1

Operating
System

Monitor • High-resolution MultiSync or multi-frequency monitors

• Windows® XP (Home or Pro)

• Windows® 2000

or any other type of VGA monitor.

• Digital flat-panel (DFP) displays or digital CRT display.

External Connectors.

• 2 DVI-I outputs.

• S-Video output.

2

CHAPTER 2:

Using Multiple Displays

Connecting Your Monitors

Your RADEON® X850 Series provides hardware support for two DVI-I
monitor or two VGA monitors using the supplied DVI-I-to-VGA adapter.
It also provides TV output via a S-Video Out or Composite Out connector.

3

Connections and Adapters for the RADEON® X850 Series Card

X

Y

DVI Monitor Connector.

VGA Monitor Connector. To connect a VGA monitor to the DVI-I
connector, plug the supplied DVI-I-to-VGA adapter into the DVI-I
connector, then plug your monitor cable into the adapter

4 Display Configurations

Connections and Adapters for the RADEON® X850 Series Card

Z

[

DVI-I-to-VGA Adapter.

DVI-I Backplate Connection. To connect a flat panel, plug the
monitors DVI-I connector into the DVI-I connection.

Note: If you use multiple monitors, the RADEON® X850 Series
card must be the primary graphics card. Normally, the system BIOS
determines which graphics card will be the primary.

To connect your monitors

1
2
3

Power off
Plug
Power on

your computer and monitors.

the monitor cables into their appropriate connectors.

your monitors first, and then restart your computer so that

Windows® can detect the new hardware settings.

4

When the

New Hardware Found

Wizard appears, at the appropriate
prompt insert the ATI Installation CD to load the drivers for your
RADEON® X850 Series card.

Display Configurations

Your RADEON® X850 Series graphics card provides dual display
functionality and TV Out. The following table lists the different ways you
can connect displays to your card.

Display
Configuration

Single DFP
display

Single CRT
display

Single TV S-Video Out The S-Video out can also support a

Single HDTV
display

Connector(s)
Used

DVI-I connector DFP - digital flat panel display.

DVI-I connector
with DVI-I-to-VGA
adapter

S-Video Out to
HDTV (YPrPb)
cable

Comments

CRT- cathode ray tube analog
display.

composite connection via the S­Video-to-Composite adapter.

HDTV - High Definition Television

Display Configurations 5

Display
Configuration

DFP display + TVDVI-I connector +

CRT display + TVDVI-I-to-VGA

CRT display +
HDTV

DFP display +
HDTV

CRT display +
DFP display

CRT display +
CRT display

DFP display +
DFP display +
TV

Connector(s)
Used

S-Video out

adapter + S-Video
Out

DVI-I-to-VGA
adapter + S-Video
Out to HDTV
(YPrPb) cable

DVI-I connector +
S-Video Out to
HDTV (YPrPb)
cable

DVI-I-to-VGA
adapter + DVI-I
connector

DVI-I-to-VGA
adapter + DVI-I-to­VGA adapter

DVI-I connector +
DVI-I connector +
S-Video Out

Comments

UNSUPPORTED CONFIGURATION
if the CRT display is attached to the
DVI-I connector via the DVI-I-to-VGA
adapter.

The DVI-I connector can support a
CRT display using the DVI-I-to-VGA
adapter

The TV display will “clone” the image
of one of the other two displays

DFP display +
DFP display +
HDTV

CRT display +
DFP display +
HDTV

CRT display +
CRT display +
TV

DVI-I connector +
DVI-I connector +
S-Video Out to
HDTV (YPrPb)
cable

DVI-I-to-VGA
adapter + DVI-I
connector + S­Video Out to HDTV
(YPrPb) cable

DVI-I-to-VGA
adapter + DVI-I-to­VGA adapter + S­Video Out

UNSUPPORTED CONFIGURATION

6 Display Configurations

Display
Configuration

CRT display +
CRT display +
HDTV

Connector(s)
Used

DVI-I-to-VGA
adapter + DVI-I-to­VGA adapter + S­Video Out to HDTV
(YPrPb) cable

Comments

UNSUPPORTED CONFIGURATION