ATI Technologies 3D XPRESSION User Manual

3D XPRESS ION

User’ s G uide

Version 1.0 CD

© Copyright 1996, by ATI Technologies Inc.
All rights reserved, including those to reproduce this guide or parts thereof, in any form without

the express written permission of ATI Technologies Inc.
Features and specifications are subject to change without notice. Trademarks and/or registered

trademarks are the properties of their respective owners:
ATI, mach64, 3D XPRESSION, 3D RAGE, ATI DeskTop, FlexDesk+, DeskScape, WinSwitch

— ATI Technologies I nc.; AutoCAD, AutoShade, 3D Studio — Autodesk Inc.; MicroStation —
Bentley Systems Inc.; Pentium, Pentium Pro — Intel Corporation;
IBM, PC, VGA, OS/2 — International Business Machines Corp.; Windows 3.1x, Windows95,
Windows NT, Video for Windows — Microsoft Corp.; MultiSync — NEC Technologies Inc.;
VL-Bus, VESA — Video Electronics Standards Association.

i

Disclaimer

The manufacturer (MFR) reserves the right to make changes to this
document and the products which it describes without notice. The
MFR shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions
made herein; nor for incidental or consequential damages resulting
from the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

The MFR makes no representation that the interconnection of products
in the manner described herein will not infringe on existing or future
patent rights, nor do the descriptions contained herein imply the
granting of license to make, use or sell equipment constructed in
accordance with this description.

The PCI mach64 accelerators have been designed to support the PCI
local bus standards. Some computers use proprietary local bus circuitry
and therefore may not be fully compatible with the MFR’s local bus
cards. Although tested successfully in a wide variety of c omputer
systems, the MFR cannot be held responsible for any incompatibilities
which may occur between this card and the system configuration you
plan to use. We recommend that you check with the dealer or
distributor for your computer system before installing your card.

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Table of Contents

Getting Started ...............................................................1

What is 3D XPRESSION? ..................................................2

What’s in the Package? .......................................................3

System Requirements ..........................................................3

Using this Guide ..................................................................4

Other Sources of Information ..............................................4

Hardware Installation ....................................................5

Preparing Your Computer ...................................................6

Installing the Hardware .......................................................7

Installing ATI’s Enhanced Drivers ............................. 11

Installing Enhanced Drivers for Windows 95 ...................12

Installing Software MPEG for Windows 95 ...............13

Installing Enhanced Drivers for Windows NT ..................14

Installing Enhanced Drivers for Windows 3.1x ................15

Using Software MPEG with Windows 3.1x ................17

Installing Enhanced Drivers for OS/2 ...............................18

Installing Enhanced Drivers for AutoCAD .......................20

Installing Enhanced Drivers for MicroStation ..................22

Using VESA BIOS Extensions .........................................24

Special Features .... ......................................................25

Adding ATI’s TV Tuner ....................................................26

Adding ATI’s Hardware MPEG ........................................26

Reference .....................................................................27

Running Diagnostics .........................................................28

Troubleshooting Tips .........................................................29

ATI Multimedia Channel ..................................................32

Specifications ....................................................................33

Video Mode Table .............................................................34

Compliance Information ....................................................35

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iv

CHAPTER 1

Getting Started

Welcome to the exciting world of 3D! This new technology
adds a new dimension to your computer experience.

ATI’s 3D XPRESSION brings games to life with stunning
graphics and screaming fast action previously available only on
gaming consoles. Its features will transform your comput er into
a high performance multimedia workstation.

This guide provides all the information you need to install the
3D XPRESSION. En joy the new dimension!

1

IN THIS CHAPTER...

• What is 3D XPRESSION?

• What’s in the Package?

• System Requirements

• Using this Guide

• Other Sources of Information

2 Getting Started

What is 3 D XPRESSION?

The 3D XPRESSION is a 3D games and multi media accelerator
card. It uses ATI’s 3D RAGE accelerator chip to provide
advanced 3D support, accelerated 2D graphics, and TV quality
video.

Games and sof tware applications that support the 3D RAGE run
with fluid motion and in brilliant color. Graphics are smooth
and highly detailed.

The 3D XPRESSION’s advanced features support the next
generation of 3D capabilities:

• Mip maps

• Gouraud shading

• Lit and video textures

• Alpha blending and fog effects

• Six levels of texture mapping

• Perspectively correct texture mapping
The 3D XPRESSION is a part of ATI’s legendary mach64

family of graphics accelerators. Your existing 2D games and
applicat ions will snap to l if e with 64-bit accele ration and fast er,
more vibrant colors.

Viewing full-screen, full-motion video is now possible with the
3D XPRESSION’s superior MPEG and video playback. The
TV quality video playback is the best available today.

For future expansion, you can use the ATI Multimedia Channel
to blend the entertainment of your TV with the intelligence of
your PC. ATI’s TV tuner and hardware MPEG player are add-in
cards designed to work with the 3D XPRESSION. (For more
information, see Special Features on page 25.)

What’s in the Package?

Your package includes the following hardware, software, and
documentation:

• 3D XPRES S I ON accelerator card

• ATI’s Installation CD-ROM

• User’s Guide
If any components are missing or damaged, please contact your

dealer.

System Requirements

• Computer System — 486/Pentium®/Pentium Pro®, or

compatible systems with PCI Local Bus

Getting Started 3

• Expansion Slot — 32-bit PCI Local Bus

• Operating System — DOS 5.0 or higher, Windows 95®,

Windows 3.1x®, Windows NT®, or OS/2

Software MP EG playback is currently supported in
Windows 95 and Windows 3.1x.

• Monitor — VGA, supporting minimum 640x480 resolution.

A Plug-and-Play monitor which supports VESA’s Display
Channel specifications (DDC1 or DDC2b) is required to
take advantage of the DDC1/DDC2b features.

• Displ ay Drivers — Any standard VGA or VESA drivers

For best performance, install ATI’s mach64 enhanced
drivers that are supplied in this package.

4 Getting Started

Using this Guide

The organization of this guide is as follows:

Hardware In stallation contains step by step instructions to
help you place your card in your computer.

Installing ATI’s Enhanced Drivers describes how to
install display driver software.

Special Features explains how you can take advantage of
the extra add-in features.

Reference contains troubleshooting tips and specifications
about your card.

Other Sources of Information

If you need additional help or require information that is not
included in this guide, see the following sources of information:

Readme File

This file contains the latest information about your
3D XPRESSION.

To view the Readme file in DOS

1 Insert ATI’s Installation CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.
2 Type D: (If D is not your CD-ROM drive, substitute D with the

corre ct drive letter).

3 Type README.

Online Help

If you require addi tional i nform ation, you can refer to the onli n e
help available under Windows 3.1x and Windows 95 for more
information about using ATI’s mach64 enhanced drivers.

CHAPTER 2

Hardware Installation

Insta lling your 3D XPRESSION consists of two easy steps.

• Placing the card in your computer

• Ins tal l ing ATI’ s mac h64 enha nc ed dis pl ay dr i vers

This chapter explains how to place your card in your computer.

5

IN THIS CHAPTER...

• Preparing Your Computer

• Installing the Hardware

.

6 Hardware Installation

Discharge your body’s static electric charge by touching
a grounded surface — e.g., the metal surface of the
power supply — before performing any hardware
procedure.

The manufacturer assumes no liability for any damage,
caused directly or indirectly, by improper installation of
any components by unauthorized service personnel. If
you do not feel comfortable performing the installation,
consult a qualified computer technician.

Damage to system components, the a cceler ator card, and
injury to yourse lf may result if power is applied during
insta llation.

Preparing Your Computer

If you are using an operating system other than Windows 95,
you may need to do the following before installing your card :

• If your current system configurat ion uses special drivers that
are not 640x480 VGA, you may encounter conflicts with the
card. We recommend that you first reconfigure your
operating system to use a standard VGA driver before
installing the card. For more informa tion about changing
your operating system configuration, see your operating
system documentation.

Installing the Hardware

Now that you have prepared your computer, you are ready to
install your 3D XPRESSION.

To install your 3 D XPRES SION

1 Power off the computer and monitor, then disconnect the

monitor cable from the back of your computer.

Hardware Installation 7

Rememb er to
discharge your
body’s static
electricity by
touching the
metal su rface
of the computer
chassis.

VIDEO OUTPUT

CONNECTOR

MONITOR CABLE

2 Re m ov e th e co mp ut e r co ve r. If necessary, consult your

computer system manual about removing the cover.

POWER SUPPLY

8 Hardware Installation

3 If there is an existing graphics card, remove it from your

computer.

If the old
graphics card
sticks, rock it
gently from
end to end.

Remember to
save the screw.

SCREW

OLD GRAPHICS CARD

or
If your computer has any on-board graphics capability, you may

need to disable it on the motherboard. For more information, see
your computer documentation.

4 Align your card with an empty PCI expansion slot and gently

insert it into place. You may need to remove the cover from the
rear of the PCI expansion slot that you selected.

Grasp the
card by the top
edge and
carefully seat i t
firmly into the
PCI slot.

3D XPRESSION

PCI EXPANSION SLOT