ATI Technologies RADEON 8500, RADEON 7500, RADEON 8500LE User Manual
RADEON
RADEON
™
8500
™
8500LE
RADEON
™
User’ s Guide
Version 5.0
P/N 137-40282-50 Rev. D
7500
Copyright © 2002, ATI Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
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performance and specifications are subject to change without notice. Product may not
be exactly as shown in the diagrams.
Reproduction of this manual, or parts thereof, in any form, without the e xpress written
permission of ATI Technologies Inc. is strictly prohibited.
i
Disclaimer
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Technologies Inc. assumes no liability with respect to the operation or use of ATI
hardware, software or other 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 interruption of business, loss of anticipatory profits, or
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ii
Table of Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Features At A Glance..................................................................................2
RADEON 7500 ........................................... ..................................... ...... 2
RADEON 8500 and RADEON 8500LE................................................2
ATI’s CATALYST™ Software Suite ........................................................3
Multiple Displays and 3D Gaming Experience......................................3
Direct 3D® and OpenGL® ....................................................................3
HydraVision™ ....................................................................................... 3
Multiple Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Connecting Your Monitor(s) ......................................................................4
CATALYST Software Suite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
ATI Displays Tab.........................................................................................5
Enabling/Disabling Secondary Displays................................................6
Enabling Extended Desktop Mode.........................................................6
Dynamic Display Reassignment ............................................................ 6
Virtually Repositioning Your Displays..................................................8
Ratiometric Expansion........................................................................... 8
ATI Color Tab ............................................................................................. 9
ATI Options Tab........................................................................................ 11
ATI Overlay Tab ....................................................................................... 12
Direct 3D® Control Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Main and Custom Settings........................................................................14
Direct 3D® Compatibility Settings .......................................................... 17
OpenGL® Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Main and Custom Settings........................................................................19
OpenGL® Compatibility Settings...................... ......................................22
Using TV Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
View your PC’s display on a TV..........................................................23
Connecting to a TV or a VCR ............................................. .....................23
Starting Windows® with TV Display Enabled....................................25
Using SCART Connectors for European TVs .....................................25
How To Enable/Disable The TV Display ............................................ 25
Using and Adjusting TV Out..................................... ...........................26
How TV Display Cannot Be Used.......................................................26
Using a Monitor vs. Using the TV Display..........................................26
Adjusting Monitor Display...................................................................27
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Viewing Text on a TV.......................................................................... 27
Reducing Edge Distortion ....................................................................28
Changing Display Configurations........................................................29
Using Games and Applications............................................................ 29
iv
1
Introduction
The RADEON family of graphic accelerators
delivers ground breaking 3D graphics performance.
• Designed and built by ATI Technologies Inc.
• Powered by the RADEON Visual Processing Unit
(VPU).
• Awesome 3D gaming performance.
• Support for OpenGL® applications.
• Support for Direct 3D® applications.
• High resolution in 3D up to 2048x1536.
• Best performance for today’s and tomorrow’s
applications.
• Supports TV-out to connect your PC to your TV or
VCR.
Features At A Glance
RADEON 7500
The RADEON 7500 provides high performance
acceleration for today's demanding 3D graphic
applications. Its main features are:
• VIDEO IMMERSION™ which provides industryleading DVD playback and digital TV decode
capability
• CHARISMA ENGINE™ which is the main VPU,
providing the necessary power to accelerate
today’s 3D games and applications
• PIXEL TAPESTRY™ which can apply 3 textures
at once to a complex 3D gaming scene
2
• TV output support
RADEON 8500 and RADEON 8500LE
In addition to the features of the RADEON 7500, the
RADEON 8500 series also provides:
• TR UFORM™ technology which makes the curv ed
surfaces of 3D objects look smoother and more
life-like
• SMARTSHADER™ technology which can
realistically create the visual properties of any
material, like glass, metal, wood, and produce 3D
depth by rendering the object’s shadows
• SMOOTHVISION™ which provides users with
various degrees of jagged edge removal from 3D
images, allowing users to conf igure their own high
quality or high performance gaming experience
• PIXEL TAPESTRY™ II which provides even
greater 3D rendering power
• Digital flat panel support (RADEON 8500 only)
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 TRUFORM, for the ultimate 3D
gaming experience. For help on 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... button loc ated on the Settings tab. For a
detailed explanation of each ATI tab, refer to
CATALYST Software Suite on page 5.
Direct 3D® and OpenGL
The CATALYST Software Suite supports the latest
versions of Direct 3D® and OpenGL®. Your 3D
game titles will come to life, as you can tweak the
game’s settings for maximum 3D image quality or
3D gaming performance.
ATI’s Direct 3D® and OpenGL® tabs are available
through the Windows® Display Control Panel,
through the Advanced... button located on the
Settings tab.
For a detailed explanation of the Direct 3D
OpenGL® tabs, refer to Direct 3D® Control Panel
on page 14, and OpenGL® Control Panel on
page 19.
HydraVision™
®
®
and
You can also use HydraVision for advanced multimonitor management. For more information please
refer to the HydraVision User’s Guide PDF located
on your ATI Installation CD.
Multiple Displays
Connecting Your Monitor(s)
The RADEON 8500 provides hardware support for
one DVI-I monitor or two VGA monitors using the
DVI-I-to-VGA adapter. A TV can also be used to
expand your desktop by using the S-Video out. The
RADEON 7500 provides support for one VGA
monitor and Composite output to a TV.
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).
4
S-VID OUT
DVI
CRT
To connect a flat panel directly to your RADEON
8500, use the DVI-I connector. To connect a VGA
monitor to the DVI-I connector, use the
DVI-I-to-VGA adapter as shown below.
RADEON 8500
S-VIDEO OUT
DVI-I
CONNECTOR
AVAILABLE ON
RADEON 8500
ONLY
DVI-I-TO-VGA
ADAPTER
STANDARD VGA
CONNECTOR
MONITOR
VGA
CONNECTOR
FROM
MONITOR
RADEON 7500
COMPOSITE OUT
STANDARD VGA
MONITOR
CONNECTOR
COMP OUT
CRT
When you use multiple monitors with your card, one
monitor will always be Primary. Any additional
monitor(s) will be designated as Secondary.
5
CATALYST Software Suite
The following section provides an explanation of
each ATI tab available after installing the
CATALYST Software Suite.
Features presented in the following pages may not
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ATI Displays Tab
The ATI Displays tab provides the multi monitor
features. Here you can enable/disable display devices
and swap the assignment of Primary and Secondary
displays.
be supported in all operating systems and/or may
appear differently.
Enabling/Disabling Secondary Displays
6
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 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 on the Settings tab.
3 Click the monitor icon for the display onto which
you want to extend your desktop.
4 Click Yes to enable the selected display.
5 Checkmark the Extend my Windows desktop
onto this monitor check box (Windows® may
automatically place it there).
6 Click OK or Apply to save the changes.
Dynamic Display Reassignment
You can change the assignment of your Primary and
Secondary display on the fly, without rebooting.
However, before you can change the assignment of
the Primary display, at least one Secondary display
must be enabled, and Extended Desktop mode must
be enabled.
To enable a Secondary display, refer to the section
Enabling/Disabling Secondary Displays.
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