ATI Technologies RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION User Manual

RADEON™ 8500 MAC EDITION
User’s Guide

Version 1.0 - Februar y 20 02
P/N: 137-40315-10

Copyright © 2002, 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.

Reproduction of this manual, or parts thereof, in any form, without the express
written 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
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 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 Technologi es Inc. reserves the right to make changes
without further notice to a product or system described herein to
improve reliability, fu nction or design. With respect to ATI
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 non-infringement.

Page 2

1

Introduction

The RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION represents the next
generation in 3D and video acceleration for your Power
Macintosh computer. It includes 64MB of DDR memory for
fast 32-bit true color 3D graphics. Flexible dual-display support
for multiple combinations of CRT monitors, TVs and video
devices is included. Your new graphics accelerator provides:

• Flexible dual-display support enabling many combinations
utilizing the VGA, DVI-I, and TV connectors

• OpenGL
superior 3D rendering performance and advanced imaging
and filtering techniques

• QuickTime playback accelerator for full screen, full
motion, TV quality video

• DVI-I support for digital flat panels

• TV-Out support via S-Video connector

The ATI Config Menu (available on ly for Mac OS 9.2.1), is
located on the Apple menu bar. This provides instant access to
Help, the ATI Displays control panel, and all of RADEON 8500
MAC EDITION features.

®

and QuickDraw 3D accelerator providing

Page 3

What You'll Need

The RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION runs with the following
minimum system requirements:

• Any Power Macintosh computer with an AGP expansion
slot

• Mac OS 9.2.1 or Mac OS X version 10.1 or higher

• OpenGL 1.2.2 (required for 3D graphics)

• Apple multi-frequency monitor, VGA-style monitor (see

note below)

• QuickTime 5.0 (earlier versions are NOT supported) or
higher

• Minimum 64MB of system memory required for Mac OS

9.2.1

• Minimum 128MB of system memory required for
Mac OS X version 10.1

, DVI-I style digital flat panel, or TV

NOTE

NOTE

NOTE

OpenGL 1.2.2 or higher is required to obtain full 3D graphics
functionality in Mac OS 9.2.1 applications. Op enGL 1.2.2 is
only available from Apple as part of Mac OS 9.2.1. or 9.2.2.

Apple branded digital flat panels with an ADC connector must
use a third party adapter.

Apple analog monitors without a VGA connector must use a
the supplied adapter to connect to the RADEON 8500 MAC
EDITION graphics accelerator.

Future references to Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X in this manual
are intended to be generic and inclusive of their respective
versions of the Macintosh operating systems

Page 4

Related Documentation

The README file summarizes the latest product revisions.
Click the README icon on the installation disk to open this
file.

The RADEON

8500 MAC EDITION comes with ATI Guide
for Mac OS 9, which provides on-line help for making the best
use of your card’s features. There are two methods of accessing
the ATI Guide. From the Mac OS menu bar under the ATI icon
choose ATI Guide. From the ATI Displays control panel, you
can access the ATI Guide by clicking on the Apple Guide

icon. RADEON Help can be found in the Apple Help menu.

Help is available in Mac OS X by simply clicking on the
button in the ATI Displays control panel or through the Apple
Help Center. You can browse through the Help or search for a
specific topic.

Page 5

Page 6

2

Multimedia Features

Your RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION turns your Mac
computer into a 3D and 2D graphics powerhouse. You can use
your new graphics accelerator card to do the following:

• Enjoy true-color 32-bit 2D or 3D graphics up to 2048x1536

• Watch full screen, full motion, TV-quality video using

QuickTime playback acceleration

• Output your Mac’s display to a digital flat panel

• Output your Mac’s display to your TV
The following information describes these new features in more

detail and suggests ways you can optimize your machine to get
the most out of your new card.

Page 7

Viewing 3D Graphics

RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION’s 3D Acceleration features
supports the following advanced 3D graphics capabilities:

• OpenGL Support

• QuickDraw 3D RAVE Support

• Twin Cache Architecture

• Single Pass Multi-texturing

• Triangle Setup Engine

• Bilinear/Trilinear Filtering

• Line Anti-aliasing

• Specular Highlights

• Perspectively Correct Texture Mapping

•Mip-Mapping

• Z-buffering and Double-buffering

• Spherical, Dual-Paraboloid, 3D Texturing and Cubic

environment mapping

In addition, the RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION brings new
and exciting graphics technologies to the Macintosh platform:

TRUFORM

™

is a rendering technology that pre-processes 3D

artwork being fed into the graphics accelerator by converting it
from flat triangle data into curved surface data, allowing much
more highly detailed and realistically lit images with virtually
no performance loss.

SMOOTHVISION

for image quality using programmable multi-sampling methods to
post-process graphics before they are displayed.

SMARTSHADER

technology which revolutionizes the graphics pipeline by making both
the geometry processing and pixel processing stages more
programmable than ever before. Developers can easily create amazing
new graphics ef fects wh ile maintaining a high level of performance.

™

is an anti-aliasing solution that raises the bar

™

(supported in Mac OS X only) is a new

HYPER Z

decreasing the amount of information sent to the frame buf fer.

Page 8

™

II makes Z-buffer bandwidth usage more efficient by

CHARISMA ENGINE

which controls changing shapes and lighting while maintaining fast 3D
game performance

™

II is a transform and lighting technology

PIXEL TAPESTRY

rendering pipeline giving highly realistic and detailed 3D graphics.

VIDEO IMMERSION

adaptive de-interlacing, and frame rate conversion.

™

II uses six independent texture units per

™

II incorporates MPEG-2 decoding,

These features make it possible to quickly render 3D graphics,
produce atmospheric effects, calculate light and color shading,
and determine which objects are in the foreground and which
are in the background.

RADEON

8500 MAC EDITION only displays 3D graphics in
thousands and millions of colors. When you use 256 colors,
there are too few colors to display comple x 3D textures, so 3D
acceleration is not supported.

You can use the 3D Memory Monitor in the ATI Displays
control panel to see how memory on your

EDITION

is allocated when displaying 3D graphics. This allows

RADEON 8500 MAC

you to optimize 3D performance.

NOTE

The 3D Memory Monitor is only supported in Mac OS 9.

Page 9

ATI Displays Control Panel For Mac OS 9

The ATI Displays control panel provides access to the advanced
features that RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION has to offer. To
open the ATI Displays control panel, choose Control Panels
from the Apple menu, then choose ATI Displays, or choose A TI
Displays from the ATI Config Menu from the menu bar.

For detailed instructions on how to set up and use these features,
please refer to the ATI Guide/ATI Help, which can be accessed
through the ATI Displays control panel.

Status Area

Look in the Status Area to determine your current monitor,
screen resolution, and color depth. To change display settings
use the Monitors feature to open the Monitors control panel.
You can also change the monitor depth and resolutions at any
time using the Apple control strip, if installed.

Page 10

Identify Displays

If you have more than one display connected to your computer,
you can identify and configure each display. The ATI Displays
control panel identifies all the displays connected to your
computer, but only configures displays that are connected to
ATI cards.

If you are using multiple monitors and using one display with
the built-in video, or a non-ATI video card, a generic video card
icon is displayed in the ATI Displays control panel. You cannot

make any changes to the generic video card using ATI Displays.

Display Details

The Details window gives you information about specific
software components needed to enable each of

MAC EDITION

’s features. Check the Details window to

RADEON 8500

determine the files and version numbers of the software
components installed in your System Folder during the
installation process. Using the pull-down menu, the Details
window also lists the Mac OS multimedia software required for

RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION, such as QuickDraw 3D and

OpenGL.

Page 11

NOTE

Monitors

The Monitors feature provides access to the standard Mac OS
Monitors control panel. You can use the Monitors control panel
to select color depths and resolutions, and set up multiple
monitors. For more information on the Monitors control panel
refer to the Mac OS Guide that comes with your com puter.

Keyboard Shortcuts

This feature allows you to use a pop-up menu to change your
desktop settings without exiting your current application. You
can configure, enable or disable shortcut features when you
click the Shortcut icon in the control panel.

The ATI Popup Menu only displays the recommended modes
available for the attached monitor(s). Additional modes may be
accessed through the Monitors control panel or the Control
Strip.

Different ATI video cards offer distinct keyboard shortcut
options, so not all shortcuts appear for every ATI product.

Popup Menu and Hot Keys remain inactive when dialogs
appear on the screen. For example, while using the Monitors
control panel, the Popup Menu and Hot Keys are disabled.

Page 12

NOTE

VGA Monitors

If you have a non -DDC-compli ant VGA monitor connected to
your

RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION, the V G A ico n may be

active. Some VGA monitors use a Display Data Channel (DDC).
You do not have to d o an yth ing e xt ra to select t he support ed
resolutions.

Your

RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION uses the DDC information to

automatically provide the supported reso lutio ns in the Moni tors
control panel and the Control Strip. If your VG A monitor doesn’ t
use DDC, the VGA Monitors icon is activ e , and y ou can use i t t o
select your monitor from a list of standard monitor s.

If the VGA icon is dimmed, your computer has detected a DDC
compliant VGA monitor connected to your

EDITION

. You do not have to make a selection.

RADEON 8500 MAC

To Select a VGA Monitor

Select VGA Monitors from the ATI Displays control panel

1

NOTE

Select your VGA model from the list of monitors in the left

2

panel of the VGA Monitors dialog box
A list of resolutions supported by you r VGA monitor

appears in the right panel of the VGA Monito rs dialog b ox.

You cannot select the monitor resolution using the
VGA Mon itors dialog box. You must use the standard Mac OS
Monitors control panel.

Page 13

3D Memory Monitor

The 3D Memory Monitor shows how available memory in the
accelerator card is allocated when displaying 3D graphics.

Using the 3D Memory Monitor

When you open 3D graphics on your Mac OS computer, run the
3D Memory Monitor to see ho w your RADEON
EDITION

has allocated 3D memory.

8500 MAC

To open the 3D Memory Monitor

Choose Control Panels from the Apple Menu, or choose ATI

1

Displays from the ATI Config Menu and skip to step 3
Select ATI Displays

2

Click on the 3D Memory icon

3

The 3D Memory Monitor shows you how the video memory on
your RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION is allocated between
display, textures, and buffers.

Page 14

Display

The Screen bar indicates the amount of graphics memory is
allocated to the display’s resolution and color depth. The
Desktop Pattern bar indicates the amount of memory used by
your desktop pattern.

To reduce the memory allocated to Di splay memory:

• change the color depth from millions to thousands

• decrease your screen resolution

Textures

The Texture bar indicates the number and size of texture maps
loaded by 3D applications to add realism to 3D models and
environments. The Bitmap bar indicates the memory allocated
to non-3D elements like 2D graphics. To reduce the memory
allocated to Texture memory, reduce the amount of textures in
your 3D graphics.

Buffers

The Back Buffer bar and the Z-buffer bar are directly related
to the size of the 3D window.

To reduce the memory allocated to Buffer memory:

• reduce the size of the display window containing

3D graphics

• reduce the number of the display windows containing 3D

graphics

Adaptive De-Interlacing

Adaptive de-interlacing smooths moving images captured from
an interlaced source and may improve the quality of DVD
movies.

Page 15

ATI HELP

ATI HELP is an additional source of information when you are
using the ATI Displays control panel.

Access the ATI HELP by clicking on the Apple HELP icon
on the ATI Displays control panel, or the ATI Config Menu.
From the ATI DISPLAYS GUIDE select RADEON then OPEN
RADEON HELP. Finally, select ATI HELP from the HELP
CENTER.

Select a topic from the main ATI HELP window to get detailed
instructions for a specific task. To return to the main ATI HELP
window, click the HOME icon in the upper-left corner of the
HELP window.

Customer Service

You can obtain Customer Service information by clicking the
ATI icon in the ATI Displays control panel. You can also
generate a problem report.

Please refer to the ATI DISPLAYS GU IDE for additional
instructions on generating a problem report.

Page 16

NOTE

Using QuickTime Playback

The RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION’s QuickTime playback
acceleration allows you to stretch even the smallest movies to
full screen size without compromising frame rate or image
quality. RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION’s hardware scaler
maintains the original quality of your QuickTime movie when
scaling to a larger size – even full screen.

When the monitor is set to display in grayscale (Mac OS 9
only), QuickTime movies are not accelerated, nor are they
converted to color. When playing movies in thousands or
millions of colors, the ATI card utilizes the 3D engine’s
capabilities to scale and accelerate playback. When scaling
video, the RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION uses special
hardware techniques (bilinear filtering) to enhance the video
quality instead of just repeating pixels.

To use RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION’s playbac k acceleration,
you must have QuickTi m e version 5.0 or higher instal led on
your computer.

Page 17

Using Mac2TV™ Video Out In Mac OS 9

The RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION’s Mac2TV Video Out
feature allows you to output your computer’s display to your
TV or VCR. Anything you can display on your monitor can be
output to TV.

• View computer output directly on your television with

advanced flicker reduction and artifact suppression

• Connect using Composite or S-Video output capabilities

• RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION provides a big-screen

experience for playing games, giving presentations, and
browsing the Internet

Using RADEON

8500 MAC EDITION’s TV/Video Out

Connector

To output your computer’s display to a TV

Turn off your computer and TV

1

Ensure your RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION is installed

2

correctly
Looking at the back of your Mac, locate your RADEON

3

8500 MAC EDITION
Determine if your TV has an S-Video or Composite video

4

input connection

Page 18

Video Out
Connector

Connector

V i deo Out Adapter

Composite

If your are using S-Vi deo conn ection to the TV, attach one

5

end of an S-Video cable to the S-Video Out connection of
the RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION and the other end to
the S-Video In connector of your TV. If you are using
Composite, connect the supplied Video Out Adapter to the
S-V ideo connector of the RADEON 8500 MA C EDITION.
Then attach one end of your Composite cable to the
Composite connector and the other end to the Composite In
of your TV (see diagram above)

Turn on your TV then your Power Macintosh

6

Page 19

NOTE

Now that you have connected your RADEON 8500 MAC
EDITION to a TV, you need to enable Mac2TV. For more
information, see “Enabling Mac2TV” on page 21.

To connect your computer’s display to a VCR to record to
video tape

Turn off your computer and VCR.

1

Ensure your RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION is installed

2

correctly
Looking at the back of your Mac, locate your RADEON

3

8500 MAC EDITION
Determine if your VCR has an S-Video or Composite video

4

input connection

Video Out
Connector

Connector

Video Out Adapter

Composite

If you are using S-Video attach, one end of an S-Video

5

cable to the S-Video Out conn ector of the RAD EO N 8500
MAC EDITION and the other end to the S-Video In
connector of your VCR. If you are using Composite
connect the supplied Video Out Adapter to the S-Video
connector of the RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION. Then
attach one end of your Composite cable to the Composite
connector and the other end to the Composite In of your
VCR (See diagram above)

6

Page 20

Turn on your VCR, then your Power Macintosh and TV

NOTE

If you are connecting your RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION to a
VCR, make sure that your VCR is connected to a television that
you can use as your computer’s display. For inform ation about
connecting a television to your VCR, see the documentation
supplied with your VCR.

Now that you have connected your RADEON 8500 MAC
EDITION to a VCR, you need to enable Mac2TV.

Enabling Mac2TV

Open the ATI Displays control panel

1

Click on the Mac2TV icon

2

The Video Output will already be set to On (NTSC is the

3

default setting)

4

A TV cannot be left connected to the graphics card if two
analog monitors are connected to the RADEON 8500 MAC

NOTE

EDITION, even if the TV is off and not enabled in the software.

Click OK

Page 21

Changing Display Configurations

Using a TV as your only display

If you are using television display only, disconnect your
monitor from your RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION. The
RADEON

8500 MAC EDITION detects that you have a TV
attached and automatically starts with Mac2TV display enabled.

Optimizing Mac2TV

You can optimize your TV display using the video out
preferences. Viewing images on your TV can be improved by
changing the contrast, brightness, or size of your display.

To set the video out preferences, click the Mac2TV icon on the
ATI Displays Control Panel.

Hue, saturation, and brightness are the three qualities which
constitute what we normally refer to as “color”.

• Hue, often used as a synonym for “color”, is the quality

• Saturation is the amount of color present that distinguishes

• Brightness is related to the amount of light emitted by your

Page 22

that distinguishes among red, green, yellow, and so on

pale or washed-out colors from vivid ones

display or reflected from an object

Hue is generally not adjusted. Depending on the TV, however,
it may be necessary or desirable to adjust the hue to
approximate the monitor’s display.

Anti-Flicker reduces the amount of display flick e r. Display
flicker is both a distraction and tiring to your eyes, and is most
pronounced when text is being displayed.

Dot Crawl is an undesirable characteristic of many Composite
televisions that is seen as thin, jagged edges moving around
objects on the screen. It is especially useful for viewing pictures
or stills. S-Video equipment does not exhibit this effect.

Contrast is a ratio of how far the whitest whites are from the
blackest blacks. If the contrast is too high, the image may look
stark, like pure white squares on a jet-black background. If the
contrast is too low, the image may look gray or washed out.

Reducing Edge Distortion

When using a television for your display, you may see some
edge distortion on the left and right side of your television
screen. This effect depends on your television and the
application you are running.

To reduce edge distortion, you can:

• increase the horizontal size by clicking the right Size arrow,

or

• reduce the brightness by adjusting the brightness slider.

Viewing Text on Television

Due to the different technology used in the manufacturing of
televisions and monitors, standard text may look too small on
your television. You can compensate for this by using larger
fonts.

Page 23

To change your font size in Mac OS 9

Click the Apple menu

1

Select Control Panels

2

Select Views

3

Choose a larger font size

4

To change your font size in Mac OS X

Click the Apple menu

1

Select System Preferences

2

Select General

3

Choose a larger font size

4

Page 24

ATI Displays Control Panel for Mac OS X

The ATI Displays control panel provides access to the advanced
features that RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION has to offer. To
open the ATI Displays control panel:

1 Click on the Hard Disk icon

2 Click on Applications folder
3 Click on Utilities folder
4 Click on ATI Utilities fold er
5 Double-click on ATI Displays

For detailed instructions on how to set up and use these features,
please refer to ATI Help, which can be accessed through the
ATI Displays control panel.

The Display Info dialog presents the current settings of your
monitor. The Profile dialog presents information on the specific
RADEON graphics card and video driver installed in your
computer. Even if the ATI Displays cannot identify your ATI
product it will still provide display configuration, driver version
and other related information. A warning dialog will display if
no ATI product is installed in your computer.

The Support dialog provides an internet link to the ATI
Technologies’ website.

Page 25

Adaptive de-interlacing

Adaptive de-interlacing smooths moving images captured from
an interlaced source and may improve the quality of DVD
movies.

ATI Displays Preferences

From the ATI Displays drop down menu you can set the
Preferences for the ATI Displays control panel. Here you can
configure how the ATI Displays control panel starts and exits.

ATI HELP

ATI HELP is an additional source of information when you are
using the ATI Displays control panel. To access the ATI HELP,
click on the icon on the ATI Displays control panel.

Select a topic from the main ATI HELP window to get detailed
instructions for a specific task.

Page 26

Using Mac2TV™ Video Out In Mac OS X

To connect your TV to the RADEON 8500 see “To output your

computer’s display to a TV” on page 18.

Enabling Mac2TV

Open the ATI Displays control panel. The T ele vision dialog

1

will open automatically on the TV. This default can be
changed in the ATI Displays Preferences. For more
information see “ATI Displays Preferences” on page 26

Click on the TV button (NTSC is the default setting)

2

A TV cannot be left connected to the graphics card if two

NOTE

analog monitors are connected to the RADEON 8500 MAC
EDITION, even if the TV is off and not enabled in the software.

To optimize your TV display see “Optimizing Mac2TV” on

page 22.

Page 27

Using Digital Flat Panel (DVI-I)

RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION’s DVI-I support feature
allows you to output your computer’s display to your DVI-I
digital flat panel, providing you with:

• Crisper, clearer images

• A true flat screen

• Virtually no eye strain from prolonged viewing

Using RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION DVI-I Connector

Your RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION includes support for
DVI-I. You can use this feature to connect your RADEON 8500
MAC EDITION to a digital flat panel display.

To output your computer’s display to a D V I-I digital flat
panel:

Turn off your computer and DVI-I flat panel

1

Ensure your RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION is installed

2

correctly
Looking at the back of your Mac, locate your RADEON

3

8500 MAC EDITION
Locate the DVI-I connector on your DVI-I flat panel

4

Attach one end of your DVI-I cable to the DVI-I connector

5

on your RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION and the other end
to the DVI-I connector on your DVI-I fl at panel

DVI-I Connector

DVI-I Cable

Page 28

NOTE

Turn on your DVI-I flat panel and your Mac

6

A third party adapter is req uired to support Apple branded
digital flat panels with an ADC connector.

Page 29

Page 30

A

Specifications

Video Mode Table

The video mode table below lists the color depth capabilities for
the supported resolutions on your RADEON 8500 MAC
EDITION.

Please consult your monitor’ s specif ications to determine which
resolutions are available with your display.

Supported VESA/VGA 2D Modes

Display

Resolution

640 x 480

800 x 600

832 x 624 75 77.16

V ertical Refresh HzHorizontal

Refresh kHz

60 31.48
67 35
72 37.50
75 37.50
85 43.27

90 45.54
100 50.89
120 61.79

56 35.16

60 37.85

72 48.08

75 46.88

85 53.67

90 56.88
100 63.60
120 77.16

Page 31

Display

Resolution

V ertical Refresh HzHorizontal

Refresh kHz

60 48.36

70 56.48

75 60.24

1024 x 768

85 68.68

90 72.81
100 81.40
120 98.76

1152 x 870 75 68.68
1280 x 960 75 75.00

60 63.98

1280 x 1024

75 79.98

85 91.38

1600 x 1024 76 81.32

60 75.00

65 81.25

1600 x 1200

70 87.50

75 93.75

85 106.25

60 83.64

1792 x 1344

75 106.27

60 86.33

1856 x1392

75 112.50

60 67.50

1920 x 1080

72 84.38

1920 x 1200 76 95.00
1920 x 1440 60 90.00

60 95.34

2048 x 1536

75 74

Page 32

TV Resolutions

Hz

TV Resolution NTSC PAL

640 x 480 60 50
720 x 480 60
720 x 576 50
768 x 576 50
800 x 600 60 50

Digital Flat Panel

Possible resolution and refresh rate

NOTE

TMDS

Frequency

165MHz 1600 x 1200 60
140MHz 1200 x 1024 75

125Mhz 1200 x 1024 60

Resolution Freq Hz

Maximum digital transmission frequency of the RADEON 8500
MAC EDITION is a function of the receiver type in the
attached flat panel display. With some TMDS receivers the
frequency can be lower than the maximum 165MHz capability.
For more information please refer to the specifications of your
Digital Flat Panel display.

The RADEON 8500 MAC EDITION has been used successfully,
without modification, set as high as 3840 x 2400 resolution at
15Hz on Digital Flat Panels that support this resolution.

Page 33

Specifications

System Requirements

• Power Macintosh computer with an AGP expansion slot

Operating System

• Mac OS 9.2.1 or Mac OS X version 10.1 or higher

• QuickTime version 5.0 or higher

• Apple OpenGL 1.2.2 or higher

Graphics Controller

• ATI RADEON 8500 — graphics and multimedia
accelerator chip

Video Display Buffer

• 64MB memory

• 256-bit memory interface

Bus

• AGP 2X and 4X

Sync Signals

• Separate horizontal and vertical sync at TTL levels

• Composite sync at TTL levels

Video Memory Address

• Supports 64MB relocatable memory aperture

Page 34

Display Connector

• DVI-I connector
VGA Connector - Standard VGA

Multi-frequency Apple Monitors with Apple connectors are
supported using the Apple-to-VGA video adapter.

• S-Video Out (Composite Out adapter included)

Video Interrupt

• PCI interrupt request enabled; interrupt is auto-configured
by system

Power

• +5V %, @ 1.3A typical

5±

Environment

• Ambient Temperature: 50° to 122° F (10° to 50° C)
operation. 32° to 162° F (0° to 70° C) storage

• Relative Humidity: 5% to 90% non-condensing operation,
0% to 95% storage

MTBF

• 120,000 hours

EMC Certification

•FCC Class B

Safety

• PCB made from UL-listed flame retardant material

Page 35

Page 36

-

B

Compliance Information

FCC Compliance Information

This device is in conformity with part 15 of the FCC Rules.
Operation of this product is subject to the following two
conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference received, including
interference that may cause undesired operation.

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits
are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference in a residential installation.

This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy
and, if not installed and used in accordance with manufacturer's
instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarante e tha t inte rfe rence will not occur in a
particular installation.

If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television
reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and
on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or
more of the following measures:

• Re-orient or relocate the receiving antenna

• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver

• Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that
to which the receiver is connected

Page 37

• Consult the dealer or an experienced technician for help

• The use of shielded cables for connection of the monitor
to the graphics card is required to ensure compliance with
FCC regulations

• Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly
approved by the party responsible for compliance could
void the user's authority to operate this equipment

Industry Canada Compliance Statement

ICES-003 This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the
Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations.

Cet appareil numérique de la Classe B Respecte toutes les exigences du
Règlement sur le matérial brouiller du Canada.

CE Compliance Information

EMC Directive 89/336/EEC, Amendments 92/31/EEC and 93/68/EEC,
for Class B Digital Device.

EN 55022/CISPR 22, Information Technology Equipment - Radio
Disturbance Characteristics - Limits and Methods of Measurement.

Warning: This is a Class B product. In a domestic environment this
product may cause radio interference in which case the user may be
required to take adequate measures.

EN 55024/CISPR 24, Information Technology Equipment - Immunity
Characteristics -Limits and Methods of Measurements (EN 61000-4-2,
EN 61000 -4-3, ENV 50204, EN 61000-4-6).

Directive EMC 89/336/CEE et amendement 92/31/EEC et 93/68/EEC,
pour le dispositif de la Classe B Digital.

EN 55022/CISPR 22, matériel de technologie de l'information -
caractéristiques par radio de perturbation - limites et méthodes
d’avertissement de mesure.

Mise en garde: ceci est un produit de Classe B. Il risque produire des
interférences radiophoniques dans un environnement domestique
auquel cas l'utilisateur peut se voir demandé de prendre des mesures
adéquates.

EN 50024/CISPR 24, matériel de technologie de l'information ­caractéristiques d’immunité - limites et méthodes de directive de basse
tension de la mesure (EN 61000-4-2, EN 61000 -4-3, ENV 50204, EN

Page 38

61000-4-6).
EMC Richtlinie 89/336/EEC und Änderung 92/31/EEC und 93/68/

EEC, für Einheit der Kategorie B Digitales.
EN 55022/CISPR 22, Informationstechnologieausrüstung -

Radiostörung Eigenschafen - Begrenzungen und Methoden von
Messen.

Warnung: Dies ist ein Erzeugnis der Klasse B. Dieses Erzeugnis kann
Funkstörungen im Wohnbereich verursachen; in diesem Fall können
entsprechende Maßnahmen seitens des Benutzers erfor d erlich sein.

EN 55024/CISPR 24, Informationstechnologieausrüstung ­Immunitäteigenschaften - Begrunzungen und Methoden der Richtlinie
Neiderspannung des Messens (EN 61000-4-2, EN 61000 -4-3, ENV
50204, EN 61000-4-6).

Page 39

Page 40

C

Alpha blending When an image has an alpha value for each pixel, this

Anti-aliasing Method used to remove the jagginess of an image.

Back buffer A type of offscreen memory used to provide smooth

Glossary

tells how much to blend the colors from the image with
the background colors. The lower the alpha values the
more transparent the image looks.

When anti-aliasing is used, the edges of an image appear
smooth and usually somewhat blurry.

video and 2D graphics acceleration. This technique uses
two frame buffers, often referred to as “double­buffering”. While one buffer is being displayed, a
second buffer of the same size, the “back” buffer, holds
the frame being worked on.

Once a new frame is ready in the back buf fer it is copied
to the front buffer - the display screen. In this way, you
will only see complete, smooth frames, and not the
operations performed on them.

In order to increase performance, all memory used for
back buffers are on your ATI graphics accelerator card.

Bilinear Filtering When texture mapping is performed an image can

become very “blocky” or “pixelated” when the te xture is
viewed close up. Bilinear filtering samples four texture
pixels, takes the weighted average of these pixels and
applies the average of these “tex els”. This blended color
is used to provide a smoother looking texture.

Bitmap A bitmap is a graphics or character representation

composed of individual pixels, arranged horizontally in
rows. A monochrome bitmap uses one bit per pixel
(bpp). Color bitmaps may use up to 32-bpp, depending
on the number of colors desired.

Buffers Your ATI accelerator card includes on-board memory

which is used in a number of ways. Buffers are portions
of this memory used as temporary storage on your card.
One large buf fer is always used to display the screen you
see; this is the “display buffer”. The rest of offscreen
memory is used by applications as back b u ffers,
z-buffers, and texture buffers.

Page 41

CHARISMA
ENGINE

™

II

Supports transforms, clipping and lighting at 62.5
million triangles per second at peak processing
capability.

Color Depth Color depth is the number of color shades available on

your display. The color depth of your monitor usually
includes; 256 colors (8-bpp), Thousands of colors
(16-bpp), and Millions of colors (32-bpp), and is also
measured in bits per pixel (bpp). You can switch your
color depth using the A TI Popup Menu, Apple’s Control
Strip, or the Monitors control panel. Higher bit-depths
require more display buffer memory.

Note: The ATI 3D Accelerator only functions in
Thousands and Millions of colors modes.

Fog The blending of an object with a fixed color as objects

or pixels increase distance away from the viewer.

Frame Buffer Memory buffer used to store the image being displayed.
Gouraud Shading One of the more sophisticated shading methods used to

produce a smooth lighting effect across a 3D object. A
specific color is used at each vertice of a triangle or
polygon, and interpolated across the entire face.

HYPER Z

™

II A memory bandwidth saving technology that boosts

rendering performance.

MIP Map Multum In Parvum (Latin) means “many in one.” It is a

method of increasing quality of a texture map by storing
multiple resolutions of the same image and dynamically
switching between them depending on the size and
depth of the object being textured.

Offscreen Memory An area of memory used to preload and place images so

that they can be quickly drawn on the screen. Offscreen
memory refers to all the memory on your ATI
accelerator card that is not taken up by the front buffer,
which holds the display screen that you see.

Pixel, Pel Picture element. Smallest addressable area of the

computer screen. Pixels on computer displays are
square; pixels on NTSC televisions have a 4:3 aspect
ratio.

PIXEL
TAPESTRY

™

II

A 3D rendering engine which uses four rendering
pipelines to process 2 gigatexels per second for high fill
rates in 32-bit color at high resolutions.

Page 42

Refresh Rate Also referred to as “vertical refresh rate”. The rate at

which a monitor or television can redraw the screen
from top to bottom. NTSC television systems have a
refresh rate of approximately 60 Hz (but only draw one­half of the video frame in one pass); computer displays
typically have refresh rates of 75 Hz or more. At a
refresh rate of 70 Hz and lower, screen flicker is often
noticeable.

SMARTSHADER
II

™

An advanced programmable pixel and vertex shader
technology which delivers complex and realistic
textures and lighting without slowing performance.

SMOOTHVISION
II

™

Full Screen Anti-Aliasing technology designed to
minimize jagged edges resulting in smooth images.

Specular Highlight The bright, usually small, intense light reflected from a

3-D surface with a high refraction value.

Texture Mapping Mapping, or placing, an image onto an object. Images of

realistic surfaces are placed on 3D models to create a
richer and more complex visual effect.

Trilinear Filterin g Sampling method used to produce the most realistic

looking 3D objects. Trilinear filtering averages one of
the bilinear filter MIP Map levels along with the
standard MIP Map samples.

TRUFORM

™

II A technology that pre-processes 3D artwork with no

loss in performance.

VIDEO
IMMERSION

™

II

Enables integration of DVD, video playback, and
advanced de-interlacing algorithms.

z-buffer A z-buffer is an area of off-screen memory used to hold

“depth” information. For each dot, or pixel, in the
display buffer, there is a corresponding dot in the
z-buffer which holds the depth (z) value for the display
pixel. The depth data helps the ATI accelerator card
decide what 3D objects are in front of other 3D objects.

The larger the 3D window, the larger the z-buffer is in
memory.

Page 43

Page 44

Index

Numerics

3D Graphics

memory usage 14
supported features 8

3D Memory Monitor

description 14

A

Apple Displays

using DVI adapter 35
using VGA adapter 4, 35

ATI Displays control panel

description 10

ATI Guide

accessing 5, 10, 16, 25, 26
description 16, 26

D

requirements 4, 34

S

Software

3D Memory Monitor 14
ATI Displays 10
ATI Guide 16, 26
requirements 4, 34

T

Troubleshooting

contacting customer support 16
incorrect resolution 13

V

Video Card

features 7
requirements 4, 34
specifications 34

DVI-to-VGA adapter 35

G

Graphic Card

features 7
requirements 4, 34
specifications 34

M

Monitor Resolution

2D video mode table 31
changing, Apple displays 12
changing, VGA displays 12, 13

Q

QuickDraw 3D

supported features 8

QuickTime

Page 45