ATI Technologies 100 437807 - Radeon X1950 Pro HD PCI Express 256MB Video Card, Radeon X1950 Pro User Manual

Radeon® X1950 Pro

User’s Guide

P/N 137-41129-20

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Copyright © 2006, ATI Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.

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change without notice. Product may not be exactly as shown in diagrams.

Reproduction of this manual, or parts thereof, in any form, without the express written permission of ATI
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While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, ATI T echnologie s Inc. assumes
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of the ATI hardware, software, or other products and documentation provided herein.

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Documentation Updates

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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

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• 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.

• 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.

- All card securement pins shall be completely

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Note: This graphics card is for use only with compatible UL Listed
personal computers that have Installation Instructions detailing user
installation of card cage accessories.

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Table of Contents

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

Installing Your Graphics Cards 2

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

Display Configurations 3

Using TV Display and Capture Features . . . . . . . . 7

Using TV Out 7
Connecting to HDTV 9
Using Your ATI HDTV Video Cable 11
Using SCART Connectors for European TVs 11

Capturing Video. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

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Catalyst® Control Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Launching Catalyst® Control Center 19
Help 21
CrossFire™ 22

CrossFire™ FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Welcome to CrossFire™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

CrossFire™ Overview 27
CrossFire™ Rendering Modes 27

Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Troubleshooting 35
Product Registration 39
Customer Care 39
Additional Accessories 40
Compliance Information 41

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Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Getting St arted

Congratulations on the purchase of your ATI Radeon® X1950 Pro graphics
card. We hope that you will enjoy countless hours of trouble-free computing.

System Requirements

1

Hardware

®

Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon®.

• Intel

• 512MB of system memory; 1GB or more for best
performance.

• Optical drive for installation software (CD-ROM or
DVD-ROM drive).

Operating
System

•Windows

•Windows

•Windows

•Windows

®

XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2).

®

XP Professional x64 Edition.

®

2000.

®

Vista Ready.

Monitor • High-resolution MultiSync or multi-frequency monitors

or any other type of VGA monitor.

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

CrossFire™
Requirements

To implement a CrossFire™ system that includes the

®

Radeon

• A CrossFire™ certified motherboard with two (2) PCI

X1950 Pro, the following are required:

®

Express
second Radeon

x16 slots and correct PCIe™ chipset driver. A

®

X1950 Pro graphics card.

• Two CrossFire™ bridge interconnects.

• A specialized PCI Express

®

550 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.

For a list of CrossFire™-certified motherboards and power
supplies, click to

ati.com/crossfire.

External Connections

• Dual-link DVI-I output

• Dual-link DVI-I output

•S-video

2 Installing Your Graphics Cards

Installing Your Graphics Cards

The instructions that follow assume that the Radeon®X1900 family
CrossFire™-ready graphics card has already been successfully installed. If
you have not already done so, see the Getting Started Guide that came with

the graphics card for installation instructi on s.

Consult your system builder or OEM to ensure that your system has an

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adequate power supply. A 550 watt or greater power supply is
recommended. Consult your computer system manual to verify that the
power supply is designed to accommodate a high-end graphics card with
a peak dissipation above 75 watts.

For a list of compatible power supplies and the latest information, consult the
CrossFire™ Web site at:

ati.com/crossfire

Display Configurations 3

Using Multiple Displays

Display Configurations

To ensure the highest possible performance, only one display device is
supported when CrossFire™ is active. When CrossFire™ is active other
display devices connected to the other DVI connections on both graphics
cards are rendered inactive.

If additional displays are required when CrossFire™ is active, please use
either SurroundView™ (for more information see the SurroundView™
manual) or an additional PCI graphics card.

Your Radeon
DVI-I monitors and a VGA monitor using the supplied DVI-I-to-VGA
adapter. It also provides TV output via the S-video connection in composite,
S-video, and component TV formats.

The following table shows display configurations availabl e when CrossFire™
is not enabled.

®

X1950 Pro graphics card provides hardware support for two

Display
Configuration

Single CRT
display

Single DFP
display

Single TV S-video out The S-video out can also support a

Single HDTV
display

Connector(s)
Used

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

DVI-I connector DFP - digital flat panel display.

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

4 Display Configurations

Display
Configuration

CRT display +
HDTV

DFP display + TVDVI-I connector +

DFP display +
HDTV

CRT display +
DFP display

CRT display +
CRT display

CRT display +
DFP display +
TV

Connector(s)
Used

DVI-I connector
with DVI-I to VGA
adapter + S-video
out to HDTV
(YPrPb) cable

S-video out
DVI-I connector +

S-Video Out to
HDTV (YPrPb)
cable

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

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

DVI-I connector
with DVI-I to VGA
adapter + DVI-I
connector + S­Video Out

Comments

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

CRT display +
DFP display +
HDTV

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

Connecting Your Monitors

Display Configurations 5

Connections and Adapters for the Radeon® X1950 Pro Card
1 Standard VGA Monitor Connector. To connect a VGA monitor

to the DVI-I connection plug the supplied DVI-I-to-VGA adapter
into the DVI-I connector, then plug your monitor cable into the
adapter.

2 DVI-I-to-VGA Adapter.
3 DVI-I Connection. To connect a digital display.

Note: If you use multiple graphics cards, the Radeon® X1950 Pro card
must be the primary graphics card. Normally, the system BIOS
determines which graphics card will be the primary.

Note: Both DVI-I connections are dual-link.

6 Display Configurations

Note: Some Radeon®X1900 graphics cards have one DVI-I connector
and one VGA connector.

To connect your monitors

1 Power off your computer and monitors.
2 Plug the monitor cables into their appropriate connectors.
3 Power on your monitors first, and then restart your comp uter 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

X1950 Pro card.

To set up a multi-monitor display

1 From the Start button click Control Panel, then Display. Click the

Settings tab to access the basic multi-monitor configuration settings.

®

Note: ATI provides Catalyst
many additional configuration features. It can be accessed by clicking
the Advanced button from the Display Properties > Settings tab.

Control Center software that provides

2 Select the Monitor icon identified by the number 2.
3 Click Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor.
4 Set the Screen Resolution and Color Quality as appropriate for the

second monitor. Click Apply or OK to apply these new values.

®

• Refer to your Windows

information on using the Settings tab.

Note: When you use multiple monitors with your card, one monitor will
always be Primary. Any additional monitors will be designated as
Secondary.

online help and documentation for further

Using TV Out 7

Using TV Display and Capture Features

This chapter describes how to use the TV display and video capture

®

features of your Radeon

Using TV Out

Your Radeon® X1950 Pro has TV Out capability.

Viewing Your PC Display on a TV

You can attach your Radeon® X1950 Pro to a TV and a monitor at the same
time. You can also connect it to your VCR and record your monitor’s
display.

Note: A TV can only be connected to one DVI connector.

X1950 Pro card.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION for European Customers

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Some PC monitors in Europe cannot be used simultaneously with TV
display. When you enable TV display in Europe, the refresh rate for the
monitor and TV is set to 50 Hz. Some monitors may not support this
refresh rate and could be damaged.

• Please check the documentation supplied with your monitor to see if
your monitor supports a refresh rate of 50 Hz.

• If your monitor does not support 50 Hz (or if you are not sure), turn off
your monitor before turning on your PC when using your TV as a
display.

TV-out display is ideal for giving presentations and watching movies, or
playing games on a screen larger than a typical monitor. The following tips
will help you get the most out of your TV Out feature.

Connecting to a TV or VCR

To connect your Radeon® X1950 Pro card to a TV or VCR, use an S-video
cable. Many TVs (and VCRs) have a composite video input, in which case
you can use the supplied S-video-to-composite video adapter. If your TV
has cable input only, you can connect your graphics card to your TV
through your VCR or an RF modulator that is available from most
electronics stores.

8 Using TV Out

To connect S-video Out

1 Power off your computer and your TV (or VCR).
2 Determine if your TV (or VCR) supports either an S-video or

composite video connection.

3 Looking at the back of your PC, locate your S-video out. Using an S-

video cable or the supplied adapter cable, attach one end of the cable
to your graphics card and the other to your TV (or VCR). Refer to the
illustration.

4 Power on your TV (or VCR) first, then your computer.

Connecting Your S-Video Out to a TV or VCR
1 S-video connection on graphics card
2 TV or VCR
3 S-video cable (with or without S-video-to-composite adapter)
4 Computer

Using a Monitor vs. Using TV Display

Using your TV for your computer’s display can be useful, however, the
display on your monitor may change or looked squashed. This distortion
occurs because the display adjusts to fit the dimensions of your TV. To
correct the monitor’s display, use the monitor’s control buttons to adjust its
display size and position.

Connecting to HDTV 9

Some single-frequency monitors may not work with TV display enabled. If
you experience problems when TV display is enabled, disable TV display
to restore your monitor’s display.

Viewing Text on a TV

A TV is designed primarily to show moving images. The large dot pitch of
a TV will yield poor quality static images. The small text sizes commonly
used for PC desktops can appear blurred or unclear on a TV. You can
compensate for this degradation by using larger fonts.

Using a TV as the Only Display

If you plan to move your computer to a place where you are using TV
display only, make sure that you have the TV display feature enabled prior
to removing the monitor.

The maximum display resolution for TV is 1024 x 768. Choosing a
resolution higher than this will cause the TV display to disappear if it is the
only display device.

Using Games and Applications

Some older games and applicati ons may program your Radeon® X1950 Pro
directly to run under a specific display mode. This may cause your TV
display to turn off automatically or become scrambled (your PC monitor or
portable LCD display will not be affected). Your TV display will be
restored once you exit the game or if you restart your computer.

Connecting to HDTV

View computer output directly on your High Definition Television
(HDTV) or other component input device. Provide a big-screen experience
for your computer that is ideal for playing games, giving presentations,
watching movies, and browsing the Internet.

HDTV uses YPbPr connectors to receive input. YPbPr stands for the
following:

• Y = Green

• Pb = Blue

•Pr = Red

10 Connecting to HDTV

The HDTV Component Video Adapter can be used in place of the standard A/
V Output cable to connect to an HDTV or other component input device,
using component video cables.

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You must have a monitor attached to your computer before installing
the ATI HDTV. For proper operation of your ATI Component Video
Adapter, ATI display drivers must be correctly installed.

ATI HDTV Cable
1 ATI HDTV Video Output Cable
2 Backplate of the ATI Graphics Card
3 Male RCA Patch Cables – available from consumer electronics dealer
4 Typical HDTV Video Input Connections

Note: Input and output cable lengths should not exceed 50 feet (15m).

Using Your ATI HDTV Video Cable 11

Installing your ATI HDTV video cable

1 Turn on your component input device, and set it to YPbPr input.

Note: See your HDTV or component input device manual for
configuration information specific to your device.

2 Turn on your computer.

Note: Your TV will not display anything until W indows starts. This can
take several minutes.

Using Your ATI HDTV Video Cable

Use the HDTV Video Cable to watch DVD movies and play video games on
your High Definition Television.

Copy-protected DVDs restrict playback to 480i and 480p modes.

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For maximum performance when you watch DVD movies or play computer
games on your HDTV, you should find the mode and screen resolution that
provide the best result on your TV, and use those settings exclusively.

Using SCART Connectors for European
TVs

The SCART connector supports only the composite video format, which
means you must use an S-video-to-composite video adapter cable if your
European TV does not support S-video.

If your European TV has S-video in, you can use an S-video cable (available
in most consumer electronic stores) rather than the SCART connector.

The following illustrations show how to connect your PC to a European TV
using a SCART adapter, using either an S-video to composite cable with
adapter, or using a separate S-video to composite adapter, in addition to using
standard audio cables.

12 Using SCART Connectors for European TVs

S-video to composite cable with adapter

S-video to Composite Adapter (Plus Audio Connections)
1 S-video out connection
2 S-video to composite adapter/cable
3 Composite cable
4 SCART adapter
5 Audio mini-jack connection
6 Left and right RCA audio connectors

Using SCART Connectors for European TVs 13

S-video to composite adapter

S-video to Composite Cable Using an Additional Adapter (Plus Audio
Connections)

1 S-video out connection
2 S-video to composite zdapter/cable
3 Composite cable
4 SCART adapter

14 Using SCART Connectors for European TVs

S-video to Composite Cable Using an Additional Adapter (Plus Audio
Connections)

5 Audio mini-jack connection
6 Left and right RCA audio connectors

Capturing Video

The Radeon® X1950 Pro can capture video from your camcorder, VCR, or
TV. Use your favorite video editing application to add effects, make changes,
or stream your video on the Internet.

The audio and video output connectors on your TV, camcorder, or VCR will
be similar to those depicted in the illustration. Use composite video out or
S-video out. S-video out will provide better results.

15

Connecting Your Video Device to Your Radeon® X1950 Pro Card

A

B

X

Composite in and out connectors.

S-video in and out connectors. Recommended connector for
best picture quality.

ATI graphics card.

16

Y

Z

[

Video in/video out cable.

Typical video in of TV, VCR, or camcorder connections.

Typical video out of TV, VCR, or camcorder connections.

Connecting your media device for video capture

Use a video in/video out cable to connect the S-video connection on your

®

Radeon
camcorder.

To capture video to your computer

1 Connect the ATI video in/video out cable to the video in/video out

2 Connect the video in of the A TI video in\video out cable to the video out

3 Start your video capture software in record mode. For more information

X1950 Pro graphics card to the S-video connection a TV, VCR, or

connection on the ATI graphics adapter.

of your media device.
Note: S-video and composite extension cables are available from a

consumer electronics dealer

see the documentation that came with your video capture software.

4 Power on your TV or hit Play on your TV or VCR.

Note: To capture sound, you must connect the line out port of your
media device to the line in port of your sound card. Audio cables are
available from consumer electronics dealers.

Setting the Windows® Volume Control

For correct audio performance, your sound card’s line input must be active.

To display the Line Input setting s

1 Right-click the Speaker icon in the Taskbar, which is usually in the

lower-right corner of your screen.

17

If the volume icon is not in your Taskbar, do the following:

•Click

• Double-click

•In the

Start then click Control Panel.

Sounds and Audio Devices.

Volume tab, check Place volume icon in the taskbar.

2 Click Open Volume Controls.
3 If the Line-In volume slider is not visible, click Options then click

Properties.

4 Click the Line-In volume control checkbox then click OK. If the Mute

checkbox is checked, click it to cancel muting.