Gigabyte Dual GeForce 6800 GT User Manual

Copyright

© 2005 GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD

Copyright by GIGA-BYTE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. ("GBT"). No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in

any form without the expressed, written permission of GBT.

Trademarks

Third-party brands and names are the property of their respective owners.

Notice

Please do not remove any labels on VGA card, this may void the warranty of this VGA card.

Due to rapid change in technology, some of the specifications might be out of date before publication of this booklet.

The author assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions that may appear in this document nor does the author make

a commitment to update the information contained herein.

GV-3D1-68GT

User's Manual

Dual GeForce™ 6800 GT Graphics Accelerator

Rev. 101
12MD-3D168GT-101R

GV-3D1-68GT Graphics Accelerator

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 3

1.1. Features ..................................................................................................... 3

1.2. Minimum system requirement ....................................................................... 3

2. Hardware Installation ........................................................................... 4

2.1. Board layout ............................................................................................... 4

2.2. Hardware installation ................................................................................... 6

3. Software Installation ............................................................................8

3.1. Win® XP driver and utilities installation .......................................................... 8

3.1.1. Operating system requirement ..................................................................................... 8

3.1.2. DirectX installation .......................................................................................................... 9

3.1.3. Driver installation ........................................................................................................... 11

3.1.4. Enabling the dual GeForce 6800 GT GPUs .............................................................. 13

3.1.5. Utilities on driver CD .................................................................................................... 14

3.1.6. Taskbar icon ................................................................................................................. 16

3.1.7. Display properties pages ............................................................................................. 19

3.1.8. nView properties pages ............................................................................................... 23

3.2. Win® 2000 driver installation ...................................................................... 28

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

5. Appendix .......................................................................................... 30

5.1. How to Reflash the BIOS ........................................................................... 30

5.1.1. Reflash BIOS in MS-DOS mode ................................................................................. 30

5.1.2. Reflash BIOS in Windows mode ................................................................................ 30

5.2. Resolutions and color depth table (In Windows® XP) .................................. 31

Introduction- 3 -

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1. Introduction

1.1. Features

Powered by dual NVIDIA® GeForce™ 6800 GT Graphics Processing Units (GPUs)

(To enable the dual 6800 GT GPUs, please check Page 6~8 for hardware

settings and Page 13 for software settings. )

Supports the newest PCI Express x 16

Integrated with 512MB DDRIII memory

Supports DirectX 9.0c

Supports TV-Out connector

Supports D-Sub (by adapter) and DVI-I connector

1.2. Minimum system requirement

IBM® or 100% PC compatible with Pentium® III 650MHz or AMD Athlon 650MHz

class processor or higher

One PCI Express x 16 slot

Operating Systems Win® 2000 / Win® XP

64MB system memory

50MB of available disk space for full installation

CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive

• Minimum power supply 500W

Important The GV-3D1-68GT graphics card can only work with GIGABYTE’s K8/P4 SLI
motherboards that are based on NVIDIA's chipset.

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2. Hardware Installation

2.1. Board Layout

TV-Out

DVI-I Connector 2

DVI-I Connector 1

TV-out

DVI-I

Connector 2

DVI-I

Connector 1

NTSC / PAL TV

Projector

AV Output

S-VideoOutput

Analog LCD Monitor

Digital LCD Monitor

DVI Output

VGA Output

DVI-I to D-Sub Adapter

Hardware Installation- 5 -

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Expansion cards contain very delicate Integrated Circuit (IC) chips. To

protect them against damage from static electricity, you should follow

some precautions whenever you work on your computer.

1. Turn off your computer and unplug power supply.

2. Use a grounded wrist strap before handling computer components. If you do not

have one, touch both of your hands to a safely grounded object or to a metal object,

such as the power supply case.

3. Place components on a grounded antistatic pad or on the bag that came with the

components whenever the components are separated from the system.

The card contains sensitive electric components, which can be easily damaged by

static electricity, so the card should be left in its original packing until it is installed.

Unpacking and installation should be done on a grounded anti-static mat. The operator

should be wearing an anti-static wristband, grounded at the same point as the anti-

static mat.

Inspect the card carton for obvious damage. Shipping and handling may cause damage

to your card. Be sure there are no shipping and handling damages on the card before

proceeding.

DO NOT APPLY POWER TO YOUR SYSTEM IF IT HAS BEEN DAMAGED ON

THE CARD.

In order to ensure your graphics card working correctly, please use official

Gigabyte BIOS only. Use none official Gigabyte BIOS might cause problem

on the graphics card.

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2.2. Hardware installation

Now that you have prepared your computer, you are ready to install your graphics card.

To remove the existing graphics card:

1. Power off the computer and monitor, then

disconnect the display cable from the back

of your computer.

2. Remove the computer cover. If necessary,

consult your computer's manual for help

in removing the cover.

3. Remove any existing graphics card from

your computer.

Or, if your computer has any on-board

graphics capability, you may need to

disable it on the motherboard. For more

information, please see you computer

documentation.

To install your new graphics card:

1. Remove the graphics card from its anti-static

package. Set the dip switch located in the

lower left corner on the back of the graphics

card.

1

2

OFF: Single-GPU mode

1

2

ON: Dual-GPU mode

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2. Locate the PCI Express x 16 slot. If
necessary, remove the metal cover from this

slot; then align your graphics card with the

PCI Express x 16 slot, and press it in firmly

until the card is fully seated.

Before installing the GV-3D1-68GT on GIGABYTE's K8 or P4 motherboard based
on NVIDIA's SLI chipset, read the following hardware setting directions:

1. On a K8 SLI motherboard, set the SLI switch module to Normal Mode. (Refer to
motherboard user's manual.)

2. On a P4 SLI motherboard, set the SLI switch module to 3D1 mode. (Refer to
motherboard user's manual.)

4. Replace the screw to fasten the card in place,
and replace the computer cover.

After installation, you must connect
the power cable to your
GV-3D1-68GT graphics card
(connect the black power
connector to the graphics card
and both of the two white power
connectors to the power supply),
or system will not boot.

3. If you wish to use the Quad View (multiple­monitor output) function, please install the in­cluded Dual D-Sub bracket. Connect the
white connector of the bracket to the J13
header on the graphics card. Secure the
bracket to the chassis back panel with a screw.

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You are now ready to proceed with the installation of the graphics card driver. Please
refer to next chapter for detailed instructions.

5. Plug the display cable into your graphics
card; then turn on the computer and monitor.
To connect a flat panel directly to your graphics
card, use the DVI-I connector. To connect a
VGA monitor to the DVI-I connector, plug the
DVI-I to D-sub adapter into the DVI-I
connector, then plug the monitor cable into
the adapter.

To Flat Panel Display

To TV or VCR

Connect a VGA monitor via DVI-I to D-sub adapter

Connect a flat panel

3. Software Installation

In this manual, we assume that your CD-ROM Drive letter to be Drive D:

The installation of Win® 2000 / Win® XP drivers is very simple. When you insert the driver CD
into your CD-ROM drive, you can see the AUTORUN window (if it does not show up, run
"D:\setup.exe"). Then you can follow the guides to setup your graphics card driver. (Please
follow the subsection 3.1.3 "Driver installation" to install the driver for your graphics
accelerator.)

3.1. Win® XP driver and utilities installation

3.1.1. Operating system requirement

• When loading the graphics card drivers for the system, please make sure your system
has installed DirectX 9 or later version.

• If you install the graphics card drivers for the motherboard, which consist of SIS or VIA
chipsets, please install the appropriate driver program for that motherboard. Or please
contact your motherboard nearest dealer for motherboard driver.

Software Installation- 9 -

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3.1.2. DirectX installation

Install Microsoft DirectX to enable 3D hardware acceleration support for Windows® 2000

or Windows® XP to achieve better 3D performance.

0 Note: For software MPEG support in Windows® 2000 or Windows® XP, you must install

DirectX first. Users who run Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or above do not need to

install DirectX separately.

Click "Install DirectX 9" item.

Step 1. When autorun window show up,

click Install DirectX 9 item.

Step 2. Choose I accept the agreement and

Click "Next" button.

Step 3. Click "Next" button.

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Step 4. Click "Finish" to restart computer.

Then the DirectX 9 installation is completed.

Installing the components.

Software Installation- 11 -

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3.1.3. Driver installation

A. New hardware found

After the graphics card is inserted into your computer at the first time, the windows will

automatically detect a new hardware in the system and pop out a "New Hardware Found"

message. The following is the step-by-step installation guide.

Step 1: Found new hardware wizard: Video controller (VGA Compatible)

Click "Next" button to install the driver. (There is a

driver CD disk that came with your graphics

accelerator, please insert it now.)

Or click the "Cancel" button to install the driver

from AUTORUN window.

Step 2: Found new hardware wizard: Searching and installing

The wizard will search for the driver and install it automatically.

Step 3: Found new hardware wizard: Finish

Click the "Finish" button to finish the installation.

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B. Driver installation (Autorun Window)

Insert the driver CD disk into your CD-ROM, and then you can see the AUTORUN window.

If it does not show up, please run "D:\setup.exe".

Step 1. When autorun window show up,

click Install Display Driver item.

Click "Install Display Driver" item.

Step 2. Click "Next" button.

Step 3. Click "Finish" button to restart

computer. Then the driver installation is

completed.

Windows installings the components.

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3.1.4. Enabling the dual GeForce 6800 GT GPUs

Step 1: Right-click on Desktop and select Properties. When Display Properties dialog

box appears, select the Settings tab. In Settings, click the Advanced button.

Step 2: Click the Geforce 6800 GT tab when advanced properties dialog box appears.

Select SLI multi-GPU from the side menu and select the Enable SLI multi-GPU check box

and click Apply.

Step 3: Restart your system when prompted.

Select the Enable SLI multi-GPU check

box

Important After installation of the GV-3D1-68GT graphics driver, assure that the

dual 6800 GT GPUs are enabled* by following the steps below.

"*" Only Windows XP operating system supports the dual GPUs mode. Please do not

enable SLI multi-GPU in Windows 2000.

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3.1.5. Utilities on driver CD

Insert the driver CD disk into your CD-ROM, and then you can see the AUTORUN window.

If it does not show up, please run "D:\setup.exe".

•

Install V-Tuner 2:

Step 1.Click "Utilities" item.

Step 4. Enter your name and company.

Step 5. Click "Finish" button to restart computer.

Then the utilities installation is completed.

Step 3. Click "Next" button.

Step 2.Click "GIGABYTE Utility" item.

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V-Tuner 2

V-Tuner 2 lets you adjust the working frequency of the graphic engine and video memory

(Core Clock and Memory Clock).

Enables auto adjustment of core/
memory clock settings set by user when
running 3D applications.

Adjust Core
speed

Displays core clock status Displays memory clock status

Adjust Memory
speed

Select choice of skinOpens Help page

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3.1.6. Taskbar icon

After installation of the display drivers, you will find a GIGABYTE icon on the taskbar's

status area. Right-clicking this icon opens the GIGABYTE control panel, showing a menu

composed of shortcut of the graphics card's enhanced and other functions.

You may click the "Display Properties" item, and then click Settings. Click "Advanced"

after clicking Settings. Click the appropriate tab to change your display settings.

Right click the icon.

You can link to GIGABYTE website for updated information about
the graphics accelerator, latest drivers, and other information.

Click "VGA Information" item
into the "VGA Info" and "Color
Adjust" tabs.

Software Installation- 17 -

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VGA Information

VGA Info lists the relevant information about your card.

Color Adjust

Color Adjust allows you to make color adjustments, such as brightness, contrast and

gamma values for each or all of RGB colors.

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After installation of the display drivers, you will find a NVIDIA icon on the taskbar's

status area. Click this icon to open the control panel.

You can adjust the properties
of the graphics accelerator
from here.

Right click the icon.

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GeForce 6800 GT properties

You can click the item to change

the color depth.

You can move the slider to change

the resolution.

 This page shows the Adapter, System and

Driver version information.

Click "Advanced" icon for adapter and setting.

You can select other properties from the pop-out menu.

3.1.7. Display Properties pages

To access Display Properties pages, right-click the GBT icon on the taskbar and select

Display Properties or right-click on Desktop and then select Properties. The Display

Properties dialog box shows the information of display adapter, color, the range of display

area, and the refresh rate.

Settings (Resolutions and Color depth for Windows)

You may adjust the screen resolution and color quality settings in this dialog box.

To access more advanced options, click the "Advanced" button.

After pressing the "Advanced" button in Settings, you'll see the Plug and Play Monitor and

NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Series GPU dialog box. Click the GeForce 6800 GT tab. (You can also

click the Nvidia icon on the taskbar and select Nvidia Display to access the Geforce 6800 GT

page.)

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Performance and Quality Settings properties

 The sliders lets to decide whether your application should

use quality or high performance texture.

• Application profiles: Select the application profile from the
list of profiles.

• Global Driver Settings: Select the Settings item and move
the slider below to set the degree of antialiasing to used
in Direct3D and OpenGL applications.

• Antialiasing settings: allows to set the degree of the Global
Driver Settings.

 nView allows you to connect separate displays to single

graphics card.

• nView modes: select your preferred nView display modes

here. Options: Single display/ Clone/ Horizontal Span/
Vertical Span/ Dualview

• Display pair: select a single display or display pair. The

selected display combination will appear in the graphical
representation below.

 If TV is chosen as the display, you will need to select the

proper TV format. To do this, click "Device Setting" followed
by "Select TV format". Select the format for your television
and then click "Apply" followed by "OK".

nView Display Settings properties

Note 1

Display Model GV-3D1-68GT

Matrix CRT+TV Yes

CRT+DVI Yes

DVI+TV Yes

"Note 1" This feature will not be available when SLI multi-GPU is enabled.

Color Correction properties

 The Color Correction Properties is used to compensate for

variations in luminance between a source image and its output

on a display device. Adjust the color correction settings to

provide more accurate color reproduction of images(such as

photographs) on your display device. Also, many 3D-

accelerated games may appear too dark to play. Increasing

the brightness and/or the gamma value equally across all

channels makes these games appear brighter and more

playable.

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Video Overlay Settings properties

 The Overlay Controls Properties can adjust Overlay zoom

controls and Overlay color controls. There is only one video

overlay, which is only available on the Primary display. The

video overlay controls are automatically activated during

playback of any video file type that supports overlay

adjustments. The "Adjust Colors" button will access "Color

Correction" properties page.

Tools properties

 The NVIDIA settings taskbar utility lets you conveniently access

various features and presets you've configured in the Display

Properties directly from the Windows taskbar.

• Shortcut tools:

Enabling these options will give you quick access to NVIDIA

features.

• Display Optimization:

Run the Display Optimization Wizard to adjust your

display(s) for optimal viewing and representation of colors .

• Troubleshooting:

If you have a TV connected and it is not being detected,

select the check box below.

NV Rotate properties

 The NV Rotate Properties is used to rotate the screen. If

your monitor is capable of operating in either Landscape or

Portrait mode, you can adjust the screen by this properties.

• Landscape (0 degree rotation)

• Portrait (90 degree rotation)

• Inverted Landscape (180 degree rotation)

• Inverted Portrait (270 degree rotation)

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Screen Resolutions & Refresh Rates properties

 The Screen Resolutions & Refresh Rates properties

allows you to adjust the screen resolution, color quality and

monitor settings (screen refresh rates). Or you can customize

resolutions and refresh rates.

Menu Editing properties

 The Menu Editing Properties can remove infrequently used

screens by dragging them from the screen menu to the list

below. Restore screens to the menu by dragging them

individually, or click Restore Defaults.

To begin, check the Enable screen menu editing check

box. To return to normal navigation mode, uncheck the check

box.

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Click Enable button to turn on all the nView Desktop
Manager features.

3.1.8. nView properties pages

nView is a set of desktop tools designed to help you be more productive when using your

graphics card. With nView you can set up multiple desktops to work with your applications.

Multiple desktops give you extra desktop areas on which to run your applications so you

won't have to crowd several open application windows on one desktop.

Enable the nView Desktop Manager features:

Right-click on desktop and choose Properties\Settings\Advanced\GeForce 6800 GT\Desktop

Management

Click the item to start nView Properties.

Access nView properties page:

To access the nView properties page, you can click the NVIDIA icon on the taskbar and

select nView Properties under nView Destop Manager (Method A). Or right-click on

Desktop, select Properties/Settings/Advanced/ GeForce 6800 GT. Double-click Desktop

Management item on the pop-up menu (Method B).

Method A: Method B:

Double-click Desktop Management to see
more nView properties.

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nView Profile properties

 This tab contains a record all nView display settings for easy

software setup.

nView Desktop Management properties

 This tab contains information about the nView Desktop Manager.

The setup wizard can also be accessed from this tab.

nView Windows properties

 This tab allows you to control of window and dialog box

placement when using multiple monitors.

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nView Desktops properties

 This tab allows you to create up to 32 unique desktops.

nView Applications properties

 This tab allows you to control nView settings depending on

different applications.

nView User Interface properties

 This tab allows customization of the nView user interface.

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nView Zoom properties

 This tab provides dynamic zoom functionality on the desktop.

Also enables full screen video playback via the video

mirroring control button.

nView Effects properties

 This tab provides special windows effects that you can apply

to your applications.

nView Hot Keys properties

 This tab lets you perform various actions with shortcut keys

or key combinations.

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nView Mouse properties

 This tab can modify and extend mouse behavior with

kinematic actions.

nView Tools properties

 This tab can improve nView functionality for mobile and

desktop users.

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3.2. Win® 2000 driver installation

With Windows running on your computer, you need to install the graphics card driver to

take advantage of the higher performance, resolutions, and special graphics features of

the graphics card. To ensure you install the latest driver, insert the Installation CD that

shipped with your graphics card.

To install the graphics card driver for Win® 2000, please insert the Installation CD. Then

the AUTORUN window will show up. Click Install Display Driver item, and follow the

wizard to install the driver.

If Windows® does not show the CD automatically, please run following steps:

1. Click the Start button on the control bar.

2. Select Run.

3. Type the following: D:\SETUP.exe

(If D is not your CD-ROM drive, substitute D with the correct drive letter.)

4. Click "OK".

5. Click on "Install Display Drivers" to begin the Installation Wizard.

6. Click "Next".

7. Click "Yes" to the license agreement.

8. Follow the Wizard's on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Please make sure the Windows® 2000 have installed Windows® 2000

Service Pack (or later) before installing the graphics accelerator driver.

Note: Only Windows XP operating system supports the SLI mode. Please do not enable SLI multi-

GPU in Windows 2000.

Troubleshooting Tips- 29

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4. Troubleshooting Tips

The following troubleshooting tips may help if you experience problems. Contact your

dealer or GBT for more advanced troubleshooting information.

 Check that the card is seated properly in the PCI Express x 16 slot.

 Ensure that the display cable is securely fastened to the card's display connector.

 Make sure that the monitor and computer are plugged in and receiving power.

 If necessary, disable any built-in graphics capabilities on your motherboard. For

more information, consult your computer's manual or manufacturer.

(NOTE: Some manufacturers do not allow the built-in graphics to be disabled or

to become the secondary display.)

 Make sure you selected the appropriate display device and graphics card when

you installed the graphics driver.

 Restart your computer.

Press the F8 key on your keyboard after system starts up. When the Windows
Advanced Options Menu appears, select Safe Mode and press Enter.
After getting into Safe Mode, in Device Manager check whether the driver for the

graphics card is correct.

 For more assistance, use the Troubleshooting Guide located in the Windows

®

Help or contact your computer manufacturer.

If necessary, adjust your monitor's setting by monitor's adjust panel to make the

screen looks focused, crisp, and sharp. (Please refer to the monitor's manual.)

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5. Appendix

5.1. How to Reflash the BIOS

5.1.1. Reflash BIOS in MS-DOS mode

1. Extract the downloaded Zip file to your hard disk(s) or floppy disk. This procedure assumes

drive A.

2. Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode. (For Windows 2000/XP, you need a startup disk to

restart the computer in MS-DOS mode.)

3. Change the command prompt to A:\>.

4. To back up the current BIOS, at the A:\> prompt, type[BIOS flash utility name]

-s [BIOS file name] (example: gvf11 -s nx66t128d.f1) and press Enter.

5. To flash BIOS, at the A:\> prompt, type [BIOS flash utility name] -p [BIOS

file name] (example: gvf11 -p nx66t128d.f2) and press Enter.

6. Wait until it's done, then restart your computer.

5.1.2. Reflash BIOS in Windows mode

1. After installing the display drivers, you will find a GIGABYTE icon in the lower-right corner

of the Taskbar. Right-click to select the @VGA utility.

2. Update BIOS through the Internet

a. Select the Live Update check box and click Flash. Then @VGA will automatically download

the BIOS for your card from GIGABYTE @VGA server and do the update for you.(@VGA

will not download/update the BIOS if it detects the current BIOS on your card is the latest

one.)

3. Update BIOS NOT through the Internet

a. Download the BIOS ZIP file for your card from GIGABYTE website and extract it to your

hard disk (or floppy disk).

b. Select the From Local File check box and then click Flash.

c. Select the BIOS file from your hard disk (or floppy disk).

d. Complete the update procedure following the on-screen instructions.

@VGA flash BIOS utility.

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5.2. Resolutions and Color Depth Table (In Windows® XP)

* This table is for reference only. The actual resolutions supported depend on the

monitor you use.

Display Maximum Color Depth (bpp)

Screen Refresh Rate 8bpp(256 color) 16bpp(65K color) 32bpp(16.7M)

Resolution (Hz) Standard mode High mode True mode

320 x 200 75 333
320 x 240 75 333
400 x 300 75 333
480 x 360 75 333
512 x 384 75 333
640 x 400 75 333
640 x 480 240 333
720 x 480 60 333
720 x 576 60 333
800 x 600 240 333
848 x 480 240 333
960 x 600 240 333
1024 x 768 240 33X
1088 x 612 240 33X
1152 x 864 200 33X
1280 x 720 170 33X
1280 x 768 170 33X
1280 x 800 170 33X
1280 x 960 170 33X
1280 x 1024 170 33X
1360 x 768 170 33X
1600 x 900 150 33X
1600 x 1024 120 33X
1600 x 1200 120 33X
1920 x 1080 100 33X
1920 x 1200 100 33X
1920 x 1440 85 333
2048 x 1536 85 333

GeForce 6800 GT Single Display Stardard Modes

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Appendix- 33 -

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