GIGABYTE GV-N28-1GH-B Owner's Manual

GV -N28-1GH-B

NVIDIA® GeForceTM GTX 280 Graphics Accelerator

User's Manual

Rev. 101 12MM-NX28GB-101R

© 2008 GIGABYTE TEC HNOLOG Y 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 express ed, writt en permissio n of GBT.

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Notice

Please do not remove any label s on t his g raphics c ar d. Doin g so may v oid t he wa rranty of this c ard . Due to rapid change in techn olog y, some of the spe cific ation s might be out of da te be fore publ icat ion of t his thi s manual . The author assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions that may appear in this document nor does the author make a commitment to upd ate th e info rmatio n co ntained herei n.

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Jun. 5, 2008

GV-N28-1GH-B

VGA Card

Jun. 5, 2008

GV-N28-1GH-B

VGA Card

Table of Contents

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 4

1.1. Features .........................................................................................................................4

1.2. Minimum System Requirements ....................................................................................4

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

2.1. Board Layout ................................................................................................................. 5

2.2. Hardware Installation......................................................................................................8

3. Software Installation.................................................................................................. 12

3.1. Windows® XP Driver and Utilities Installation ............................................................... 1 2

3.1.1. Operating System Requirements .............................................................................. 12

3.1.2. DirectX Installation........................................................................................................ 13

3.1.3. Driver Installation .........................................................................................................14

3.1.4. Taskbar Icon ................................................................................................................. 16

3.1.5. Display Properties Pages ........................................................................................... 17

3.1.6. nView Properties Pages

4. Troubleshooting Tips................................................................................................ 33

(Note)

....................................................................................... 28

5. Appendix ................................................................................................................. 34

5.1. How to Reflash the BIOS in MS-DOS Mode.............................................................. 34

5.2. Resolutions and Color Depth T able (In Windows XP)................................................... 35

Regulatory Statements ................................................................................................. 37

(Note) This item will show up when you connect two monitors.

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1. Introduction

1.1. Features

• Powered by NVIDIA® GeForceTM GTX 280 Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

• Supports PCI Express 2.0

• Integrated with 1 GB GDDR3 memory

• Supports DirectX 10

• Supports NVIDIA

• Supports 2 DVI-I connectors

• Supports HDMI connector (by adapter)

• Supports 2 D-Sub connectors (by adapter)

• Supports HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) technology

1.2. Minimum System Requirements

• Hardware

- 500-watt power supply or greater with minimum 12V current rating of 36A.

- Intel® Pentium®/CoreTM 2 or AMD AthlonTM/Phenom

- 512 MB of system memory; 2 GB or more for best performance

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

SLI

(Scalable Link Interface) technology

(Note 1)

(Note 2)

• Operating System

- Windows

• SLI

Vista

XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2)

XP Professional x64 Edition

Configuration

If you are planning on using this graphics card as part of an SLI system, the following are required:

- An SLI certified motherboard with two/three PCIe x16 slots and correct chipset driver

- Two GV -N28-1GH-B for SLI configuration; Three GV-N28-1GH-B for 3-way SLI configuration

- A power supply with 900-watt or above is recommended

- An SLI bridge connector or 3-way SLI bridge connector

(Note 1) SLI technology requires a PCI Express motherboard with two/three x16 physical connectors.

Graphics cards working in an SLI configuration must be with the same model name (e.g. GV-N28-1GH-B) and from the same vendor (e.g. GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY).

(Note 2) The minimum system power requirement recommended here is based on a PC configured

with an Intel Core 2 Extreme processor (QX6700).

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2.1. Board Layout

SLI Connector

TV-Out

DVI-I Connector 1

DVI-I Connector 2

2. Hardware Installation

HDTV

NTSC / PAL TV Projector

Digital LCD Monitor

Analog LCD Monitor Analog Monitor

HDMI TV

DVI Output

Pb/AV Output

S-Video Output

D-Sub Output

DVI-I to HDMI Adapter

DVI-I to D-Sub Adapter

- 5 - Hardware Installation

TV-Out

DVI-I Connector 1

DVI-I Connector 2

The GV-N28-1GH-B graphics card is a performance optimized high-end card. Power is taken from the PCI Express host bus as well as the 8-pin and 6-pin PCI Express power connectors. Without auxiliary power provided to the GV-N28-1GH-B graphics card, an LED on the bracket goes red and the graphics card will not boot. In addition, the connector that is not adequately powered will turn red. The table below outlines the different possible scenarios as well as the resulting behaviors.

Configuration with External PCIe Connectors:

8-pin PCIe Power 6-pin PCIe Power Connector Connector

Result

Connected Connected Full Power Not Connected Connected LED light is red- graphics card will not boot Connected Not Connected LED light is red- graphics card will not boot Not Connected Not Connected LED light is red- graphics card will not boot

We suggest you using a power supply that provides a 8-pin PCI Express power cable instead of using the included 8-pin power adapter. If you want to use the included 8-pin power adapter, make sure at least 12V/15A current is supplied to each 4-pin power connector on this adapter. Failure to do so may jeopardize the stability of the graphics card.

8-pin Power Adapter

Requires: At least 12V current rating of 15A

Incorrect Connection

(The two 4-pin power connectors on the adapter are connected to the same system power supply cable.)

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Correct Connection

(The two 4-pin power connectors on the adapter are connected to two independent system power supply cables.)

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 THE GRAPHICS CARD IS DAMAGED.

In order to ensure that your graphics card can work correctly, please use official GIGABYTE BIOS only. Using non-official GIGABYTE BIOS might

cause problem(s) on the graphics card.

- 7 - Hardware Installation

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:

Step 1. Power off the computer and monitor, then disconnect the display cable from the back of your computer.

Step 2. Remove the computer cover. If necessary, consult your computer's manual for help in removing the cover.

Step 3. Remove any existing graphics card from your computer.

To install your new graphics card:

Step 1. Locate the PCI Express x16 slot. If necessary, remove the metal cover from this slot; then align your graphics card with the PCI Express x16 slot, and press it in firmly until the card is fully seated.

* Please make sure that the gold edge connector of the graphics card is securely inserted.

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Step 2. Replace the screws to fasten the card in place, and replace the computer cover.

After installation, remember to connect the power cable to your graphics card, or the system will not boot (refer to page 6 to see the details). Do not touch the card when it's operating to prevent system instability.

Step 3. 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 D-Sub 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. Or use the DVI-I to HDMI adapter to connect an HDMI monitor. (Note: Only the DVI-I Connector 2 supports the DVI-I to HDMI adapter.)

Connect a flat panel

T o TV / VCR T o Flat Panel Display

Connect a D-Sub monitor via DVI-I to D-Sub adapter

Connect a HDMI monitor via DVI-I to HDMI adapter

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

- 9 - Hardware Installation

GIGABYTE Video Adapter

AV Out

S-Video Out

Connect to the TV-Out port on the graphics card.

(1) Connecting HDTV Connect your HDTV cables to the video adapter according to the corresponding color. (Y= Green, Pr= Red, Pb= Blue)

(2) Connecting S-Video If your TV has a S-Video connection, connect the S-Video cable from your TV to the S-Video Out port on the adapter.

HDTV Component (Y+Pr+Pb)

(3) Connecting AV Output If your TV has a Composite video connection, you can connect the RCA cable from your TV to the AV Out port on the adapter.

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How NVIDIA® SLITM (Scalable Link Interface) technology works:

In an SLI configuration, two/three SLI-ready graphics cards of the same model and the same manufacturers are connected together via SLI bridge connector in a system that provides two/three x16 PCI Express slots to scale graphics performance. The picture below shows that two and three graphics cards are linked in parallel in an SLI configuration.

SLI Configuration:

SLI bridge connector

(provided by motherboard manufacturer)

3-Way SLI Configuration:

3-Way SLI bridge connector

(provided by motherboard manufacturer)

Two SLI-ready graphics cards of the same type. (Example: GV-N28-1GH-B)

Three SLI-ready graphics cards of the same type. (Example: GV-N28-1GH-B)

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3. Software Installation

In this manual, we assume that your CD-ROM drive letter to be Drive D: The installation of 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 instructions to setup your graphics card driver. (Please follow the subsection "3.1.3 Driver Installation" to install the driver for your graphics card.)

3.1. Windows® XP Driver and Utilities Installation

3.1.1. Operating System Requirements

Notice the following guidelines before installing the drivers:

1. First make sure your system has installed DirectX 9.0c or later version.

2. Make sure your system has installed the appropriate motherboard drivers (for the motherboard drivers, please contact the motherboard manufacturer.)

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