Gigabyte GV-N285UD-2GI, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 User Manual

GV-N285OC-2GI/
GV -N285UD-2GI

NVIDIA® GeForce

TM

GTX 285 Graphics Accelerator

User's Manual

Rev. 101
12MM-N285O2I-101R

Copyright

© 2009 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 properties of their respective owners.

Notice

Please do not remove any labels on this graphics card. Doing so may void the warranty of this card.
Due to rapid change in technology, some of the specifications might be out of date before publication of this this manual.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 update the information contained herein.

Macrovision corporation product notice:

This product incorporates copyright protection technology that is protected by U.S. patents and other intellectual property
rights. Use of this copyright protection technology must be authorized by Macrovision, and is intended for home and other
limited viewing uses only unless otherwise authorized by Macrovision. Reverse engineering or disassembly is prohibited.

Copyright

© 2009 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 properties of their respective owners.

Notice

Please do not remove any labels on this graphics card. Doing so may void the warranty of this card.
Due to rapid change in technology, some of the specifications might be out of date before publication of this this manual.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 update the information contained herein.

Macrovision corporation product notice:

This product incorporates copyright protection technology that is protected by U.S. patents and other intellectual property
rights. Use of this copyright protection technology must be authorized by Macrovision, and is intended for home and other
limited viewing uses only unless otherwise authorized by Macrovision. Reverse engineering or disassembly is prohibited.

VGA Card

GV-N285OC-2GI/

GV-N285UD-2GI

May.11,2009

May.11,2009

VGA Card

GV-N285OC-2GI/GV-N285UD-2GI

- 3 -

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.................................................................................................. 10

3.1. Driver and Utility Installation......................................................................................... 10

3.1.1. Driver Installation ......................................................................................................... 10

3.1.2. GIGABYTE Gamer HUD Lite on Driver Disk ........................................................... 12

3.2. Display Properties Pages ........................................................................................ 14

3.3. Accessing NVIDIA Control Panel............................................................................ 15

4. Troubleshooting Tips................................................................................................ 23

5. Appendix ................................................................................................................. 24

5.1. How to Reflash the BIOS in MS-DOS Mode.............................................................. 24

5.2. Resolutions and Color Depth Tables............................................................................. 25

5.3. Regulatory Statements ................................................................................................. 27

- 4 -

GV-N285 Series Graphics Accelerator

1. Introduction

1.1. Features

• Powered by NVIDIA® GeForce

TM

GTX 285 Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

• Supports PCI Express 2.0

• Integrated with 2GB GDDR3 memory (For GV-N285OC-2GI/GV-N285UD-2GI only)

• Supports DirectX 10

• Supports NVIDIA

®

SLITM (Scalable Link Interface) technology

(Note)

• Supports 1 HDMI connector

• Supports 1 D-Sub connector

• Support 1 DVI-I connectors

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

1.2. Minimum System Requirements

• Hardware

- Intel

®

Pentium®/CoreTM 2 or AMD AthlonTM/Phenom

TM

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

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

- A 550W system power supply specification or above is recommended.

• Operating System

- Windows

®

Vista

- Windows

®

XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2)

- Windows

®

XP Professional x64 Edition

• SLI

TM

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 -N285OC-2GI/GV -N285UD-2GI for SLI configuration;Three GV -N285OC-2GI/

GV-N285UD-2GI for 3-way SLI configuration

- A power supply with 550-watt or above is recommended

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

(Note) SLI technology requires a PCI Express motherboard with two x16 physical connectors. Graphics cards working in an

SLI configuration must be with the same model name (e.g. GV-N285OC-2GI/GV-N285UD-2GI) and from the same
vendor (e.g. GIGABYTETECHNOLOGY).

- 5 - Hardware Installation

2. Hardware Installation

2.1. Board Layout

DVI-I Connector

D-Sub monitor Connector

(15-pin)

HDMI Connector

DVI-I
Connector

Analog LCD Monitor Analog Monitor

or

Digital LCD Monitor

DVI Output

D-Sub
Output

DVI-I to D-Sub
Adapter(optional)

HDMI TV

Analog LCD Monitor Analog Monitor

or

HDMI Connector

D-Sub monitor
Connector
(15-pin)

HDMI to DVI-I Adapter
(Optional)

Digital LCD Monitor

SLI Connector

- 6 -

GV-N285 Series Graphics Accelerator

GV-N285OC-2GI/GV-N285UD-2GI graphics card is a performance optimized high-end card. Power is
taken from the PCI Express host bus as well as the two 6-pin PCI Express power connectors.
Without auxiliary power provided to the GV-N285OC-2GI/GV-N285UD-2GI 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.

6-pin PCIe Power 6-pin PCIe Power

Result

Connector (upper) Connector (lower)

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

If you want to use the included 6-pin power adapters, make sure the adapter fits 12V/15A
specification. Failure to do so may jeopardize the stability of the graphics card.

Incorrect Connection

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

Correct Connection

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

6-pin Power
Adapter

Configuration with External PCIe Connectors:

- 7 - Hardware Installation

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.

- 8 -

GV-N285 Series Graphics Accelerator

2.2. Hardware Installation

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

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

Make sure that the gold edge connector of the graphics card is securely
inserted.

Step 3.
Plug the display cable into your card; then turn on the computer
and monitor. To connect a D-Sub monitor to your graphics card,
use the D-Sub connector. To connect a flat panel display to your
graphics card, use the DVI-I connector. To connect an HDMI
monitor to your graphics card, use the HDMI connector.

Connect a flat panel display

Connect a D-Sub monitor

Connect an HDMI monitor

To Flat Panel DisplayT o D-Sub MonitorT o HDMI Monitor

After installation, remember to connect the power cable to your graphics card, or the system
will not boot (refer to page 8 to see the details). Do not touch the card when it's operating to
prevent system instability.

- 9 - Hardware Installation

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

Step 4.
To connect an HDMI TV, follow the steps below to enable the S/PDIF in function for the graphics card.

1.
Connect the provided S/PDIF cable to the graphics
card.

2.
Connect the S/PDIF cable to the motherboard.
(the red wire connects to the S/PDIF out pin and
the black to the Ground pin)

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

In an SLI configuration, two 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 x16 PCI Express slots
to scale graphics performance. The picture below shows that two graphics cards are linked in parallel
in an SLI configuration.

SLI bridge connector

(provided by motherboard manufacturer)

Two SLI-ready graphics cards of
the same type.
(Example: GV-NX88X768H-RH)