Graphics Card Software Reference
E1496 Revised Edition V3 December 2003 Copyright © 2003 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (“ASUS”).
Contents Notices ........................................................................................... iv Safety information ........................................................................... v About this guide .............................................................................. vi 1. ASUS Control Panel .............................................................. 1 1.1 NVIDIA® graphics card series ................................... 1 1.2 ATI® Radeon graphics card series .........
Notices Federal Communications Commission Statement This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: • • This device may not cause harmful interference, and 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.
Safety information Electrical safety • • • When adding or removing devices to or from the system, ensure that the power cables for the devices are unplugged before the signal cables are connected. If possible, disconnect all power cables from the existing system before you add a device. Make sure that your power supply is set to the correct voltage in your area. If you are not sure about the voltage of the electrical outlet you are using, contact your local power company.
About this guide Conventions used in this guide To make sure that you perform certain tasks properly, take note of the following symbols used throughout this manual. WARNING: Information to prevent injury to yourself when trying to complete a task. CAUTION: Information to prevent damage to the components when trying to complete a task. IMPORTANT: Information that you MUST follow to complete a task. NOTE: Tips and additional information to aid in completing a task.
1. ASUS Control Panel The ASUS Control Panel is a program that allows you to adjust certain features on your computer environment like the desktop color, screen resolution and refresh rates. 1.1 NVIDIA® graphics card series After installing the display drivers, locate the ASUS Control Panel icon on the Windows taskbar. The ASUS Control Panel contains a menu of shortcuts for commonly used tasks and utilities. To launch the ASUS Control Panel, click the ASUS Control Panel icon on the Windows taskbar.
1.1.1 Setting screen resolution The ASUS Control panel menu includes a list of shortcuts for easy screen resolution setting. To change the screen resolution: 1. From the ASUS Control Panel menu, click one of the available screen resolutions. Screen resolution setting shortcut ASUS Control Panel icon Your computer screen may flicker while adjusting to the new setting. 2. When prompted, click OK to apply settings or Cancel to abort. The setting does not take effect if the progress bar elapses.
1.1.2 Refresh Rate This item changes the refresh rate of the current screen resolution. A refresh rate is the number of times a display image is repainted or redrawn per second. The refresh rate is expressed in Hertz (Hz), for example, a refresh rate of 75Hz means the image is refreshed 75 times per second. Make sure your monitor supports the refresh rate you choose. Selecting a refresh rate beyond your monitor’s specification may damage it. Press ESC to restore your original settings.
1.1.3 Windows Display Properties This item runs the Windows Display Properties dialog box that allows you to: • change the Windows theme • enhance the Windows desktop • select a screen saver • adjust the monitor power settings • change the Windows appearance • adjust screen resolution To launch the Windows Display Properties dialog box, click the Windows Display Properties menu item from the ASUS Control Panel.
1.1.4 Advanced This menu allows you to enable or disable the ASUS OSD (On-Screen Display) feature, set the OSD hot keys and display the ASUS Control Panel icon on the Windows taskbar. To launch the Advanced options dialog box, click the Advanced... menu item from the ASUS Control Panel.
OSD (On-Screen Display) The On-Screen Display feature allows you to adjust the display settings while you play Direct3D or OpenGL 3D games. To set the On-Screen Display parameters: 1. From the ASUS Display Card Control Panel (NVIDIA Series) dialog box, select the Advanced tab. 2. Click the OSD tab to display various parameters for the On-Screen Display feature. 3. Click the Enable OSD check box. 4. If you want to define a new set of hot keys for On-Screen Display, click the Hotkey text box. 5.
Taskbar Utility The Taskbar Utility allows you to conveniently access various features and presets you have configured in the Display Properties directly from the Windows taskbar. To set the Taskbar utility: 1. From the ASUS Display Card Control Panel (NVIDIA Series) dialog box, select the Advanced tab. 2. Click the TaskBar Utility tab to display contents. 3. Click the check box to enable or disable the display of the ASUS Control Panel icon in the taskbar. 4.
1.2 ATI® Radeon graphics card series After installing the display drivers, locate the ASUS Control Panel icon on the Windows taskbar. The ASUS Control Panel is a menu of shortcuts for the screen resolution and color settings. To launch the ASUS Control Panel, click the ASUS Control Panel icon on the Windows taskbar.
Setting screen resolution The ASUS Control Panel menu includes shortcuts for easy screen resolution setting. To change the screen resolution: 1. From the ASUS Control Panel menu, click one of the available screen resolutions. Screen color setting shortcut Screen resolution setting shortcut ASUS Control Panel icon Your computer screen may flicker while adjusting to the new setting. 2. When the Change Display Settings dialog box appears, click the Refresh Rate list box to select refresh rate. 3.
2. ASUS VideoSecurity The ASUS VideoSecurity is a powerful security utility that detects any change in a specified surveillance region. Using video capture devices, video snapshots are captured automatically when there is a deviation in the user-defined surveillance region. The utility can also execute a specific program or send a warning message to the user via email or phone. 2.
2.2 Launching ASUS VideoSecurity To launch ASUS VideoSecurity: Click the Start button then select All Programs -> ASUS -> ASUS VideoSecurity -> ASUS VideoSecurity to display the following menu. Video Dimension Status Video Format Setup Detect Region Video Source Video Source Show History Start / Stop Command buttons Start/Stop - starts or stops the VideoSecurity watchdog detection. Setup - launches the ASUS VideoSecurity setup window (wsetup.exe). Refer to section “2.
Hide History - displays or hides the history panel, which contains a list of information recorded when a motion is detected in the surveillance region. B A D C E A. Click the Explore button to search other recorded files in your hard disk. B. Click the History folder list box to select other folders containing recorded files. C. Click the Delete All button to delete all recorded conditions in the current folder. D. Click the Image or video image to preview recorded image or video. E.
2.3 Features setup To display the ASUS VideoSecurity setup window, click the Setup button from the ASUS VideoSecurity menu. 2.3.1 Main To modify the Main setup options: 1. Click the Main tab from the setup dialog box. 2. Move the slider to adjust the Detecting sensibility parameter, which sets the receptibility of ASUS VideoSecurity to environment changes. 1. Temperature and lighting may affect monitoring. 2. The quality of the video capture device is also very important in setting the sensibility. 3.
3. Move the slider to select detecting interval. The interval (frame/sec) or scan rate has four configuration options: 1 frame/sec, 2 frames/sec, 3 frames/sec and 4 frames/sec. 1. Set to a higher scan rate for a more accurate detection. 2. The Default button sets the parameter to its recommended setting. 4. Click the Working directory button to set the working directory. The default working directory is C:\VideoSec. Everytime you launch ASUS VideoSecurity, a new folder is created here.
2.3.2 Working Mode To modify the working mode settings: 1. Click the Working Mode tab from the ASUS VideoSecurity setup dialog box. 2. Click one of the option buttons to set the detecting mode. 3. Click the Start tracing whenever a condition is detected check box to enable the function. Set the other tracing options when available. 4. Click Apply to apply settings or click OK to save settings and exit. Click Cancel if you want to exit and discard changes.
2.3.3 Procedures To modify the procedures setting: 1. Click the Procedures tab from the setup dialog box. 2. Click the Start recording when an unusual condition occurs check box to enable this feature. Set the recording duration (in seconds) when enabled. 3. Click the Send out an email as warning check box to enable or disable this feature. When checked, it requires you to key-in the email address of the recipient, edit the body of the email and set the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) parameters.
• SMTP Mail Server Setup - contains the parameters and protocols necessary to send your email. Key-in the Outgoing Mail Server-SMTP server IP address or domain name; for example, 168.187.2.22 or mail.company.com. The My server requires authentication check box allows you to use this feature. When enabled, input your User ID and password. The Remember my password check box saves an encrypted copy of your user ID and password that appears as default everytime you execute this setup.
4. Click the Making phone calls by modem check box to enable this handling procedure. Set the following fields when enabled.
2.3.4 Device To select a scan device or adjust color settings: 1. Click the Device tab from the ASUS VideoSecurity setup dialog box. 2. Click the Devices combo list box to select video capture device. 3. Click the Video Standard combo list box to set a video standard. 4. Move the slider of each respective parameter to adjust the brightness, saturation, contrast or color hue. 5. To restore the recommended values, click the Default button. 6.
2.3.5 Advanced To configure the Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server parameters: 1. Click the Advanced tab from the ASUS VideoSecurity setup page. 2. Click the Enable HTTP Server check box to enable or disable the use of the HTTP Server. When enabled, key-in your Internet Protocol (IP) address, Port and Connection timeout (in seconds.) 3. Click the Enabled server authentication check box to enable or disable the server authentication feature. When enabled, key-in your account name and password. 4.
3. ASUS GameFace ASUS GameFace is a real-time audio/video communication feature that enables point-to-point video conferencing functions and online gaming to take place at the same time. Make sure to enable the On-Screen Display (OSD) feature before using ASUS GameFace. See section “3.4 GameFace settings” for details. 3.1 Launching ASUS GameFace To launch ASUS GameFace: Click the Start button. Select All Programs->ASUS->ASUS GameFace->ASUS GameFace.
3.2 Setting Local playback mode To start Local playback mode: From the GameFace menu, click Call then select Local Play/Stop or click the Play/Stop button on the GameFace dialog box. Play/Stop button 3.3 Setting Network playback mode This section describes how you can connect , accept or terminate calls from a remote computer. 3.3.1 Connecting to a remote computer To connect to a remote computer: 1. Key-in the computer name (Local Area Network) or IP Address in the combo box. 2.
3.3.2 Accepting a call To accept an incoming call: 1. Launch ASUS GameFace. 2. The application prompts a message box on an incoming call. Click Yes to accept the call. 3.3.3 Terminating a call To terminate a call: From the GameFace menu, click Call then End Call or click the End Call button on the GameFace dialog box. 3.4 Tools 3.4.1 Options To launch the GameFace options dialog box, click Tool then Option, or click the Options button.
Position To set the GameFace on-screen position: 1. Click on the combo list box and select from the list. 2. Key-in the X and Y screen coordinates. The values vary depending on your monitor resolution settings. 3. Click OK to apply settings or Cancel to abort. On-Screen Display To set On-Screen Display options: 1. Click the On-Screen Display check box to enable or disable OSD feature. 2. If you want to define a new set of hot keys for On-Screen Display, click the Hotkey text box. 3.
3.4.3 Info This displays the GameFace hostname and host IP address. To launch the Info dialog box: 1. From the GameFace menu, click Tool then Info. 2. Click OK to exit. 3.4.4 TV Tuner To launch the GameFace TV Tuner dialog box: 1. From the GameFace menu, click Tool then TV Tuner. 2. The GameFace Options dialog box displays the Video tab options. Setting the GameFace TV Tuner To set the Video tuner device: 1. Click the Video combo list box and select your current video device. 2.
Using the GameFace TV Tuner To watch TV using the GameFace video tuner: 1. From the GameFace menu, click Call then select Local Play/Stop or click the Play/Stop button on the GameFace dialog box. 2. Press the GameFace TV Tuner hotkeys (Default: Ctrl + T) to launch the TV Tuner control pad. 3. From the TV Channel Setting tab, click the Number button then Submit to change channels or click Return to change channel. Advanced Setting The Advanced Settings tab displays information about your TV Tuner card.
3.4.5 Address Book To launch the GameFace Address book: From the GameFace menu, click Tool then Address Book. Using the Address Book To use the GameFace address book: 1. Make sure that the IP Address combo list box is empty. 2. Select Call from the menu then click New Call or click the Make a Call button. 3. GameFace prompts a dialog box. 4. Select a name from the list then click Connect. Setting the Address Book To change the GameFace address book settings: 1.
3.5 Using GameFace To use ASUS GameFace: 28 1. Launch your game. 2. After entering full-screen mode, press the defined hot key (default is Ctrl+Alt+V) to activate GameFace. 3. Press the On-Screen Display hot key to show the OSD menu. 4. Use the arrow keys to select the GameFace application page and to adjust the Transparency, Position X coordinate, Position Y coordinate, or OSD size.
3.6 Using the GameFace TV Tuner To use the ASUS GameFace TV tuner: 1. Launch your game. 2. After entering full-screen mode, press the defined hot keys (default is Ctrl+Alt+V) to activate GameFace. 3. Press the On-Screen Display hot keys to show the OSD menu. 4. Press the GameFace TV Tuner hot keys (default is Ctrl+T) to display TV Tuner monitor. 5. Use the arrow keys to adjust the Transparency, Position X coordinate, Position Y coordinate, or OSD size.
4. ASUS Digital VCR With ASUS Digital VCR, you can watch and record TV programs from your TV tuner and enjoy all kinds of media such as digital camcorders, VCRs, and PC camera. Other features include “Channel Surfing,” which allows you to watch a snapshot of 16 channels at one time while refreshing itself continually. 4.1 Launching ASUS Digital VCR To launch ASUS Digital VCR, click the Start button. Select All Programs-> ASUS->ASUS Digital VCR->ASUS Digital VCR. The following menu appears.
4.2 Using ASUS Digital VCR There are two ways to access the ASUS Digital VCR functions. You can use the ASUS Digital VCR panel or right-click on the VCR screen to display the available functions.
4.2.1 ASUS Digital VCR panel The following labels the various buttons on the Digital VCR panel: Speed up Slow down Backward Volume control Status display Minimize About SAP Forward Time-shifting Mute Setup Power Video source Snapshot Change skin Recall Auto scan Wallpaper Full-screen Auto recording agent Channel surfing Slider Help Toggle window size Always on top 4.2.2 Setting your video source To set your video source: 1. From the ASUS Digital VCR menu, click the Setup button. 2.
4.2.3 Capture The Capture tab allows you to configure the video capture settings. Select one from the default values that matches your frequently used settings. To set the Capture parameters: 1. From the ASUS Digital VCR menu, click the Setup button. 2. Select the Capture tab from the ASUS Digital VCR Setup dialog box. 3. Click the Record Profiles combo list box to select record profile format. 4. Click combo list boxes under Video Capture group to set Video Format, Image Size and Frame Rate. 5.
To set the TimeShifting feature parameters: 1. From the ASUS Digital VCR menu, click the Setup button. 2. Select the Timeshift tab from the ASUS Digital VCR Setup dialog box. 3. Click the check box to enable or disable playback options. 4. Click the OK button to save and apply settings or Cancel to discard changes. 4.2.5 TV Tuner To set your TV Tuner options: 1. From the ASUS Digital VCR menu, click the Setup button. 2. Select the TV Tuner tab from the ASUS Digital VCR Setup dialog box. 3.
If you want to preview a snapshot of the available channels, click the Channel Surfing button on the ASUS Digital VCR menu. The Channel Surfing feature simultaneously displays a snapshot of 16 available channels for preview. 4.2.6 Devices The Devices tab allows you to set up your video and audio device. Make sure to install the WDM driver from the support CD to run this feature. To setup your video and audio device: 1. From the ASUS Digital VCR menu, click the Setup button. 2.
5. ASUS SmartDoctor ASUS SmartDoctor is designed to monitor the temperature, voltage and fan condition of your graphics card. This utility also smartly cools down your Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) temperature and allows you to adjust the graphics card clock settings. 5.
5.3 Using ASUS SmartDoctor The utility provides an easy-to-use menu to access its features. 5.3.1 Voltage status Click the Voltage status tab to display the voltage status of your graphics card. • • The AGP bus VDDQ voltage and AGP bus 3.3 voltage should be supplied steadily by your motherboard. Otherwise, your system will crash. The FB VDDQ voltage item is grayed or disabled if your graphics card does not support voltage monitoring for this item. 5.3.
5.3.3 Fan speed status Click the Fan speed tab to display the current fan speed of your graphics card. 5.3.4 Engine and memory clock settings You can manually adjust the graphics card engine (GPU) and memory clock to enhance your graphics card performance. To adjust the engine and memory clock: 1. Move the Engine clock slider to adjust the engine clock. 2. Move the Memory clock slider to adjust the memory clock. Engine clock slider Memory clock slider 3. SmartDoctor prompts a warning message. Click OK.
4. Click Set/Test button to test the graphics on-screen memory with the core engine and memory clocks you set. The following screen appears while testing. 5. If the engine or memory clock test fails, click Default to revert to default values.
5.4 Advanced setup features To launch the SmartDoctor Settings dialog box, click the Setup button on the SmartDoctor menu. 5.4.1 Settings To change the settings, click the Settings tab from the SmartDoctor Settings dialog box. Monitor Settings To change monitor settings: 1. Click the combo list box to set Monitoring poll time interval. 2. Click the check box to enable or disable any of the monitor setting features. 3. Click Apply or OK to save settings. ASUS HyperDrive To activate HyperDrive: 1.
HyperDrive Modes 1. 3D Game mode - In 3D Game mode, ASUS SmartDoctor automatically sets the GPU clock to its highest possible value when playing 3D games for better 3D performance. It reverts to its normal GPU core clock after playing 3D games. 2. CPU Load mode - When set to this mode, ASUS SmartDoctor dynamically adjusts the GPU core clock depending on the Central Processing Unit (CPU) work load. ASUS SmartDoctor increases the GPU core clock when the CPU is busy and decreases it when your CPU is idle. 3.
5.4.2 Monitor To change voltage, temperature and fan monitor settings: 1. Click the Monitor tab from the SmartDoctor Settings dialog box. Voltage Alarm Settings • • Click the check box to enable or disable the alarm for AGPVDDQ, VCC, FBVDDQ or VCORE voltages. Move the slider to adjust the Voltage Error Bound percentage. Temperature Alarm Settings • • Click the check box to enable or disable the alarm for the GPU and Video RAM temperature. Move the slider to adjust the temperature.
5.4.3 Fan Control To change the fan control settings: 1. Click the Fan Control tab from the SmartDoctor Settings dialog box. 2. Click the option buttons to select fan control feature. The fan control has two features: Manual mode and Temperature mode. Manual mode - You can manually change the fan speed by adjusting the slider of each temperature mode. Temperature mode - SmartDoctor will automatically adjust the fan speed according to the GPU temperature.
6. Multi-monitor feature 6.1 ATI® Radeon graphics card series ASUS Radeon graphics cards include a multi-monitor feature through the ATI® HYDRAVISION™ multiple monitor management software. The ATI® HYDRAVISION™ feature allows you to manage the display of multiple windows or applications across two or more monitors. 6.1.1 Setting secondary display devices To set secondary display devices: 1. Boot your computer. 2. Click the Start button then select Control Panel. 3.
6.1.2 Changing display scheme and hotkey To change the display scheme and hotkey: 1. Boot your computer. 2. Click the Start button then select Control Panel. 3. Double-click the Display icon in the Control Panel. Select the Settings tab. 4. Click the Advanced button to display the properties dialog box. 5. Select the Displays tab. 6. To change the Scheme, click the combo list box and select from the list. 7. To set hot key, click the Hotkey text field and press any key you want as display hot key. 8.
Attributes To modify the monitor attributes: 1. From the Monitor Properties dialog box, click the Attributes tab. • To use the Display Data Channel (DDC) information, make sure that the Use DDC information button is checked. • To change the Maximum Resolution and Maximum Refresh frequency manually, uncheck the Use DDC information button. • To change the Maximum Resolution, click the combo list box and select desired resolution from the list.
Adjustments To adjust the screen position and screen size : 1. From the Monitor Properties dialog box, click the Adjustments tab. 2. Click the arrow button to adjust the screen position. 3. Click the plus (+) or minus (-) button to adjust the screen size. 4. Click OK or Apply to save the changes. Advanced To adjust synchronization: 1. From the Monitor Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab. 2. Click the Horizontal, Vertical or Composite buttons to adjust the synchronization.
6.2 NVIDIA® graphics card series The NVIDIA® nView™ feature allows you to manage the display of multiple windows or applications across two or more monitors. To change the nView™ settings: 1. Boot your computer. 2. Click the Start button then select Control Panel. 3. Double-click the Display icon on the Control Panel. Select the Settings tab. 4. Click the Advanced button to display the properties dialog box. 5. Select the tab of your graphics card model name. For example: GeForce FX5600XT 6.
7. Click the nView Modes combo list box to select nView mode. 8. Click the Display pair combo list box and select your display type setup.
9. Click the labeled monitors or click the Display combo list box to select the primary display device. 10. Make sure that the Make this the primary display box is checked. 11. Click Apply to apply settings or click OK to save settings and exit. Click Cancel if you want to exit and discard changes.
