T h e O x y g e n TM G M X Graphics Accelerator U s e r ’s G u i d e 3Dlabs,® Inc. 480 Potrero Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94086 408 - 436 - 3455 www.3dlabs.
Copyright 1998 by 3Dlabs, Inc. 3Dlabs, GLINT, and the 3Dlabs logo are registered trademarks, and Oxygen and Power Threads are trademarks of 3Dlabs, Inc. Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel. OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Softimage and Softimage 3D are registered trademarks of Softimage, Inc. Microsoft and Windows NT are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Welcome to 3Dlabs! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Software Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii Chapter 1 - Installation . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 4 - Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Terms and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Appendix A - Oxygen GMX Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 General Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Supported Resolutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Appendix B - Warranty and Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction
Welcome to 3Dlabs! Welcome to 3Dlabs! Thank you for selecting a 3Dlabs® Oxygen™ GMX 3D graphics accelerator card! Oxygen delivers a high-performance power boost to 3D graphics applications running on Windows NT systems. The huge design files – with millions of triangles, created with these applications can challenge even multiple-processor systems.
System Requirements • 96 MB memory 96 MB of on-board memory drives super-high resolution, true-color displays, with over 24 MB of available texture memory. • 1920 x 1080 True-color maximum resolution Oxygen GMX supports resolutions from 640 x 480 to 1920 x 1080 at a variety of refresh rates and color depths. • Full precision 32-bit Z-buffer The Oxygen GMX Z-buffer provides the highest level of depth-precision, even at the highest resolutions.
Software Partners Software Partners Your Oxygen GMX card has been tested with a variety of graphics software packages, several of which are listed below. As testing continues and performance optimizations are made, the results and techniques are posted on the 3Dlabs, as well as the appropriate software partner’s, web site. Software Application Web Site Address 3D Studio MAX http://www.ktx.com Lightscape http://www.lightscape.com LightWave 3D http://www.newtek.com Maya http://www.aw.sgi.
Chapter 1 - Installation
Getting Ready Getting Ready Whether you install your new card or driver software first depends on whether a video card is already present in your system. If there is a video card in your system: Install the drivers first. Once the drivers are loaded, remove the old card and install the Oxygen GMX card. The driver installation instructions begin on page 5. If not: Install your new card as described in the Installing Hardware section, below, then install the drivers.
Installing Hardware ➤ To install your Oxygen GMX card Turn off and unplug the power source for your system and each of its peripherals, if you have not already done so. 2. Remove the cover from your system so you can access the AGP expansion slot. (See your system documentation for details.) 1. 3. Determine which slot you are going to use and remove its back panel cover. You must use the AGP slot: AGP cards will not fit in PCI slots.
Installing Hardware Attach the anti-static strap to your wrist, and attach the other end to a bare, conductive (as opposed to painted or sticker-covered) area of your system’s chassis. 5. Remove the card from its anti-static packaging. Write down the serial number for registration and future use. 6. Place the card into the AGP slot, and seat it firmly. See your system documentation for instructions on securing the card to the chassis. Loose cards and connections can cause grounding and operating problems.
Installing Software Installing Software Your Oxygen GMX card includes video driver software, which you must install and configure. This OpenGL driver allows your system to harness the acceleration potential of your Oxygen card, and set image quality and performance preferences. This section describes the installation process for Windows NT 4.0 and later. ➤ To install your Oxygen software Log in to Windows NT using any account that has administrator privileges. 2.
Chapter 2 - Software Configuration
The Oxygen GMX Driver The Oxygen GMX Driver Oxygen GMX accelerates the entire OpenGL graphics pipeline in hardware, completely freeing your system processors for more application-specific operations. The Information screen appears first when you choose the 3Dlabs page in the Display Properties control panel, and provides useful information if you should need to communicate with 3Dlabs technical support. It is also the “point-of-entry” to the Setup screen and the OpenGL screen.
The Oxygen GMX Driver Setup Screen The Gamma Adjustment slider on the Setup screen lets you simultaneously adjust RGB color curves and define the color output for your display. You can also enter a precise Gamma value, rather than use the slider, when you know which value is appropriate for your monitor and ambient lighting conditions. Display Properties Background Screen Saver 3Dlabs XXX Appearance XXX Settings Plus! Configuration Information Setup OpenGL Gamma Adjustment 1.
The Oxygen GMX Driver OpenGL Screen The OpenGL screen provides these Advanced and Application Support options. Display Properties Background Screen Saver 3Dlabs Appearance XXX XXX Plus! Settings Information Setup OpenGL Advanced Options Number of DMA Sub Buffers 3 Wait for VBlank Application Support SoftImage version 3.51/3.7 OK • • • 10 Cancel Apply Number of DMA Sub Buffers controls partitioning of data (primitives) sent to the graphics card from your system’s CPU.
C h a p t e r 3 - Tr o u b l e s h o o t i n g & Te c h n i c a l S u p p o r t
Troubleshooting Troubleshooting If you have trouble using your Oxygen GMX card or a 3D application, you may find the answer to your problem in the following sections. Always start your problem solving efforts with the simplest solution and work up to the more complex ones. Monitors and Display Resolutions Question: My monitor is either blank, or the displayed image is distorted, scrambled or smaller than I expected.
Systems and Networks Question: When I restart my system, an “Invalid Display Settings” message appears on-screen, followed by “The default display resolution has been temporarily used by the system.” Solution: Within a few seconds, the error messages should be replaced by a window that allows you to set a display resolution. Pick your preferred resolution from the list and you should get the sharp results you expected.
Reaching Technical Support Question: I’m experiencing network problems since I installed my Oxygen card. Solution: If your Ethernet adapter is ISA-based, there may be a conflict between it and your Oxygen card. To resolve a conflict: 1. Go to Start/Programs/Administrative Tools and open Windows NT Diagnostics. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Solution: Click the Resources tab and select the IRQ button at the bottom of the panel.
Chapter 4 - Glossary
Terms and Definitions Terms and Definitions AGP Advanced Graphics Port. Alpha Blending This means to create transparent objects by allowing for the blending of pixels to simulate the transparency characteristics of an object. With alpha information, an object can be designed from being totally transparent to opaque. Alpha Buffer A portion of the frame buffer used to define the transparency value of a pixel in the frame buffer.
Terms and Definitions Depth Cueing A technique used to give the illusion of depth. With depth cueing, the part of an object that is farther away is displayed with a lower intensity to give the effect of depth. Dithering The process of converting an image with a certain bit depth to one with a lower bit depth. Dithering enables the application to convert an image’s colors that it cannot display into two or more colors that closely resemble the original.
Terms and Definitions Gouraud Shading This method of shading, more complex than flat shading, shows subtle color changes across an object. Gouraud Shading is accomplished by adding pixels in a graduated scale of colors. Graphics Accelerator Card A graphics accelerator performs 3D functions in the hardware, thereby relieving the CPU of repetitive, complex and intensive calls. This results in enhanced performance and speed.
Terms and Definitions RAMDAC The final component in the graphics subsystem that translates a digital image into an analog representation. Rasterization A method to fill in colors for all pixels bound by vertices. Rendering The final and most rigorous stage in the 3D pipeline where an object undergoes shading, texturing, etc. RISC Reduced Instruction Set Computing. SDRAM Synchronous DRAM is a cost-effective solution to improve bandwidth to and from memory, resulting in increased graphics performance.
Terms and Definitions Transparency A function that refers to the rendering of transparent (non-opaque) objects. Transparency is generally accomplished on a polygon rendering system using either screen-door transparency or alpha blending. Vectors/second Lines drawn per second. VGA Video Graphics Array. VGA runs at 640 x 480. VHR Very High Resolution. VHR runs at 1280 x 1024. VRAM Video Random Access Memory is an expensive, fast type of RAM that is used as display memory on high-end graphics boards.
Appendix A - Oxygen GMX Specifications General Specifications Feature/Function Implementation Card size Full-length AGP Power requirement 5V @ 10W, 3.
Appendix B - Warranty and Licenses Three (3) Year Parts and Labor Limited Warranty 3Dlabs warrants that the Product will be free from defects in materials and/or workmanship for a period of three (3) years from the date of purchase. During the warranty period, 3Dlabs will correct any defects in material or workmanship, or any failure of the product to conform to hardware specifications, at no-charge for in-house labor and materials. Shipping costs must be pre-paid by Buyer.
Software License Agreement Software License Agreement THIS IS A LEGAL CONTRACT BETWEEN YOU, THE END USER, AND 3DLABS, INC. BY USING THE SOFTWARE PACKAGE ACCOMPANYING THIS GUIDE OR PRE-INSTALLED ON YOUR SYSTEM, YOU ARE ACCEPTING AND AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE.
Software License Agreement Limited Liability NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION IN THIS LICENSE TO THE CONTRARY, 3Dlabs, Inc. OR ITS LICENSORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, HOWEVER CAUSED, OR ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER OR NOT 3Dlabs, Inc. HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE OR LOSS. IN NO EVENT SHALL 3Dlabs, Inc. LIABILITY ARISING UNDER THIS LICENSE EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU FOR THE SOFTWARE GIVING RISE TO SUCH LIABILITY.
Appendix C - Declaration of Conformity We, 3Dlabs, Incorporated, 480 Potrero Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Phone 408-436-3455 Fax 408-436-3458 United States of America declare under our sole responsibility that the product 3Dlabs® Oxygen™ GMX to which this declaration relates are in conformance with the following standards: EN55022:1987 EN50082-1:1992 IEC801-2:1984 IEC801-3:1984 IEC801-4:1987 following the provisions of the 89/336/EEC Directive. San Jose, California, September 30, 1998 3Dlabs, Inc.
Index A accelerator, graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 AGP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii, 16 alpha blending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 alpha buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 anti aliasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 anti-static procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 atmospheric effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 B bilinear sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bit depth . . . . . . . . .
P T perspective correction . . . . . . . . . . . . pipelining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pixel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . point sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . processors card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . floating point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MMX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 18 18 18 vi 17 18 R RAM . . . . . . . . . . ramdac . . . . . . . . . rasterization . . . . . . rasterization engines registration . . . . . . rendering .
