RADEON™ MAC® EDITION USER’S GUIDE Printed in Canada
RADEON™ MAC® EDITION User’s Guide Version 2.0 - June 2001 P/N: 107-40214-20 Copyright © 2000, ATI Technologies Inc. ATI and RADEON™ are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ATI Technologies Inc. All other company and/or product names are trademarks and/ or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers. Pricing, availability, features, performance and specifications are subject to change without notice. Product may not be exactly as shown in the diagrams.
Disclaimer While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, ATI Technologies Inc. assumes no liability to any party for errors or omissions contained in the Software or related documentation, any interruption of service, loss or interruption of business or anticipatory profits or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of the Software and related documentation. ATI Technologies Inc.
Table of Contents 1. Getting Started ....................................................... 1 Introduction....................................................................... 1 What You'll Need.............................................................. 2 Related Documentation..................................................... 2 2. Installing Your Hardware ..................................... 3 Installing your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION ................. 4 About Monitor Sensing..........................
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1 Getting Started Introduction The RADEON™ MAC® EDITION represents the next generation in 3D and video acceleration for your Power Macintosh computer. The RADEON™ graphics chip is equipped with all the 3D hardware drawing capabilities in demand by 3D high end users.
What You'll Need The RADEON™ MAC® EDITION runs with the following minimum system requirements: NOTE • Power Macintosh or Mac OS compatible computer, with PowerPC processor, with an AGP or PCI expansion slot • Mac OS 9.0 or later software • Apple monitor, VGA-style monitor (see note below), DVI-I style digital flat panel, or TV • QuickTime 4.0 or later (see note below) • Apple OpenGL 1.15 or later • Minimum 32MB of system memory (OpenGL 1.
2 Installing Your Hardware The RADEON™ MAC® EDITION fits into connectors called expansion slots, inside your computer. Your Mac OS computer has one or more expansion slots designed to accept Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) cards and Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) cards. WARNING ! NOTE • The manufacturer assumes no liability for any damage, caused directly or indirectly, by improper installation of components by unauthorized service personnel.
IMPORTANT ! • If your computer stops responding (hangs) after installing the RADEON™ MAC® EDITION video card, you may have an incompatible graphics accelerator extension. This can occur when Mac OS software or other ATI graphic accelerator cards are installed. • Restart your computer and hold down the SHIFT key during startup. This disables all extensions from loading. After disabling extensions, you can update the graphics accelerator extension by installing the software included with your card.
3 Choose the AGP or PCI expansion slot you wish to use. 4 Touch the metal part of the power supply case. Touching the grounded portion of the power supply case will discharge your body’s static electricity. Power Supply Expansion Slots 5 Align the connector on the card with the selected expansion slot, and press firmly until fully seated. AGP Connector PCI Connector Do not force the card. It should fit snugly into the expansion slot.
If you are not sure whether your card is PCI or AGP, compare its bottom edge with the following illustration: PCI Universal AGP If you plan to use more than one monitor, you must install a card for each monitor. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for each card. 6 Close the computer case. 7 Connect the monitor cable to the card. If you have a VGA monitor, connect it to the VGA monitor port. If you have a TV, connect it to the TV Out port. If you have a digital flat panel, connect it to the DVI-I port.
Powered Apple monitors using the ADC (Apple Display Connector) is not supported.
About Monitor Sensing Apple’s Monitor Sensing specification allows video display cards to identify the attached monitor. The RADEON™ MAC® EDITION auto-configures itself according to the monitor sense code detected and enables all resolutions supported by the monitor. Since the RADEON™ MAC® EDITION relies on this sense code to correctly auto-configure during startup, the monitor must supply the appropriate sense code.
For more information about obtaining a sense code or synchronization signal adapter, contact ATI Customer Support or ask your dealer. For information about how to contact ATI Customer Support, select the Support button on the ATI Displays control panel.
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3 Installing Your Software About ATI Software The RADEON™ MAC® EDITION requires several additional components be added to your System folder. The ATI RADEON™ MAC® EDITION Installer application does this for you, installing the following components: ATI Displays Control Panel The ATI Displays control panel lets you configure your card and access software and hardware features. These features are described in the section “ATI Displays Control Panel” on page 15.
Installing Software 1 Insert the ATI Installation CD. 2 Double-click on the RADEON™ MAC® EDITION Installer icon. The ATI splash and legal notice screens appear. 3 Follow the instructions that appear on the screen. Upon completion of the installation process, a file containing a list of installed files and their location on your hard disk is created allowing you to locate any file installed during the installation process.
4 Multimedia Features Your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION turns your Mac computer into a 3D and 2D graphics powerhouse. You can use your new graphics accelerator card to do the following: • Experience the latest arcade style and virtual reality games the way they were meant to be played with state-of-the-art 3D graphics using OpenGL acceleration. • Enjoy true-color 32-bit 2D or 3D graphics up to 1920x1440. • Watch full screen, full motion, TV-quality video using QuickTime playback acceleration.
Viewing 3D Graphics RADEON™ MAC® EDITION’s 3D Acceleration features supports the following advanced 3D graphics capabilities: • OpengGL Support • QuickDraw 3D Rave Support • Integrated Transformation, Clipping and Lighting • Twin Cache Architecture • Single Pass Multi-texturing • Triangle Setup Engine • Bilinear/Trilinear Filtering • Line & Edge Anti-aliasing • Full Screen Anti-aliasing • Specular Highlights • Perspectively Correct Texture Mapping • Mip-Mapping • Z-buffering and Dou
ATI Displays Control Panel The ATI Displays control panel provides access to the advanced 3D features that RADEON™ MAC® EDITION has to offer. To open the ATI Displays control panel, choose Control Panels from the Apple menu, then choose ATI Displays, or choose ATI Displays from the ATI Config Menu from the Mac OS menu bar. For detailed instructions on how to set up and use these features, please refer to the ATI Guide/ATI Help, which can be accessed through the ATI Displays control panel.
Identify Displays If you have more than one display connected to your computer, you can identify and configure each display. The ATI Displays control panel identifies all the displays connected to your computer, but only configures displays that are connected to ATI cards. If you are using multiple monitors and using one display with the built-in video, or a non-ATI video card, a generic video card icon is displayed in the ATI Displays control panel.
Monitors The Monitors feature provides access to the standard Mac OS Monitors control panel. You can use the Monitors control panel to select color depths and resolutions, and set up multiple monitors. For more information on the Monitors control panel refer to the Mac OS Guide that comes with your computer. Keyboard Shortcuts This feature allows you to use a pop-up menu to change your desktop settings without exiting your current application.
VGA Monitors If you have a non-DDC compliant VGA monitor connected to your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION, the VGA icon may be active. Some VGA monitors use a Display Data Channel (DDC). You do not have to do anything extra to select the supported resolutions. Your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION uses the DDC information to automatically provide the supported resolutions in the Monitors control panel and the Control Strip.
3D Memory Monitor The 3D Memory Monitor shows how available memory in the accelerator card is allocated when displaying 3D graphics. Using the 3D Memory Monitor When you open 3D graphics on your Mac OS computer, run the 3D Memory Monitor to see how your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION has allocated 3D memory. To open the 3D Memory Monitor 1 Choose Control Panels from the Apple Menu, or choose ATI Displays from the ATI Config Menu and skip to step 3. 2 Select ATI Displays. 3 Click on the 3D Memory icon.
Desktop Pattern bar indicates the amount of memory used by your desktop pattern. To reduce the memory allocated to Display memory: • change the color depth from millions to thousands • decrease your screen resolution Textures The Texture bar indicates the number and size of texture maps loaded by 3D applications to add realism to 3D models and environments. The Bitmap bar indicates the memory allocated to non-3D elements like 2D graphics.
ATI HELP The ATI HELP is an additional source of information when you are using the ATI Displays control panel. It behaves similarly to the Mac OS Guide that comes with your computer. Access the ATI HELP by clicking on the Apple HELP icon on the ATI Displays control panel, or the ATI Config Menu. From the ATI DISPLAYS GUIDE select RADEON then OPEN RADEON HELP. Finally, select ATI HELP from the HELP CENTER. Select a topic from the main ATI HELP window to get detailed instructions for a specific task.
Using QuickTime Playback The RADEON™ MAC® EDITION’s QuickTime playback acceleration allows you to stretch even the smallest movies to full screen size without compromising frame rate or image quality. RADEON™ MAC® EDITION’s hardware scaler maintains the original quality of your QuickTime movie when scaling to a larger size – even full screen. The RADEON™ MAC® EDITION’s QuickTime playback acceleration displays in millions of colors, even if the current color depth setting is 256 colors.
QuickTime clips must be in Cinepak (the most common QuickTime movie format), Indeo, or MPEG-1 format to be scaled by RADEON™ MAC® EDITION. To determine if a video will be accelerated using RADEON™ MAC® EDITION’s hardware scaler, check the video format. To check the format of a video 1 Open the movie using QuickTime Player. 2 Choose Get Info, from the Movie menu. 3 From the 1st pull down menu, select Video Track. 4 From the 2nd pull down menu, select Format. 5 Read the format type.
Using RADEON™ MAC® EDITION’s TV/Video Out Connector To output your computer’s display to a TV 1 Turn off your computer and TV. 2 Ensure your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION is installed correctly. 3 Looking at the back of your Mac, locate your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION. 4 Determine if your TV has an S-Video or Composite video input connection.
NOTE Now that you have connected your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION to a TV, you need to enable Mac2TV. For more information, see “Enabling Mac2TV™” on page 27. To connect your computer’s display to a VCR to record to video tape 1 Turn off your computer and VCR. 2 Ensure your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION is installed correctly. 3 Looking at the back of your Mac, locate your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION 4 Determine if your VCR has an S-Video or Composite video input connection.
If you are connecting your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION to a VCR, make sure that your VCR is connected to a television that you can use as your computer’s display. For information about connecting a television to your VCR, see the documentation supplied with your VCR. Now that you have connected your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION to a VCR, you need to enable Mac2TV™.
Enabling Mac2TV™ ! WARNING • When you initially turn on Mac2TV Video Out, your monitor display will be dimmed. Monitors which do not support the 60 Hz vertical refresh rate required by video equipment may be damaged when Mac2TV is enabled. Dimming your monitor is a safety feature, protecting your monitor from any potential damage. • Many newer Apple and VGA multi-frequency monitors are capable of supporting the 60 Hz vertical refresh rate at several resolutions.
A message appears, warning you your monitor will be dimmed. 4 Click OK. A message appears on your TV stating that your display has been successfully switched to TV. 5 Click OK. If you do not click OK to the message on the TV, your display will return to your monitor after a few seconds. Changing Display Configurations Using a TV as your only display If you are using television display only, disconnect your monitor from your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION.
Hue, saturation, and brightness are the three qualities which constitute what we normally refer to as “color”. • Hue, often used as a synonym for “color”, is the quality that distinguishes among red, green, yellow, and so on. • Saturation is the amount of color present that distinguishes pale or washed-out colors from vivid ones. • Brightness is related to the amount of light emitted by your display or reflected from an object. This quality enables you to describe an object as “bright” or “dim”.
Contrast is a ratio of how far the whitest whites are from the blackest blacks. If the contrast is too high, the image may look stark, like pure white squares on a jet-black background. If the contrast is too low, the image may look gray or washed out. Reducing Edge Distortion When using a television for your display, you may see some edge distortion on the left and right side of your television screen. This effect depends on your television and the application you are running.
Using RADEON™ MAC® EDITION DVI-I Connector Your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION includes support for DVI-I. You can use this feature to connect your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION to a digital flat panel display. To output your computer’s display to a DVI-I digital flat panel: 1 Turn off your computer and DVI-I flat panel. 2 Ensure your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION is installed correctly. 3 Looking at the back of your Mac, locate your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION. 4 Connect the DVI-I cable to the DVI-I connector on your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION.
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A Troubleshooting Tips Before Contacting Customer Support If you have a general question, or encounter problems with your card, please review this information completely before contacting Customer Support. You can create a problem report from the ATI Displays control panel. Please refer to the ATI Guide for instructions on generating this problem report, and for general troubleshooting tips not covered in this section.
I have a monitor with three BNC connectors. Why won't it work with my RADEON™ MAC® EDITION? • Monitors that only have three BNC connectors require a synchronization (“sync”) signal to be sent down the green line. This is called Sync-on-Green (SOG). ATI accelerator cards do not output a SOG signal. Adapters are available for your Mac OS computer to convert the separate sync signal from the ATI card to a SOG signal for the monitor.
Does the RADEON™ MAC® EDITION work in all Power Macintosh computers? • No, the RADEON™ MAC® EDITION only works with PCI and AGP based Power Macintosh computers. The minimum system requirements are listed in “What You'll Need” on page 2. After installing RADEON™ MAC® EDITION, I noticed some sound distortion. Why? • Installing the ATI Sound Catalyst extension corrects sound corruption in certain Macintosh computers.
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B Specifications Video Mode Table The video mode table below lists the color depth capabilities for the supported resolutions on your RADEON™ MAC® EDITION. Please consult your monitor’s specifications to determine which resolutions are available with your display. Mac OS 2D Resolutions Display Resolution Vertical Refresh Hz Horizontal Refresh kHz Fixed Mac OS Monitor Size 512 x 384 640 x 480 832 x 624 1024 x 768 1152 x 870 60 67 75 75 75 24.48 35.00 49.72 60.24 68.68 12-in. 13-in./14-in. 16-in.
Supported VESA/VGA 2D Modes Display Resolution Vertical Refresh Hz Horizontal Refresh kHz 512 x 384 60 60 67 72 75 85 90 100 120 75 56 60 72 75 90 100 120 75 60 70 75 85 90 100 120 75 75 60 75 85 76 24.48 31.48 35 37.50 37.50 43.27 45.54 50.89 61.79 68.85 35.16 37.88 48.08 46.88 56.88 63.60 77.15 49.72 48.36 56.48 60.02 68.68 72.81 80.40 96.76 68.68 75.00 63.98 79.98 91.38 81.
Display Resolution Vertical Refresh Hz Horizontal Refresh kHz 60 65 70 75 85 60 75 60 75 76 60 75 75.00 81.25 87.50 93.75 106.25 83.38 106 86.33 112.50 95.00 90.00 112.50 1600 x 1200 1792 x 1344 1856 x1392 1920 x 1200 1920 x 1440 3D Mode Table The 3D mode table measures the number of full screen 3D windows that are possible to display at a given resolution. For example, a value of 2.
Full screen 3D windows possible Resolution 832 x 624 1024 x 768 1152 x 870 1280 x 1024 1600 x 1200 Page 40 Colors Thousands Millions Thousands Millions Thousands Millions Thousands Millions Thousands Millions 32 MB 16-bit z-buffer 7.50 4.50 4.75 2.75 3.50 2.00 2.50 1.25 1.50 0.75 32 MB 32-bit z-buffer 5.00 3.50 3.00 2.00 2.25 1.50 1.75 1.00 1.00 0.
Specifications System Requirements • Power Macintosh or Mac OS compatible computer with an AGP slot Operating System • Mac OS software (version 9.0 or higher) • QuickTime (version 4.0 or higher) • Apple OpenGL 1.1.5 or higher Graphics Controller • ATI RADEON — graphics and multimedia accelerator chip Video Display Buffer • 32MB memory • 256-bit memory interface Bus • AGP: AGP 2x • PCI: 32-bit PCI local bus compliant with PCI version 2.1 specification 33 or 66MHZ compatible.
VGA Connector - Standard VGA Monitors with Apple connectors are supported using the Apple-to-VGA video adapter (included). • S-Video Out (Composite Out adapter included) Video Interrupt • PCI interrupt request enabled; interrupt is auto- configured by system Power • +5V ± 5 %, @ 1.3A typical Environment • Ambient Temperature: 50° to 122° F (10° to 50° C) operation.
C Compliance Information FCC Compliance Information This device is in conformity with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation of this product is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) 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.
Consult the dealer or an experienced technician for help. • The use of shielded cables for connection of the monitor to the graphics card is required to ensure compliance with FCC regulations. • Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate this equipment.
EN 50082-1, Norme sur l'immunité générique pour produits domestiques, commerciaux et industriels légers. (CEI 801-2, CEI 801-3, CEI 801-4) EMC Richtlinie 89/336/EEC und Änderung 92/31/EEC, Digitales Gerät der Klasse B EN 50081-1, Allgemeiner Emissions-Standard für Haushalt- und kommerzielle Produkte sowie Erzeugnisse der Leichtindustrie (EN 55022/CISPR 22, Beschränkungen und Verfahren der Messung von informationstechnischen Ausrüstungen mit Funkstörmerkmalen) Warnung: Dies ist ein Erzeugnis der Klasse B.
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D Glossary Alpha blending When an image has an alpha value for each pixel, this tells how much to blend the colors from the image with the background colors. The lower the alpha values the more transparent the image looks. Anti-aliasing Method used to remove the jagginess of an image. When anti-aliasing is used, the edges of an image appear smooth and usually somewhat blurry. Back buffer A type of offscreen memory used to provide smooth video and 2D graphics acceleration.
Color Depth Color depth is the number of color shades available on your display. The color depth of your monitor usually includes; 256 colors (8-bpp), Thousands of colors (16-bpp), and Millions of colors (32-bpp), and is also measured in bits per pixel (bpp). You can switch your color depth using the ATI Popup Menu, Apple’s Control Strip, or the Monitors control panel. Higher bit-depths require more display buffer memory.
Texture Mapping Mapping, or placing, an image onto an object. Images of realistic surfaces are placed on 3D models to create a richer and more complex visual effect. Trilinear Filtering Sampling method used to produce the most realistic looking 3D objects. Trilinear filtering averages one of the bilinear filter MIP Map levels along with the standard MIP Map samples. z-buffer A z-buffer is an area of off-screen memory used to hold “depth” information.
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Index RADEON card software 11 warning 3 Numerics 3D Graphics memory usage 19 supported features 14 M 3D Memory Monitor description Monitor Resolution 19 2D video mode table 37 3D video mode table 39 changing, Apple displays 17 changing, VGA displays 17, A Apple Displays using DVI adapter 41 using VGA adapter 2, 42 ATI Displays control panel description accessing 2, 15, 21 description 11, 21 QuickDraw 3D requirements 2 supported features accelerated playback 22 checking video format 23 optimizing
V Video Card features 13 installation 3, 4, 6, monitor sensing 8 requirements 2, 41 specifications 41 sync on green 8 Page 50 8
