GV-RX385512H/ GV-RX385256H RadeonTM HD 3850 Graphics Accelerator User's Manual Rev. 101 12MD-RX3850S-101R Copyright © 2007 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.
VGA Card GV-RX385512H/GV-RX385256H Nov. 27, 2007 VGA Card GV-RX385512H/ GV-RX385256H Nov.
Table of Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 4 1.1. Features ......................................................................................................................... 4 1.2. Minimum System Requirements .................................................................................... 4 2. Hardware Installation ...............................................................................
1. Introduction 1.1. Features • • • • • • • • • • • Powered by ATI HD Radeon 3850 Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Supports PCI Express 2.0 Integrated with 512 MB GDDR3 memory (For GV-RX385512H only) Integrated with 256 MB GDDR3 memory (For GV-RX385256H only) Supports DirectX 10.1 Supports CrossFire Supports AV / S-Video / TV-Out and HDTV output Supports 2 Dual-Link DVI-I connectors Supports 2 D-Sub connectors (by adapters) Supports HDTV output (by adapter) Supports HDMI connector (by adapter) TM TM 1.2.
2. Hardware Installation 2.1.
The entire Radeon HD 3800 series support HDMI output which can handle both audio and video signals. However, audio output from the onboard audio controller or the external sound card will be disabled when HDMI output is activated. If no need for HDMI output function, set the onboard audio controller or the external sound card to be the default Sound Playback device to obtain audio output from your system. For more details, refer to page 16.
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.
Step 2. Replace the screw 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. Do not touch the card when it's operating to prevent system instability. Step 3. This graphics card provides two DVI-I digital connectors. You can connect a monitor that supports DVI-I function or use the DVI-I to D-Sub adapter to connect a 15-pin D-Sub monitor.
GIGABYTE Video Adapter AV Out S-Video Out HDTV Component (Y+Pr+Pb) 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.
How to enable the ATI CrossFireTM technology? Step 1: Install two CrossFire graphics cards of the same chipset on a CrossFire-supported motherboard and connect the graphics cards via two CrossFire bridge interconnect cables (Figure 1). Then users can enable the CrossFire technology through the graphics card driver. Two CrossFire bridge interconnect cables. Two CrossFire graphics cards of the same type.
3. Software Installation In this manual, we assume that your CD-ROM drive letter to be Drive D: The installation of Windows Vista/XP 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.
3.1.2. DirectX Installation Install Microsoft DirectX to enable 3D hardware acceleration support for Windows Vista/XP to achieve better 3D performance. For software MPEG support in Windows Vista/XP, you must install DirectX first. Users who run Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or above do not need to install DirectX separately. Step 1. When the autorun window shows up, click the Install DirectX 9 item. Step 2. Choose I accept the agreement and click the Next button. Step 3. Click the Next button.
3.1.3. Driver Installation A. New Hardware Found When the graphics card is inserted into your computer for the first time, the operating system will detect the graphics card automatically and display a New Hardware Found message. The following are stepby-step installation instructions. Step 1: Found New Hardware Wizard: Video Controller (VGA Compatible) Click the Next button to install the driver. (Insert the driver CD-ROM that came with your graphics card.
B. Driver Installation (Autorun Window) Insert the driver CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. The autorun window will appear. If it does not show up, please run "D:\setup.exe". Step 1. When the autorun window shows up, click the Install Display Driver item. Step 2. Click the Next button. Step 3. Click the Yes button. Setp 4. Click the Express or Custom icon. The system is installing the components. Step 5. Click the Finish button to restart the computer. Then the driver installation is completed.
3.1.4. Taskbar Icon After installation of the display driver, you will find an ATI Catalyst® Control Center icon in your system tray. The ATI Catalyst® Control Center is used to configure all your graphics card settings. Right-click the icon to enter the ATI Catalyst® Control Center (refer to Figure 1). Or you can right-click on the desktop and select ATI CATALYST(R) Control Center (refer to Figure 2).
Configuring Audio Output Configure the default audio output device based upon your needs. Step 1: Go to Start > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices. Step 2: In the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties dialog box, click the Audio tab. Using the picture to the left as the example, to set HDMI audio to be the default Sound Playback device, in the Default device box, select ATI HD Audio rear output. Otherwise, select Realtek HD Audio output, which is the onboard audio controller.
3.1.5. Display Properties Pages To access Display Properties pages, right-click on desktop and then select Properties. The Display Properties dialog box shows the information of display adapter, color, the range of display area, and the refresh rate. Settings (Resolutions and Color Quality for Windows) You may adjust the screen resolution and color quality settings in this dialog box. You can move the slider to change the resolution. You can click the item to change the color quality.
ATI Catalyst® Control Center Basic View : The Basic View is the default view when ATI Catalyst Control Center is launched for the first time. This interface provides access to the basic settings and advanced features of your ATI graphics products. You can switch between Basic View and Advanced View at any time. To access more settings in Basic View, click Basic, and then click Next. Easy Setup Wizards: Choose a wizard from the central list and click Go for step-by-step assistance.
Step 4: In the Output Video Format list, select a file format for the new file. If you wish to change the name of the new file, enter the new name in the Output File area. Finally, click Next to start file conversion. The video file has been successfully converted. Setup my display configuration This wizard allows you to configure display setting for desktop viewing.
Quick Settings: The Quick Settings page provides access to three main settings. 3D Quality 3D Performance and Quality Settings allows your 3D games and applications to get faster performance and better quality with a more balanced setting. Video Playback Use this option to optimize video playback in different room environment or to select how video playback appears on the second display.
ATI Catalyst Control Center Advanced View The Advanced page allows you to configure all of the many available settings of your ATI graphics card. View Properties: The CATALYST Control Center dashboard supports three types of views: Basic View/ Advanced View/ Custom View. Basic View The Basic view is the default view when CATALYST Control Center is launched for the first time. Refer to the previous pages for details.
Profiles Properties: You can use profiles to create customized environments for your desktop, video, and 3D applications. Define and save your own personal video settings that can be quickly activated manually, through a Hotkey, or by file association. Note: A profile applies to a specific graphics card. If there is more than one graphics card installed in your computer, you need to select the appropriate card before creating, loading, or activating a Profile.
Help Properties: The Catalyst Control Center Help feature allows you to access the comprehensive online help, register your product, or generate a problem report should you require technical support. The Catalyst Control Center Help feature offers the following options: Help for this Page Help Contents ... Search Help ... Problem Report Wizard ... Go to ATI.com About Catalyst Control Center ...
Displays Manager: Displays Manager is the central location for configuring your display devices and arranging your desktop. Use Displays Manager to quickly change your display setup, arrange your desktop in a multimonitor environment, and enable TV Out. Note: The stretch vertically and horizontally options are not supported on systems running Windows Vista. Displays Manager: The Display Options aspect gives you additional control to optimize performance of OpenGL® and Direct 3D ® applications.
Monitor Properties 0: Attributes Monitor Attributes provides information about the attached monitor. You can also enable Extended Display Identification Data. Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) uses the information provided by the attached monitor to determine the limits for the resolution and refresh rate. Adjustments Use Monitor Adjustments to resize and reposition the computer desktop on your monitor's display screen.
Avivo Color TM Use Avivo TM Color for ATI graphics cards that support per-display color settings. Independently set the hue, saturation, and temperature for each attached and enabled display. 3D: Standard Settings The Standard Settings page provides access to a universal slider control where you can simultaneously adjust all of the standard 3D settings for any type of 3D application.
Anti-Aliasing Anti-Aliasing (AA) is a rendering technique designed to remove jagged edges, shimmering, and pixelation problems that are common in rendered 3D images. Rather than determining the color to display for each pixel by sampling a single location at the pixel's center, anti-aliasing samples multiple locations within each pixel and blends the results together to produce the final color.
Anisotropic Filtering Anisotropic Filtering is a technique that preserves detail on surfaces that have three-dimensional perspective and fade away into the background. It works best when used in conjunction with Mipmapping. Anisotropic Filtering can be set to favor either an increase in system processing performance or improved image quality: Setting for performance is best used with applications that display objects with smooth, simple surfaces, like those seen in CAD applications.
Mipmap Detail Level Mipmapping is a texturing technique that preserves the detail on a 3D object's surface as it moves into the background. A series of lowand high-resolution texture maps are stored in memory and selectively used to create the object's surface, depending on what level of detail is needed.
More Settings Use the More Settings dialog to select settings for the Direct 3D ® and OpenGL® Application Programmable Interfaces (API). These settings are provided for resolving certain incompatibilities within 3D applications that use one of these APIs. Use this dialog when you know which type of API (Direct 3D® or OpenGL® your 3D application uses, and you want to select a particular APIspecific feature.
AvivoTM Video: Presets To quickly adjust your video settings choose one of the video presets. Note: These settings will only affect applications with video overlay support. Basic Color Use the Avivo Color: Basic option to manually set Gamma, Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, and Tint for video playback. Note: Certain video formats do not support these adjustments. These settings will only affect applications with video overlay support.
Theater Mode* Use Theater Mode to change the way you view streaming video. Note: These settings will only affect applications with video overlay support. Extended Desktop Mode is not supported on systems running Windows Vista. * This item will be available when you connect two monitors. All Settings The All Settings page combines all of the principal Video features onto a single page, without any preview window, allowing quick access and adjustment.
VPU Recover: VPU Recover is a tool capable of detecting the rare situation when the graphics processor is no longer able to respond to display driver commands. When this occurs, VPU Recover attempts to reset the graphics processor so that you are able to continue using your computer without interruption or loss of data. In most cases, VPU Recover will be able to reset the graphics processor without requiring a system restart.
CrossFireTM: CrossFire delivers exceptional performance on a single display by combining the processing power of two or more Graphics Processing Units (GPUs).
4. Troubleshooting Tips The following troubleshooting tips may help if you experience problems. Contact your dealer or GIGABYTE for more advanced troubleshooting information. Check that the card is seated properly in the PCI Express x16 slot. Ensure that the display cable is securely fastened to the card's display connector. Make sure that the monitor and computer are plugged in and receiving power. If necessary, disable any built-in graphics capabilities on your motherboard.
5.
Regulatory Statements Regulatory Notices This document must not be copied without our written permission, and the contents there of must not be imparted to a third party nor be used for any unauthorized purpose. Contravention will be prosecuted. We believe that the information contained herein was accurate in all respects at the time of printing. GIGABYTE cannot, however, assume any responsibility for errors or omissions in this text.
Finally, we suggest that you practice other environmentally friendly actions by understanding and using the energy-saving features of this product (where applicable), recycling the inner and outer packaging (including shipping containers) this product was delivered in, and by disposing of or recycling used batteries properly.
