| Q1: |
What is a Radeon™
8500LE graphics card and what chipset does it use?
|
| Q2: |
What configurations are
available for Radeon™ 8500LE?
|
| Q3: |
What are the new 3D features
released in the Radeon™ 8500LE graphics board?
|
| Q4: |
Does the Radeon™
8500LE graphics board support AGP4X?
|
| Q5: |
What is the DAC speed?
|
| Q6: |
Is there a PCI version
of Radeon™ 8500LE?
|
| Q7: |
Can the on-board memory
be upgraded?
|
| Q8: |
What operating systems
does Radeon™ 8500LE graphics card support?
|
| Q9: |
Does ATI develop drivers
for alternate operating systems such as LINUX®?
|
| Q10: |
Can my new motherboard
work with Radeon™ 8500LE?
|
| Q11: |
What does ATI mean when
they say that the Radeon™ 8500LE is "HDTV ready"?
What can a user do with the Radeon™ 8500LE HDTV
decode capability?
|
| Q12: |
What are the benefits
of attaching two different displays to the Radeon™
8500LE at the same time?
|
| Q13: |
Which displays does
the Radeon™ 8500LE graphics board support?
|
| Q14: |
What connectors are
available on the Radeon™ 8500LE?
|
| Q15: |
Can TruForm™ work
on existing games?
|
| Q16: |
Is TruForm™ compatible
with all new games?
|
| Q17: |
What games will support
TruFormTM?
|
| Q18: |
What version of pixel
shaders does Radeon™ 8500LETM support?
|
| Q19: |
What’s the difference
between a vertex shader and a pixel shader?
|
| Q20: |
What has happened to
the Charisma Engine™, and Pixel Tapestry™ technologies of Radeon™?
|
| Q21: |
What does this feature
called “Anisotropic filtering” do?
|
| Q22: |
What is HYPER
Z™ II?
|
| Q23: |
Other graphics manufacturers are claiming
new memory bandwidth saving techniques. How does this
compare to HYPER
Z™ II?
|
| Q24: |
What has happened to the Video Immersion™ technology of the Radeon™?
|
| Q25: |
How do I enable 1024X768
video output?
|
| Q26: |
Other graphics cards
support up to DirectX® 8.0 and I hear Radeon™ 8500LE
is a DirectX® 8.1 part. Is this true?
|
| Q27: |
What is the difference
between DirectX® 8.0 and DirectX® 8.1?
|
| Q28: |
Does the OpenGL® driver
support all DirectX® 8.1 features?
|
| Q29: |
Does the Radeon 8500
support component output? How do I get component output
from the Radeon 8500?
|
| Q30: |
Why is VIVO (video input/video
output) not included as a feature in Radeon™ 8500LE?
|
| Q31: |
Will the Radeon™
8500LE (64MB DDR) be available through the Trade-up Program?
If yes, when and what will the trade-up cost be?
|
| Q32: |
What are the system
requirements for the Radeon™ 8500LE?
|
| Q33: |
Does the Radeon™
8500LE support monitors with a 16:9 aspect ratio?
|
| Q34: |
Can I use a PCI graphics
card, in the same system as my Radeon™ 8500LE 64MB,
to support three or more displays?
|
|
|
| Q1: |
What is a Radeon™
8500LE graphics card and what chipset does it use? |
| A1: |
Radeon™ 8500LE graphics card (Radeon™
8500LE 128MB DDR with VGA and video output) is ATI's high
performance graphics solution for performance oriented
consumer and commercial platforms. Radeon™ 8500LE
graphics card is powered by ATI's Radeon™ 8500™
graphics processing unit (GPU). The Radeon™ 8500LE
GPU features TruForm™, a new technology developed
by ATI that overcomes traditional memory and bandwidth
problems to deliver the smoothest and most realistic images
ever seen on a PC. With SmartShader™, game developers
are able to create immersive, life-like worlds by modelling
the surface and material qualities of 3D objects with
an unparalleled level of realism. This graphics card also
offers more 3D features that translate into better visual
quality and greater performance leadership. For more information
on ATI's Radeon™ 8500LE please check out web
showcase
|
| Q2: |
What configurations
are available for Radeon™ 8500LE? |
| A2: |
There is one configuration of Radeon™
8500LE available: 64MB DDR memory with VGA and video output.
|
| Q3: |
What are the new
3D features released in the Radeon™ 8500LE graphics
board? |
| A3: |
1. TruForm™
2. SmoothVision™
3. SmartShaderS™
Vertex shaders :
Procedural deformation
Fur rendering
Advanced keyframe interpolation
Shadow volume extrusion
Particle systems
Many light sources
Lens effects
Advanced matrix palette skinning
Pixel shaders:
Realistic lighting of any kind of
surface
Varying properties of a material across
a surface
Accurate modelling of objects with
microstructure
Horizon mapping
|
| Q4: |
Does the Radeon™
8500LE graphics board support AGP4X? |
| A4: |
Yes. Radeon™ 8500LE offers full
AGP 4X (1.5 volt) implementation for 1GB/sec data transfer
rate, sideband addressing, pipelining and AGP texturing
support. AGP 2X (3.3 volt) operation is also supported
for systems/motherboards that do not offer 4X compatibility.
|
| Q5: |
What is the DAC speed? |
| A5: |
The DAC frequency is 400MHz.
|
| Q6: |
Is there a PCI version
of Radeon™ 8500LE? |
| A6: |
The Radeon™ 8500LE is only available
in AGP bus 2X/4X.
|
| Q7: |
Can the on-board-memory
be upgraded? |
| A7: |
No. Radeon™ 8500LE graphics card
is not memory upgradeable.
|
| Q8: |
What operating systems
does Radeon™ 8500LE graphics card support? |
| A8: |
Radeon™ 8500LE graphics card currently
supports Windows® 98/98SE, Windows® Me, Windows® 2000
and Windows® XP.
|
| Q9: |
Does ATI develop
drivers for alternate operating systems such as LINUX®? |
| A9: |
Although ATI does not develop drivers
for alternate operating systems in-house, drivers are
available from 3rd party developers for the majority of
ATI products. ATI actively supports these developers.
For more information on ATI's support of alternate operating
systems, please see the “Alternate OS Development Resources”
section at: http://www.ati.com/developer/index.html.
|
| Q10: |
Can my new motherboard
work with Radeon™ 8500LE? |
| A10: |
Radeon™ 8500LE AGP bus complies
with AGP 2.0 specifications and should therefore work
with most motherboards that also comply to these specs.
Many modern motherboards require AGP drivers to be installed
in order for AGP to be supported. These drivers are generally
shipped with the motherboard. Contact your motherboard
supplier for updates.
|
| Q11: |
What does ATI mean
when they say that the Radeon™ 8500LE is "HDTV ready"?
What can a user do with the Radeon™ 8500LE HDTV
decode capability? |
| A11: |
Radeon™ 8500LE is capable of decoding
all of the HDTV formats with reduced CPU utilization and
directly driving both analog and digital high definition
displays. Radeon™ 8500LE achieves its decode capability
through motion compensation and iDCT and without the need
for any external hardware. When Radeon™ 8500LE is
used with the appropriate DTV tuner and DTV demodulator
software, the user is be able to view HDTV on their monitor
or TV.
|
| Q12: |
Can the Radeon™
8500LE graphics card support more than one display at
the same time?
|
| A12: |
Yes. Radeon™ 8500LE allows you
to combine many different displays together simultaneously.
The possible display configurations are shown in the table
below:
| Display Configuration |
Connector(s) Used |
| CRT monitor |
• 15-pin VGA connector |
| TV |
• s-video connector |
| CRT monitor + TV |
• 15-pin VGA connector + s-video connector |
Legend:
CRT – (cathode ray tube) analog monitor supporting the
standard 15-pin VGA connector
The s-video connector on the board can support a composite
connector via s-video-to-composite adapter
|
| Q13: |
Which displays does
the Radeon™ 8500LE graphics board support? |
| A13: |
Radeon™ 8500LE graphic board provides
support for VESA Standard Plug and Play monitors. This
graphic card also supports video output connected through
your s-video or composite connector and, therefore, lets
you use your television as a secondary display.
|
| Q14: |
What connectors
are available on the Radeon™ 8500LE? |
| A14: |
Radeon™ 8500LE graphic card supports
the following 2 connectors:
1.) VGA - for driving a standard CRT (Analog) monitor
2.) Video output – an s-video connector that can be connected
to a TV set or VCR
3.) S-video to composite adapter is also available to
order from ati.com. It allows you to attach through composite
connection if your television does not support s-video
|
| Q15: |
Can TruForm™
work on existing games? |
| A15: |
Yes. However, TruFormTM is a feature
that must be implemented in the game by the developer.
This is not a big task, since the character models and
scenery designed in existing games do not have to be modified.
TruFormTM supports the triangle primitives that are used
by virtually every game developer. One can expect software
developers to make patches available for download that
would enable TruFormTM in their product.
|
| Q16: |
Is TruForm™
compatible with all new games? |
| A16: |
No. However, because TruForm™
is easily implemented without significant effort by the
developer, one can expect TruForm™ to be adopted
by many popular titles in the future.
|
| Q17: |
What Games will
support TruForm™? |
| A17: |
Game support will be announced at a later
date as games become available on the market. Many new
titles presently support TruForm™ technology. A
sample list of games that support TruFormTM will be posted
on the ATI website as they become available. Title that
is packaged with the retail version of the Radeon™
8500LE (128MB DDR) board is Half-Life/Counter Strike,
which utilises TruForm™ technology.
|
| Q18: |
What version of
pixel shaders does Radeon™ 8500LETM support?
|
| A18: |
Radeon™ 8500LE supports version
1.4.
|
| Q19: |
What’s the difference
between a vertex shader and pixel shader? |
| A19: |
Vertex shaders are small programs describing
a procedure to be applied to polygon vertices in the scene.
These procedures can be up to 128 instructions in length,
and are most useful for simulating deformable objects
such as cloth, fire, water, and human faces. Developer
can also invent new lighting effects in the scene. Whatever
effect a developer chooses to create, it can be hardware
accelerated in the Radeon™ 8500LE for faster performance.
Pixel shaders are small programs describing operations
to be applied to pixels in the frame buffer. Pixel shaders’
function is similar to vertex shaders’, except they perform
operations manipulating colours and textures, rather than
geometry.
|
| Q20: |
What has happened
to the Charisma Engine™, and Pixel Tapestry™ technologies of Radeon™?
|
| A20: |
Radeon™ 8500LE has an upgraded
version of the Charisma Engine™ called Charisma Engine™ II. Charisma Engine™ II has the following technological upgrades:
1) A programmable geometry pipeline in addition to the
fixed function pipeline. This additional pipeline is programmable
with vertex shaders.
2) Improved fixed function transformation, clipping, and
lighting (T&L) acceleration. The T&L pipeline now processes
75 million triangles/second.
The Radeon™ 8500LE also has an upgraded version
of the Pixel Tapestry™ engine called Pixel Tapestry™ II. Pixel Tapestry™ II has the following technological
upgrades:
1) A programmable rendering pipeline in addition to the
fixed function pipeline. This additional pipeline is programmable
with pixel shaders.
2) Up to 6 textures applied to a pixel in a single pass.
3) Increased number of pipelines from 2 to 4.
|
| Q21: |
What does this feature
called “Anisotropic filtering” do? |
| A21: |
Anisotropic filtering enhances the user’s
experience by rendering sharp, detailed textures. As more
texture samples are filtered, the image quality will improve.
The RadeonTM 8500LE filters more samples than the competition,
with minimal performance degradation.
|
| Q22: |
What is HyperZ™
II? |
| A22: |
Z-buffer data is a primary consumer of
graphics memory bandwidth, which is the performance bottleneck
of most graphics applications. Hence, any reduction in
Z-buffer memory bandwidth consumption will result in performance
dividends. HyperZ™ II is a technology that makes
Z-buffer bandwidth consumption more efficient by implementing
the following memory architecture features:
1) Fast Z clear
2) Z compression
3) Hierarchical Z
HyperZ™ II is second-generation technology, while
other competing technologies have only been introduced
for the first time. This results in a more robust and
efficient implementation.
|
| Q23: |
Other graphics manufacturers
are claiming new memory bandwidth saving techniques. How
does this compare to HyperZ™ II?
|
| A23: |
Like HyperZ™ II, other graphics
manufacturer optimizes memory bandwidth. Both HyperZ™
II and competitor’s solution offer lossless Z-buffer compression.
Both technologies attempt to discard polygons that are
occluded by other polygons (a process called “occlusion
culling”). In this respect, HyperZ™ II is far superior.
HyperZ™ II saves the GPU from rendering over 14
billion pixels per second, while, it is estimated competitor’s
only discards 3.2 billion. Fast Z clear has no counterpart
in competitor’s architecture.
|
| Q24: |
What has happened
to the Video Immersion™ technology of the Radeon™? |
| A24: |
The Radeon™ 8500LE includes an
upgrade of the Video Immersion called Video Immersion II. The improvements in the technology are:
better video de-interlacing, temporal filtering, component
video output, and 1024X768 video output. What this means
is that you are now capable of having your desktop at
1024X768 resolution, and output to your display without
having to use desktop span or reorganizing your desktop
icons.
|
| Q25: |
How do I enable
1024X768 video output? |
| A25: |
First, ensure that your television is
connected to the output connection on Radeon™ 8500LE
either through s-video or composite connector. Access
your display settings either from the control panel or
by right-clicking anywhere on your desktop and selecting
“Properties”. Under “Settings” click “Advanced”. Under
“ATI Display”, click the “Enable TV button” and press
“Apply”.
|
| Q26: |
Other graphics cards
support up to DirectX® 8.0 and I hear Radeon™ 8500LE
is a DirectX® 8.1 part. Is this true? |
| A26: |
Radeon™ 8500LE is DirectX® 8.1
compliant and competitor’s is DirectX® 8.0 compliant.
However, DirectX® 8.1 is an upgrade of DirectX® 8.0, so
the Radeon™ 8500LE will support all DirectX® 8.0
titles in addition DirectX® 8.1 titles.
|
| Q27: |
What is the difference
between DirectX® 8.0 and DirectX® 8.1? |
| A27: |
The main difference between DirectX®
8.0 and DirectX® 8.1 is in the pixel shader and vertex
shader specifications. DirectX® 8.1 pixel shaders provide
more texture inputs, larger maximum program length, and
unlimited texture addressing modes. Certain bugs found
in DirectX® 8.0 have been fixed in DirectX® 8.1.
|
| Q28: |
Does the OpenGL®
driver support all DirectX® 8.1 features? |
| A28: |
Yes. The Radeon™ 8500LE supports
all features available in DirectX® 8.1 by implementing
OpenGL® extensions.
|
| Q29: |
Does the Radeon 8500
support component output? How do I get component output
from the Radeon 8500? |
| A29: |
The Radeon™ 8500 supports Interlaced
and progressive scan HDTV. HDTV Support: 480i, 480p, 720p,
and 1080i. For DVD & Macrovision support: 480i & 480p.
You can purchase an HDTV Component Video VGA to YPrPb
adapter from ATI available exclusively on ATI's online
Accessory Store: http://shop.ati.com/country.asp
. Component output was not available at the time of initial
shipment of the Radeon 8500.
|
| Q30: |
Why is VIVO (video
input/video output) not included as a feature in Radeon™
8500LE? |
| A30: |
The All-in-Wonder® products address the
needs of the multimedia enthusiasts since this line of
products includes support for such features as video capture
and TV tuning. The Radeon™ 8500LE does, however,
have the ability to output video (video output).
|
| Q31: |
Will the Radeon™
8500LE (64MB DDR) board be available through the Trade-up Program?
If yes, when and what will the trade-up cost be? |
| A31: |
ATI has not announced plans to include
the Radeon™ 8500LE (64MB DDR) board in the ATI
Trade-up Program at this time.
|
| Q32: |
What are the system
requirements for the Radeon™ 8500LE? |
| A32: |
-
- Intel® Pentium® 4/III/Celeron™,
AMD® K6/Athlon™/Duron™ or compatible
with AGP 2X or AGP 2X/4X universal slot
- 64MB of system memory
- Installation software requires
CD-ROM drive
- DVD playback requires DVD drive
|
| Q33: |
Does the Radeon™
8500LE support monitors with a 16:9 aspect ratio?
|
| A33: |
Yes, including 1920x1080 and 848x480
on Windows® 98/98SE, Windows® Me, Windows® 2000 and Windows®
XP. The complete list of resolutions depends on the driver
version and operating system. Please note that resolutions
are limited by the performance of the attached monitor.
|
| Q34: |
Can I use a PCI
graphics card in the same system as my Radeon™ 8500LE
64MB, to support two displays? |
| A34: |
ATI does support the use of an additional
PCI graphics card in a system with the Radeon™ 8500LE.
Such multi-adapter support requires the use of Windows
2000® or Windows XP® operating systems
|
|
|
