| 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: |
What is the benefit of
128MB of memory?
|
| Q5: |
Does the Radeon™ 8500LE
graphics board support AGP4X?
|
| Q6: |
What is the DAC speed?
|
| Q7: |
Is there a PCI version
of Radeon™ 8500LE?
|
| Q8: |
Can the on-board memory
be upgraded?
|
| Q9: |
What operating systems
does Radeon™ 8500LE graphics card support?
|
| Q10: |
Does ATI develop drivers
for alternate operating systems such as LINUX®?
|
| Q11: |
Can my new motherboard
work with Radeon™ 8500LE?
|
| Q12: |
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?
|
| Q13: |
Can the Radeon™ 8500LE
graphics card support more than one display at the same
time?
|
| Q14: |
What are the benefits
of attaching two different displays to the Radeon™ 8500LE
at the same time?
|
| Q15: |
Which displays does
the Radeon™ 8500LE graphics board support?
|
| Q16: |
What are the differences
between a Radeon™ 8500 (128MB DDR) and a Radeon™ 8500LE
(128MB DDR)?
|
| Q17: |
What connectors are
available on the Radeon™ 8500LE?
|
| Q18: |
Can TruForm™ work
on existing games?
|
| Q19: |
Is TruForm™ compatible
with all new games?
|
| Q20: |
What games will support
TruFormTM?
|
| Q21: |
What version of pixel
shaders does Radeon™ 8500LETM support?
|
| Q22: |
What’s the difference
between a vertex shader and a pixel shader?
|
| Q23: |
What has happened to the
Charisma Engine™, and Pixel Tapestry™ technologies of Radeon™
|
| Q24: |
What does this feature
called “Anisotropic filtering” do?
|
| Q25: |
What is HYPER
Z™ II?
|
| Q26: |
Other graphics manufacturers are claiming
new memory bandwidth saving techniques. How does this compare
to HyperZ™
II?
|
| Q27: |
What has happened to the Video Immersion™ technology of the Radeon™?
|
| Q28: |
How do I enable 1024X768
video output?
|
| Q29: |
Other graphics cards
support up to DirectX® 8.0 and I hear Radeon™ 8500LE is
a DirectX® 8.1 part. Is this true?
|
| Q30: |
What is the difference
between DirectX® 8.0 and DirectX® 8.1?
|
| Q31: |
Does the OpenGL® driver
support all DirectX® 8.1 features?
|
| Q32: |
Does the Radeon 8500 support component output? How do I get component output from the Radeon 8500?
|
| Q33: |
What games are bundled
with the Radeon™ 8500LE?
|
| Q34: |
Why is VIVO (video input/video
output) not included as a feature in Radeon™ 8500LE?
|
| Q35: |
Will the Radeon™ 8500
(128MB DDR), Radeon™ 8500LE (128MB DDR) and Radeon™ 7500
boards be available through the Trade-up Program? If yes,
when and what will the trade-up cost be?
|
| Q36: |
What are the system
requirements for the Radeon™ 8500LE?
|
| Q37: |
Can you run different
resolutions and refresh rates with two different displays
attached simultaneously?
|
| Q38: |
Does the Radeon™ 8500LE
support monitors with a 16:9 aspect ratio?
|
| Q39: |
Can I use a PCI graphics
card, in the same system as my dual display Radeon™ 8500LE
128MB, 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: 128MB DDR memory with VGA and video
output. If you’re looking for even more features, there
is also Radeon™ 8500 graphics card available with 128MB
and 64MB DDR memory with VGA, DVI 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: |
What is the benefit
of 128MB of memory? |
| A4: |
128MB of memory featured in Radeon™ 8500LE
allows you to run the most extensive games and applications
at high resolutions true-color mode and still have enough
local memory for abundant texture storage.
|
| Q5: |
Does the Radeon™
8500LE graphics board support AGP4X? |
| A5: |
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.
|
| Q6: |
What is the DAC speed? |
| A6: |
The DAC frequency is 400MHz.
|
| Q7: |
Is there a PCI version
of Radeon™ 8500LE? |
| A7: |
The Radeon™ 8500LE is only available
in AGP bus 2X/4X.
|
| Q8: |
Can the on-board-memory
be upgraded? |
| A8: |
No. Radeon™ 8500LE graphics card is not
memory upgradeable.
|
| Q9: |
What operating systems
does Radeon™ 8500LE graphics card support? |
| A9: |
Radeon™ 8500LE graphics card currently
supports Windows® 98/98SE, Windows® Me, Windows® 2000
and Windows® XP.
|
| Q10: |
Does ATI develop
drivers for alternate operating systems such as LINUX®? |
| A10: |
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.
|
| Q11: |
Can my new motherboard
work with Radeon™ 8500LE? |
| A11: |
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.
|
| Q12: |
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? |
| A12: |
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.
|
| Q13: |
Can the Radeon™
8500LE graphics card support more than one display at
the same time?
|
| A13: |
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
|
| Q14: |
What are the benefits
of attaching two different displays to the Radeon™ 8500LE
at the same time? |
| A14: |
Attaching two displays to the Radeon™
8500LE offers you the ability to extend your desktop.
The extended desktop mode is available with the Windows®
98, Windows® 98 SE and Windows® Me operating systems.
You can increase your productivity by having different
applications on different displays or even span an application
(e.g. spreadsheet) across both displays. As a result,
you receive twice the display area increasing efficiency
and flexibility. Hydravision™ Multiple Monitor Management
Software makes using multiple displays easy and further
increases your productivity by adding features such as
hot keys, multiple desktops and a desktop management pop-up
menu. For more information on Hydravision™, please see
our interactive
demonstration.
|
| Q15: |
Which displays does
the Radeon™ 8500LE graphics board support? |
| A15: |
Radeon™ 8500LE graphic board provides
support for DDC1/DDC2B+ compliant 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.
|
| Q16: |
What are the differences
between a Radeon™ 8500 (128MB DDR) and a Radeon™ 8500LE
(128MB DDR)? |
| A16: |
The main differences between the Radeon™
8500 (128MB DDR) and the Radeon™ 8500LE (128MB DDR) are
following:
| Radeon™ 8500LE : |
VGA and video output Suggested Retail Price - $199.00
U.S.D. |
| Radeon™ 8500: |
VGA, DVI-I and video output Suggested Retail Price
- $299.00 U.S.D. |
|
| Q17: |
What connectors
are available on the Radeon™ 8500LE? |
| A17: |
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 supplied and
allows you to attach through composite connection if your
television does not support s-video
|
| Q18: |
Can TruForm™ work
on existing games? |
| A18: |
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.
|
| Q19: |
Is TruForm™ compatible
with all new games? |
| A19: |
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.
|
| Q20: |
What Games will
support TruForm™? |
| A20: |
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.
|
| Q21: |
What version of
pixel shaders does Radeon™ 8500LETM support? |
| A21: |
Radeon™ 8500LE supports version 1.4.
|
| Q22: |
What’s the difference
between a vertex shader and pixel shader? |
| A22: |
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.
|
| Q23: |
What has happened
to the Charisma Engine™, and Pixel Tapestry™ technologies
of Radeon™? |
| A23: |
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.
|
| Q24: |
What does this feature
called “Anisotropic filtering” do? |
| A24: |
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.
|
| Q25: |
What is HyperZ™
II? |
| A25: |
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.
|
| Q26: |
Other graphics manufacturers
are claiming new memory bandwidth saving techniques. How
does this compare to HyperZ™ II?
|
| A26: |
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.
|
| Q27: |
What has happened
to the Video Immersion™ technology of the Radeon™? |
| A27: |
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.
|
| Q28: |
How do I enable
1024X768 video output? |
| A28: |
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”.
|
| Q29: |
Other graphics cards
support up to DirectX® 8.0 and I hear Radeon™ 8500LE is
a DirectX® 8.1 part. Is this true? |
| A29: |
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.
|
| Q30: |
What is the difference
between DirectX® 8.0 and DirectX® 8.1? |
| A30: |
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.
|
| Q31: |
Does the OpenGL®
driver support all DirectX® 8.1 features? |
| A31: |
Yes. The Radeon™ 8500LE supports all
features available in DirectX® 8.1 by implementing OpenGL®
extensions.
|
| Q32: |
Does the Radeon 8500 support component output? How do I get component output from the Radeon 8500? |
| A32: |
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: https://shop.ati.com/country.asp
. Component output was not available at the time of initial
shipment of the Radeon 8500.
|
| Q33: |
What games are bundled
with the Radeon™ 8500LE? |
| A33: |
There are three game titles that are
in the retail Radeon™ 8500LE box: Half Life/UpLink, Team
Fortress Classic and Counter Strike.
All these titles benefit from TruForm™ technology.
|
| Q34: |
Why is VIVO (video
input/video output) not included as a feature in Radeon™
8500LE? |
| A34: |
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).
|
| Q35: |
Will the Radeon™
8500 (128MB DDR), Radeon™ 8500LE (128MB DDR) and Radeon™
7500 boards be available through the Trade-up Program?
If yes, when and what will the trade-up cost be? |
| A35: |
ATI has not announced plans to include
the Radeon™ 8500 (128MB DDR), Radeon™ 8500LE (128MB DDR)
and Radeon™ 7500 boards in the ATI Trade-up Program at
this time.
|
| Q36: |
What are the system
requirements for the Radeon™ 8500LE? |
| A36: |
-
- 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
|
| Q37: |
Can you run different
resolutions and refresh rates with two different displays
attached simultaneously? |
| A37: |
Windows® 98, Windows® 98 SE, Windows®
Me and Windows® XP support independent resolutions and
refresh rates on both displays in extended desktop mode.
Windows® NT 4.0 (not supported) and Windows® 2000 will
support independent refresh rates, however, they will
not support independent resolutions. Windows® NT 4.0 and
Windows® 2000 operating systems initiate what is known
as “Big Desktop Mode” when two displays are attached and
they treat two displays as one single desktop.
|
| Q38: |
Does the Radeon™
8500LE support monitors with a 16:9 aspect ratio?
|
| A38: |
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.
|
| Q39: |
Can I use a PCI
graphics card, in the same system as my dual display Radeon™
8500LE 128MB, to support three or more displays? |
| A39: |
ATI does not support the use of an additional
PCI graphics card in a system with the Radeon™ 8500LE.
This product supports the use of two independent displays,
from a single card, under the Windows® 98/SE, Windows®
ME, Windows® 2000, and Windows® XP operating systems.
|
|
|
