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TM
ELSA ERAZOR II
TM
ELSA VICTORY Erazor LT
User Manual
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Copyright © 1998 ELSA AG, Aachen (Germany) While the information in this manual has been compiled with great care, it may not be deemed an assur- ance of product characteristics. ELSA shall be liable only to the degree specified in the terms of sale and delivery. The reproduction and distribution of the documentation and software supplied with this product and the use of its contents is subject to written authorization from ELSA. ELSA is DIN EN ISO 9001 certified. The accredited TÜV CERT cer
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Preface Thank you for placing your trust in this ELSA product. To make sure that you have undiluted fun with your ELSA board, we insist on the high- est quality requirements in manufacturing and stringent quality control to ensure our high product standards and consistent product quality. About this Manual This manual provides all the information you will need to get the best out of your ELSA graphics board. The accompanying ELSA utilities are described, and you will find detailed information ab
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Before you continue Installation of the ELSA ERAZOR II and ELSA VICTORY Erazor LT and installation of the associated drivers are described in the Installation Guide. Please read this information first before you start reading this manual.
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V Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 A Look at the ERAZOR II and VICTORY Erazor LT.................................................. 1 Highlights of the Erazor Graphics Boards ............................................................... 2 What Hardware Do I Need?.................................................................................... 2 What's In the Box?........................
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VI Who to Contact? .............................................................................................. 24 The ELSA LocalWeb......................................................................................... 25 Driver Updates ................................................................................................. 25 Repair? ............................................................................................................. 25 DoC–Declaration of Conformity ...
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Introduction 1 Introduction “Reading the manual is a waste of time.” A prejudice you are proving to be wrong right now by reading this manual. And rightly so. In this case, it is really worth the effort. Because the ELSA ERAZOR II and ELSA VICTORY Erazor LT has some smart features that are only described here in the manual. So only those who read the manual will truly be taken with this card. We'll make it as short and easy as we can–promise. A Look at the ERAZOR II and VICTORY Erazor LT
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2 Introduction Highlights of the Erazor Graphics Boards K Wide data flow – True 128 bit graphics acceleration for WindowsNT, Windows 95 and Windows 98 K A giant with potential for growth – the performance of the RIVA 128ZX grows with processor power. This can be summed up in a phrase: “The more powerful the CPU, the more powerful the Erazor”. K A games arcade on your living room – arcade quality 3D graphics wtih high- speed direct 3D support K Fast video – High quality, multiple filtered MPEG
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Introduction 3 CE Conformity and FCC Radiation Standard CE This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits of the European Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the member states relating to elec- tromagnetic compatibility (89/336/EEC) according to EN 55022 class B. FCC This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Rules. The testing of this com
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4 Introduction ELSA ERAZOR II and ELSA VICTORY Erazor LT
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After Installing the Drivers 5 After Installing the Drivers You will have completed the most important steps once the Installation Guide has piloted you safely through the hazards of driver installation. Your operating system knows about the Erazor, the ELSA drivers are installed and ... It's Time to Get Moving! We have a tip for you at this point: A few minutes' patience will pay for themselves. Take a few moments' time to optimize your system settings. Your eyes will thank you for it and yo
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6 After Installing the Drivers VICTORY Erazor LT Refresh rate (Hz) / Z-Buffer, Double Buffering Color depth: 256 Colors HighColor TrueColor 1600 x 1200 85/– 85/– –/– 1280 x 1024 100/– 100/– 75/– 1152 x 864 120/– 120/– 120/– 1024 x 768 120/– 120/– 120/– 800 x 600 120/3 120/– 120/– HighColor = 65.536 colors, TrueColor = 16,7 million colors What Makes Sense? There are some basic ground rules for you to follow when setting up your graphics sys- tem. On the one hand, there are the ergonomic guide v
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After Installing the Drivers 7 Changing the resolution You set the resolution of your graphics board in the Control Panel under Windows. The ELSA graphics card is normally supplied with software on a CD-ROM. You will find all the utilities described in this manual on the WINNERware CD – unless they are a com- ponent of the operating system. Windows 95 and Windows 98 If you have installed the OpenGL driver, you should be aware that this version of OpenGL only supports games which are suited.
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8 After Installing the Drivers c Here you should click on the ' Settings' tab. ' Settings' has all the options for setting up the graphics board for your monitor. Windows 95 Windows 98 Under Windows 98, you can reach the ' Settings' by selecting the Settings card and then clicking on the Advanced.... It is important to carry out the following settings or checks step by step: K the color depth K the monitor type K the resolution of the monitor image (Scheme, Data Set) and K the refresh rate. Ch
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After Installing the Drivers 9 ing the monitor manufacturer, and the model designation, you will have to enter the fre- quency ranges for the horizontal and vertical scan frequencies and specify the diagonal size of your monitor. If your monitor type is not listed in the monitors database you can enter the monitor manufacturer and model type here. The vertical and horizontal frequency ranges and the diagonal size of the screen are the important settings. Check your entries for the image fre
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10 After Installing the Drivers Windows NT 4.0 The settings for the graphics driver are included in the Control Panel under Windows NT 4.0. Use the command sequence Start E Settings E Control Panel to call the dialog window where you should find the icon for Display. Double click on this symbol to open the window with its various tabs. Click on the 'Settings' tab. You can select the possible settings for 'Color palette', 'Font size', 'Resolution' and 'Dis- play frequency' from this
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Useful Stuff and More 11 Useful Stuff and More You have received a CD with your ELSA ERAZOR II and ELSA VICTORY Erazor LT. On the WINNERware CD you will find all the drivers you will need for the use of the ELSA ERAZOR II and ELSA VICTORY Erazor LT under various operating systems and the tools you can use to exploit all the features on the graphics board. On the following pages we will introduce the tools and their uses. The Multimedia Player Until now, a variety of programs for the playback o
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12 Useful Stuff and More Fine-Tuning for Performance Freaks After installing the ELSA graphics drivers under Windows 95 and Windows 98 you will find a new tab in the 'Display Properties': The ' 3D Settings'. The question mark provides the answers! Click on this symbol and then on the area of the dialog about which you want more information. There’s more! Click on this button for additional dialog windows. Because Windows 98 allows the operation of multiple graphics boards, the 3D Setti
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All about graphics 13 All about graphics This is the chapter where we really get stuck in. Anyone who wants to know more about graphics–especially in connection with the ELSAERAZORII and ELSA VICTORYErazorLT–will find a whole load of technical stuff right here. 3D Graphics Representation Today it is considered de rigeur to know all about 3D. Your curiosity will be aroused as soon as you experience the first visual wizardry generated by your new graphics board. Two features of the 3D display wil
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14 All about graphics Geometrical transformation This part of the 3D pipeline is very processor-intensive, as all the calculations for the 3D scene are carried out at this stage. Described in simple terms, it comprises the following steps: K Illumination–The illumination of the scene by different light sources is calculated. K Transformation–In transformation, the objects are aligned in perspective as seen from the observer's point of view. K Back face culling–This process computes hidden surfa
