Nvidia Quadro Workstation User Manual
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Nvidia Quadro Workstation User Manual

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ForceWare Graphics Driver
Quadro Workstation User's Guide
Driver Version: Release 80 for Windows
NVIDIA Corporation
April 2006

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Summary of Contents for Nvidia Quadro Workstation

  • Page 1 ForceWare Graphics Driver Quadro Workstation User’s Guide Driver Version: Release 80 for Windows NVIDIA Corporation April 2006...
  • Page 2 NVIDIA Corporation. Specifications mentioned in the software are subject to change without notice. NVIDIA Corporation products are not authorized for use as critical components in life support devices or systems without express written approval of NVIDIA Corporation.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Online Help ..... . 2 The NVIDIA GPU Page ... . . 27 Context Help .
  • Page 4 Supported TV and HDTV Adjustment Features Adding a New Application Profile ..108 Based on TV Encoder and NVIDIA GPU . . 74 Adding Profiles With an SLI Configuration . .109 Deleting Application Profiles ..109 6.
  • Page 5 Enabling SLI Mode ....171 Using NVIDIA SLI ....173 N V I D I A C o r p o r a t i o n...
  • Page 6 Before You Begin ....180 NVIDIA Display ....217 Before Installing the NVIDIA ForceWare Video .
  • Page 7 U s e r ’ s G u i d e T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s Video — New Features ... . 226 PowerMizer —...
  • Page 8 List of Tables Table 2.1 Supported NVIDIA Workstation Products ....... 8 Table 2.2 Hard Disk Space Requirements—English.
  • Page 9 Figure 3.5 NVIDIA Settings Sample Menu ........
  • Page 10 Figure 8.2 NVIDIA Direct Access—Display Settings Page ......160 Figure 8.3 NVIDIA Direct Access—Color Settings Page ......162 Figure 8.4 NVIDIA Direct Access—Size and Position Page .
  • Page 11 Figure C.9 NVIDIA Display Wizard — Various Types of TV Connectors ....210 Figure C.10 NVIDIA Display Wizard — Digital Display with TV Pages (2) ....211...
  • Page 12 N V I D I A F o r c e W a r e G r a p h i c s D r i v e r U s e r ’ s G u i d e N V I D I A C o r p o r a t i o n...

  • Page 13: Introduction

    This user’s guide is addressed to users of the control panel-based NVIDIA ForceWare™ graphics display driver. This guide focuses on NVIDIA workstation products, i.e, graphics cards based on the NVIDIA Quadro™ series of GPUs (graphics processing units) listed in “Supported NVIDIA Workstation Products”...

  • Page 14: Other Related Documentation

    Online Help Context Help You can obtain context Help for any of the settings on the NVIDIA display control panel pages. Also, when a setting is disabled (grayed out), placing the cursor on the setting provides “too tip”...

  • Page 15: Nvidia Display Properties And Nview Desktop Manager

    GPU architecture, and desktop management support. • NVIDIA display properties, the topic of this user’s guide, refers to the control panel-based user interface from which you can configure the advanced display properties of the current release of the NVIDIA ForceWare graphics driver.

  • Page 16: Nvidia Purevideotm Enhancements

    NVIDIA PureVideo Enhancements • Improved inverse 3:2 and 2:2 pulldown • Improved adaptive deinterlacing Support for the Next Generation of NVIDIA GPUs Additional Details by Driver Module DirectX • Support for the next generation of GPUs • Support for dual-core CPUs OpenGL •...

  • Page 17: Video

    • Improved inverse 2:2 implementation • Adaptive Deinterlacing for HD content on GeForce 6600 and higher GPUs • PureVideo support for the next generation of GPUs Classic NVIDIA Control Panel • HDTV Overscan compensation support Includes X-Y adjustment, and independent front-end timing adjustment features •...
  • Page 18 Chapter 1 Introduction Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 19: System Requirements

    • “Hardware — Supported NVIDIA Products” on page 8 • “Supported Languages” on page 9 • “Software — NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Driver Installation” on page 10 • “Notes on Feature and Configuration Support” on page 16 Supported Operating Systems ®...

  • Page 20: Hardware - Supported Nvidia Products

    Hardware — Supported NVIDIA Products Table 2.1 lists the NVIDIA products supported by the Release 80 driver. Note: All GPU products listed below support multiple displays (usually two displays) on a single graphics card, with the exception of the Quadro NVS 400 GPU, which supports up to four displays per graphics card.

  • Page 21: Supported Languages

    NVIDIA Quadro NVS with AGP8X NVIDIA Quadro NVS NVIDIA Quadro2 MXR NVIDIA Quadro DCC Supported Languages The Release 80 NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Driver supports the following languages in the main driver control panel: English (USA) German Portuguese (Euro/Iberian) English (UK)

  • Page 22: Software - Nvidia Forceware Graphics Driver Installation

    Note: If you do not have System Administrator access privileges, it is assumed that the appropriate person with System Administrator access in your organization will set up and install the Release 80 NVIDIA ForceWare graphics driver software on your computer.

  • Page 23: Preserving Settings Before Upgrading Your Software

    • As part of the install process, an uninstall is registered in your system. • Under Windows Me and Windows XP, the NVIDIA driver is installed in “Dualview mode” display. However, note that the second display is not activated by default, but must be enabled.

  • Page 24: Figure 2.1 Nview Desktop Manager - Sample Profiles Page

    If you want to retain the currently loaded profile and want to save your changed settings to a new file, click the New option. Enter a name and description of the profile in the New Profile dialog box. For example, you can name this profile My Settings. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 25: Figure 2.2 Nview Desktop Manager - Save Profile Settings

    Users\Application Data\ nView_Profiles directory. 6 Now you can uninstall your current driver for a driver upgrade. 7 After you restart your computer following an NVIDIA new driver install, you can easily load the saved profile from the Profiles page of nView Desktop Manager.

  • Page 26: About Using Saved Profiles In Another Computer

    Uninstalling the NVIDIA Display Driver Software Note: It is highly recommended that you follow the steps in this section to completely uninstall the NVIDIA Display Driver software before updating to a new version of the software. To uninstall the nView software, follow these steps: 1 From the Windows taskbar, click Start >...
  • Page 27 3 Click Accept if you accept the terms of the agreement, then either open the file or save the file to your PC and open it later. Opening the EXE file launches the NVIDIA InstallShield Wizard. 4 Follow the instructions in the NVIDIA InstallShield Wizard to complete the installation. NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 28: Notes On Feature And Configuration Support

    • To access features on the nView Display Settings page (see “nView Display Modes” on page 33), you need: a multi-display graphics card based on any of the NVIDIA GPUs that support • multiple displays on a single graphics card, as indicated in “Hardware —...

  • Page 29: Examples In This Guide

    System Requirements Examples in this Guide • For example purposes, most of the NVIDIA display control panel pages shown in this guide feature an NVIDIA GeForce GPU-based graphics card. You may be using a different NVIDIA GPU-based graphics card, in which case you will see the exact name of the GPU you are using reflected in the NVIDIA GPU tab.
  • Page 30 Chapter 2 System Requirements Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 31: Nvidia Control Panel Access

    “Uninstalling the NVIDIA Display Driver” on page 31 NVIDIA Display Setup Wizards After a fresh installation of the NVIDIA Release 80 graphics display driver and restarting your computer, one or both of the NVIDIA display wizards (Display Wizard or TV Wizard) are automatically invoked, depending on the types of displays that are connected to your graphics card —...

  • Page 32: Accessing The Nvidia Display Control Panel Pages

    Once your NVIDIA ForceWare graphics display driver is installed, you can easily access the driver features from a convenient menu. You can quickly access the NVIDIA display menu that gives you direct access to the NVIDIA display control panel pages.

  • Page 33: Desktop Access

    NVIDIA GPU (Figure 3.7). On subsequent use, the actual NVIDIA control panel page that opens will be the page that was open when you last closed the NVIDIA control panel. Shortcut to Playing Video Files on Any Display You can now use the NVIDIA display selection shortcut feature to play video files on any selected display.
  • Page 34 Only your primary display appears if any other nView display mode is enabled. 2 Select the NVIDIA option Play On My and then choose the display on which you want to play the video. 3 To configure full screen video display, see “Using Full Screen Video Settings”...

  • Page 35: Nvidia Settings Menu - Windows Taskbar Access

    NVIDIA Display Options from a Video File Context Menu T Figure 3.3 NVIDIA Settings Menu — Windows Taskbar Access 1 Make sure you have added the NVIDIA Settings menu icon to your Windows taskbar notification area. For details, see “Adding the NVIDIA Settings Menu to the Windows Taskbar”...

  • Page 36: Figure 3.4 Nvidia Settings Menu Icon In The Windows Taskbar Notification Area

    Figure 3.8 shows another view of the NVIDIA Settings menu. You can use this menu to quickly access the same NVIDIA ForceWare graphics display driver- based settings that you can access in the regular NVIDIA display menu shown in Figure 3.9.

  • Page 37: Windows Display Properties Setting Access

    3.7), you can access all the NVIDIA display control panel pages where you can configure a variety of NVIDIA driver features. To view any of the NVIDIA display control panel pages, simply click a menu item from the NVIDIA display menu.
  • Page 38 Chapter 3 NVIDIA Control Panel Access NVIDIA Display Menu Showing the GPU Page— Multiple Displays Connected Figure 3.7 NVIDIA display menu showing the main NVIDIA GPU page. The nView Display Settings menu item appears when multiple displays are connected. Click the green button to...

  • Page 39: The Nvidia Gpu Page

    The NVIDIA GPU Page As mentioned previously, during first use of a newly installed NVIDIA driver, the “default” page that opens is always this main NVIDIA GPU page, as shown in the Figure 3.7 example. This GPU page contains system and graphics card information. You can also use the NVIDIA Information >>...
  • Page 40 Chapter 3 NVIDIA Control Panel Access NVIDIA Display Menu Showing nView Display Settings Page Figure 3.9 EDID display names EDID display names Note: This menu item only appears if you have more than one display connected. For complete details on using the nView Display Settings features, see the next chapter “Using nView Multi-Display Settings”...

  • Page 41: Using The Nvidia Display Menu Help And Tool Tips

    • Select or move your mouse pointer to the option for which you want help and then press F1, or • Click the “?” icon located on the top right corner of the NVIDIA display control panel page you have open, move the “?” icon over the option for which you want help, then click your mouse again to display the help.

  • Page 42: Tool Tips

    Settings) and be able to view the name in its entirety. Tool Tips for Disabled Settings When an option or setting is disabled (grayed) on any NVIDIA display control panel page, you can place the mouse pointer on the disabled option for a couple of seconds to see “tool tip”...

  • Page 43: Uninstalling The Nvidia Display Driver

    NVIDIA driver installed on your computer before you install a new version of the driver. To uninstall the NVIDIA ForceWare graphics display driver, follow these steps: 1 From the Windows taskbar, click Start > Settings > Control Panel to open the Control Panel window.
  • Page 44 If you click Yes, all of the nView software and all of your saved profiles will be deleted. • If you click No, the nView software is removed, but the profile file are saved in the Windows\nView directory on your hard disk. Your system now restarts. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 45: Using Nview Multi-Display Settings

    • “Switching Between nView Dualview and Span/Clone Modes — Windows 2000” on page 59 • “Enabling nView Multiview Mode — Only for NVIDIA Quadro NVS-based Graphics Cards” on page 59 • “Arranging Displays on the Settings Page” on page nView Display Modes The nView Display Settings page provides several display modes for your multi- display configuration.

  • Page 46: Figure 4.1 Nview Single Display Mode - Windows Xp/2000

    Chapter 4 Using nView Multi-Display Settings When using NVIDIA GPU-based graphics cards that support multiple displays, there are three ways to run multi-display configurations under most operating systems; Dualview, Span, or Clone mode. These nView display modes are available from the nView Display Settings page as shown in Figure 4.1...

  • Page 47: Nview Multi-Display Applications

    Multi-Display Applications For extensive information on nView applications, click the Products tab from the NVIDIA Web site: www.nvidia.com Engineering or mechanical CAD applications can use multiple displays for different directional views of an object or a building, such as a front or side view or even a wireframe model on one screen and a textured version of the same model on another.
  • Page 48 Home theater systems can take advantage of the DVD capabilities of your computer. Simply hook up a large screen television as your second display and you can watch DVDs — without having to buy a dedicated DVD player. See “Using Full Screen Video Settings” on page 120. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 49: Accessing The Display Context Menus

    Chapter 4 Using nView Multi-Display Settings Television and Movies — Using the NVIDIA Display “video mirror” feature, you can watch TV and any other video while you work. See “Using Full Screen Video Settings” on page 120. Accessing the Display Context Menus The display icons on the nView Display Settings page display a graphical representation of your nView display configuration —...

  • Page 50: About Display Numbering

    (a or b) designating separate heads indicating dual display. About Renaming Displays In this release of the NVIDIA driver, you can also “rename” the display names that appear on your desktop context menu shown in Figure 3.2 of the previous chapter.
  • Page 51 3 Enter a name in the Rename edit box and click OK to return to the nView Setting page. Notice that the new name now appears on the display image and the Primary Display/Secondary display box, as shown in Figure 4.4. nView Display Settings — Renamed Display Figure 4.5 Display with edited name NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 52: Nvidia Multi-Display Support

    (Fig. 5.5). NVIDIA Multi-Display Support The following are sample display combinations that NVIDIA GPU-based multi- display cards support when used with the NVIDIA ForceWare graphics display driver: • Two RGB displays with second RAMDAC (digital-to-analog converter) • Two analog flat panels...
  • Page 53 Setting up a multi-display graphics card involves installing the graphics card on a computer, connecting the displays to your computer, and installing the current version of the NVIDIA ForceWare graphics display driver. After restarting your computer, the multiple display modes of the graphics cards installed are fully functional.

  • Page 54: Primary And Secondary Displays

    TV + Analog display Primary and Secondary Displays nView Display Mode On the NVIDIA nView Display Settings page, the primary display is designated by the display icon on the left and the secondary display is designated by the display icon on the right.

  • Page 55: Windows Display Properties Settings

    Figure 4.4. Key Features Dualview support and functionality include the following: • Support for advanced NVIDIA features such as Full Screen Video Mirroring and Overlay. (See “Using Full Screen Video Settings” on page 120 “Using Video Overlay Settings” on page 118.)
  • Page 56 NTSC TV that is limited to 800 x 600 at 60 Hz refresh rate. The TV has lower resolution and refresh rate than the analog display because the TV encoder on the GPU has fewer capabilities than the analog display. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...
  • Page 57 Chapter 4 Using nView Multi-Display Settings Display 2 — resolution is 1024 x 768 — Display 1 resolution is 1280 x 768 Background is not stretched across displays. Taskbar is not stretched across displays. NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 58: Initial Installation Of Nview Dualview Mode - Windows 2000

    2 After Windows starts up, right click on your desktop to open the Windows desktop menu. Then select the display for which you want to open the NVIDIA display menu and select the nView Display Settings option.

  • Page 59: Figure 4.10 Display Properties Settings - Dualview Mode (Windows 2000)

    Click the confirming prompts (such as, Yes, OK, or Finish) to follow through and then restart your computer as prompted. 5 After the system starts up, if the NVIDIA nView Desktop Manager Setup Wizard appears, run through the Wizard. (See the NVIDIA nView Desktop Manager User’s Guide for details.)

  • Page 60: Enabling Nview Dualview Mode After Initial Installation - Windows 2000

    1 From your Windows 2000 desktop, right click to view the Windows desktop menu, then click Properties > Settings > Advanced and then the NVIDIA GPU tab. 2 Click nView Display Settings from the NVIDIA menu and select Dualview from the nView modes list.

  • Page 61: Nview Span Modes Vs. Dualview Mode Features

    This is the reason that you cannot use different bit depths or resolutions per display. Note: This also results in nView Span modes being slightly faster than Dualview mode because Windows only has to manage one display instead of two. NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 62: Using Horizontal & Vertical Span Modes

    In Span mode, the Windows desktop area is spread across both displays. This mode can be set for multiple categories of displays, although display limitations may override the capabilities of your NVIDIA multi-display graphics card. For example, if Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 63: Figure 4.12 Nview Horizontal Span Mode - Windows Xp

    Due to operating system differences between Windows 9x and Windows NT 4.0/ Windows 2000, the latter does not currently offer true multi-display support for Span modes using one NVIDIA multi-display graphics card . As a result, size of the actual desktop is limited to twice the smaller size of the two displays.

  • Page 64: Figure 4.13 Nview Vertical Span Mode - Windows Xp

    Properties Settings tab, if you click Identify when you are in nView Span mode, you will see the same number displayed on each of your active displays. nView Vertical Span Mode — Windows XP Figure 4.13 Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 65: Using Nview Clone Mode

    Clone mode setting. nView Horizontal Span, Vertical Span, Clone, and Dualview modes support advanced NVIDIA features such as Video Mirroring. In Clone mode, two displays show identical images, which is useful for presentations. For example, Clone mode is useful when giving presentations. The presenter may have a small display or other display on the podium while a projector or presentation quality display shows the larger image to the audience.
  • Page 66 Clone mode, you will see the same number on both your displays. Figure 4.15 shows nView Clone mode using a digital display as a primary display and a TV as a secondary display. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 67: Enabling Virtual Desktop - Clone Mode

    You can use the NVIDIA “Screen Resolution & Refresh Rates” (see “Changing Screen Resolutions and Refresh Rates” on page 136”) menu option to adjust the screen...

  • Page 68: Procedure

    Follow these steps to enable Virtual Desktop: 1 From your Windows desktop, right click to view the Windows desktop menu, then click Properties > Settings > Advanced and then the NVIDIA GPU tab. 2 From the NVIDIA menu, click the nView Display Settings option.
  • Page 69 7 Click Apply and OK close the Screen Resolution & Refresh Rates page and return to the nView Display Settings page. Note: Now that you have adjusted the screen resolutions, notice that you can move your mouse horizontally and/or vertically all the way across the NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 70: Disabling Auto-Panning (Lock Pan Position)

    The example in Figure 4.18 shows that the Lock Pan Position check box is selected, nView Clone Mode with Virtual Desktop Enabled — Disabling Panning Figure 4.18 Disabling desktop panning of the secondary display = Lock Pan Position Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 71: Switching Between Nview Dualview And Span/Clone Modes - Windows 2000

    1 From your Windows 2000 desktop, right click to view the Windows desktop menu, then click Properties > Settings > Advanced and then the NVIDIA GPU tab. 2 Click nView Display Settings from the NVIDIA menu.

  • Page 72: Arranging Displays On The Settings Page

    Chapter 4 Using nView Multi-Display Settings For further details on using this mode, see the NVIDIA Application Note titled “Using nView MultiView Modes with NVIDIA Quadro NVS-based Graphics Cards” Arranging Displays on the Settings Page In nView Dualview mode, you can arranging displays on the Windows Properties Settings page to match the actual setup of your physical displays.

  • Page 73: Figure 4.20 Display Settings - Diagonal

    4.20). The positions of the images don’t have to correspond to the physical positions of your displays. That is, you can position the images one above the other even though your displays are side-by-side. Display Settings — Diagonal Figure 4.20 NVIDIA Corporation...
  • Page 74 Chapter 4 Using nView Multi-Display Settings Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 75: Configuring Displays

    • “Adjusting Television (TV) Settings” on page 68 Adjusting Analog Display Settings If your NVIDIA GPU-based graphics card is connected to an analog display, follow the steps in this section to access the analog display’s Device Adjustment window from which you can configure Screen Adjustment and Display Timing settings.

  • Page 76: Screen Adjustment

    Configuring Displays If you have more than one display connected, follow these steps. Click nView Display Settings from the NVIDIA display menu. Left click on the display image that represents your analog display to select it. Right click on that display image and click Device Adjustments to open the...

  • Page 77: Display Timing Settings

    • Discrete Monitor Timings (DMT) timing is a set of pre-defined VESA timings. VESA updates this standard every year. If DMT timing is available for a specific mode, the NVIDIA display driver normally selects it instead of the GTF standard. • Coordinated Video Timings (CVT) became the VESA standard on March 2003.

  • Page 78: Adjusting Digital Display Settings

    Adjusting Digital Display Settings If your NVIDIA GPU-based graphics card is connected to a digital display, follow the steps in this section to access the display’s Device Adjustment page where you can configure some flat panel display settings.

  • Page 79: Figure 5.3 Digital Display Settings

    For example, if your flat panel has a maximum resolution of 1680 x 1050, an image with a resolution of 1024 x 768 will be scaled to appear on the screen at a 1400 x 1050 resolution with black borders. NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 80: Adjusting Television (Tv) Settings

    If your television is the only display connected to your computer directly (or through a VCR or switch box or receiver) and you do not see the nView Display Settings option and also do not see the TV Settings and the Screen Adjustment option on the NVIDIA display menu, then follow these steps.

  • Page 81: Tv Settings

    TV display settings. For details, see “Device Adjustments — TV Output” on page TV Settings Figure 5.4 show a sample NVIDIA TV Settings page. TV Settings Figure 5.4 Click to display a list of regional signal formats and select a format.

  • Page 82: Video Output Format

    Note: Availability of settings on your TV Output page can vary from those shown in Figure 5.5 and depend on the “Internal” TV encoder on your NVIDIA GPU or the “external” TV encoder on the NVIDIA GPU-based graphics card you are using.

  • Page 83: Brightness/Contrast/Saturation

    Brightness/Contrast/Saturation Note: Availability of the Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation slider depends on TV encoder used on your NVIDIA GPU or NVIDIA GPU-based graphics card. Use the Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation sliders to adjust the brightness, contrast, and saturation of the TV image.

  • Page 84: Flicker

    Note: This feature is available on the following TV encoders — Conexant 871, 872, 873, 874, 875, and integrated encoders. Depending on the TV encoder on the NVIDIA GPU or NVIDIA GPU-based graphics card, for some HDTV output modes, there is no available downscaler to implement overscan compensation.

  • Page 85: Video Border - (For Hdtv)

    5.6)applies grey borders to the unused portion of your display to reduce this effect. HDTV Output Setting — Video Border Figure 5.6 Select the Video border check box if you see dark or black borders on any unused portion of your display. NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 86: Based On Tv Encoder And Nvidia Gpu

    1. This category of TV encoders is supported, at minimum, by a GeForce MX or newer Quadro FX-based NVIDIA GPU family. Your Quadro FX-based graphics card may not have TV support. 2. This category of TV encoder supports NVIDIA GPU series that are older than those listed in the previous footnote 1.
  • Page 87 “Using HDTV Formats” on page 83 • “Troubleshooting HDTV Configuration” on page 91 Note: If you are using the Quadro 3400 — 4400, 1400, and later series of NVIDIA GPU-based graphics cards with your HDTV, for helpful hardware information, see Appendix B —...

  • Page 88: Configuring Hdtv

    • Digital output (DVI) on HDTV-capable GPUs with a compatible connector. * Supported on NVIDIA GPU-based graphics cards with Conexant 875 or Philips 7108 TV encoders and compatible connectors, or on the NVIDIA GPU internal HDTV encoder for the newer GPUs.

  • Page 89: About D Connector Output Modes

    The number of the active lines displayed for television or HDTV formats determine the associated native desktop mode or resolution: Television Formats • NTSC 525 lines - resolution of 720 x 480 interlaced (480i) • PAL 625 lines - resolution of 720 x 576 interlaced (576i) NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 90: Hdtv Formats

    TV Output page to display grey instead of black for the borders when the selected resolution is smaller than the selected native HDTV format. See “Device Adjustments — TV Output” on page Optimizing HDTV Viewing The NVIDIA driver provides three user-correction methods — “Underscan”, “Overscan Shift”, and Overscan Shift —...

  • Page 91: Underscan

    Adjustment Sliders” on page 91. For component out, NVIDIA determined through market research that 15% overscan is common with many TVs (both SDTV and HDTV). NVIDIA used this information to create two custom resolutions that are optimal for Web browsing, running applications, and playing games on HDTV sets.

  • Page 92: Overscan Shift

    Start button and the clock on the Windows taskbar, to not be visible at all times. But as the mouse cursor gets close to these desktop elements, the NVIDIA driver intelligently shifts the desktop a little in order to move those elements into view.

  • Page 93: Using Hdtv In Nview Display Modes

    If you use plasma displays with burn-in display issues, you can use the Video border option on the TV Output page to display grey instead of black for the borders NVIDIA Corporation...
  • Page 94 Chapter 6 Configuring HDTV when the selected resolution is smaller than the selected native HDTV format. See “Device Adjustments — TV Output” on page Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 95: Using Hdtv As The Secondary Display In Nview Clone Mode

    Note: The following procedure can be used for nView Single display, Clone, or Dualview mode. 1 After installing the NVIDIA Release 80 graphics driver, right click on your Windows desktop. 2 If you have an HDTV connected in nView single display mode, then select the TV option.
  • Page 96 TV Settings page (Figure 6.4 Figure 6.5) to open the HDTV Overscan Compensation dialog box (Figure 6.6). Note: By default, the Native (Figure 6.6) option is selected. For details about the native display setting, see “Native” on page Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 97: Figure 6.2 Quick Access To Hdtv Formats - Hdtv Component Connection

    Chapter 6 Configuring HDTV Quick Access to HDTV Formats — HDTV Component Connection Figure 6.2 NVIDIA Corporation...
  • Page 98 Chapter 6 Configuring HDTV Quick Access to HDTV Formats — HDTV over DVI Connection Figure 6.3 Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 99: Figure 6.4 Tv Settings - Hdtv Component Connection

    Chapter 6 Configuring HDTV TV Settings — HDTV Component Connection Figure 6.4 Click this list to select an HDTV (EDTV/SDTV) format. TV Settings — HDTV over DVI Connection Figure 6.5 Click this list to select an HDTV format. NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 100: Using Overscan Shift

    If you move the slider all the way to the left, that indicates “zero” panning. The further right you move the slider, the more you have to pan. 3 Click OK or Apply when done. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 101: Figure 6.7 Hdtv Overscan Configuration - "Overscan Shift" Selected

    Chapter 6 Configuring HDTV As you are applying the adjustments, you will be prompted to confirm proper settings by the messages in Figure 6.8. HDTV Overscan Configuration — “Overscan shift” Selected Figure 6.7 Confirm Display Settings Prompts Figure 6.8 NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 102: Using Underscan

    1 From the HDTV Overscan Configuration page, select the Underscan option (Figure 6.9) and click Apply. HDTV Overscan Configuration — “Underscan” Selected Figure 6.9 2 Click the Overscan Compensation button to display a screen resolution adjustment control panel (Figure 6.10). Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 103: Troubleshooting Hdtv Configuration

    Problem: For 480i/p, 640x480 is the native solution, Can NVIDIA support this resolution? Answer: Actually, the native resolution for 480i and 480p is 720x480. NVIDIA does fully support 640x480 also. However, Windows XP hides that mode from the user. Note that this is a Windows XP feature and, therefore, cannot be changed by NVIDIA.
  • Page 104 Answer: This means that your HDTV has more than 18% overscan — therefore, some of the 768 lines are not visible. The solution is to use the Overscan shift slider on your HDTV display’s NVIDIA Device Adjustment page. See relevant sections under “Optimizing HDTV Viewing”...
  • Page 105 Answer: You need to increase the amount of overscan shift by using the Overscan shift slider from the HDTV display’s NVIDIA Device Adjustment page. The amount required will vary, based on the type of HDTV you are using, and is not detectable.
  • Page 106 Chapter 6 Configuring HDTV Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 107: Configuring Key Forceware Graphics Driver Features

    “Adjusting Temperature Settings” on page 138 • “Changing Screen Resolutions and Refresh Rates” on page 140 • “Editing the NVIDIA Display Menu” on page 148 • “Adjusting PowerMizer Settings — Only for Notebook Computers” on page 150 • “Using the HiRes Desktop Scaling Feature” on page 152...

  • Page 108: Adjusting Desktop Colors

    Follow any one of these methods to access the Color Correction page (Figure 7.1). • From the NVIDIA display menu, click Color Correction • From the nView Display Settings page: Right-click one of the display images or click the Device Settings >> option.

  • Page 109: Color Correction Settings

    Digital Vibrance Note: The Digital Vibrance Control (DVC) feature supported by the GeForce2 MX and newer series of NVIDIA GPUs. DVC, a mechanism for controlling color separation and intensity, boosts the color saturation of an image so that all images...

  • Page 110: Apply Color Changes To

    • The color appears in the graph of the color correction curve below. • Moving the Brightness/Contrast/Gamma sliders changes the appearance of the colored line/curves in the graph in real time. For additional information on the graph of the color correction curve, see Color Curve Graph below. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 111: Color Curve Graph

    If you have loaded an ICC profile, the color correction curves loaded from the ICC profile are displayed in the graph. Use a professional publishing application to perform color matching based on information in the ICC profile. NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 112: Image Sharpening

    Chapter 7 Configuring Key ForceWare Graphics Driver Features Image Sharpening Note: This option is only available on GeForce FX and later NVIDIA GPU-based graphics cards. Use the Image Sharpening slider to adjust the sharpness of the image quality by amplifying high frequency content.

  • Page 113: Adjusting Performance And Quality Settings

    • “Deleting Application Profiles” on page 109 • “Basic Driver Settings” on page 110 • “Advanced Driver Settings” on page 113 To access the Performance and Quality Settings page, from the NVIDIA display menu, click the Performance and Quality Settings option (Figure 7.2).

  • Page 114: Figure 7.2 Performance And Quality Settings Page

    Application profiles features or settings. • Application profiles refer to pre-defined saved files containing NVIDIA OpenGL and Direct3D driver settings for workstation applications. Note: When you fist open the Performance & Quality page, the lists in the Application profile section is set to the default “global driver settings”...

  • Page 115: Changing Global Driver Settings

    “Modifying an Existing Application Profile” on page 105 6 Repeat steps 3 through 5 for each driver setting you want to change. 7 Be sure to click Apply after each change you make to the global driver settings. Changing Global Driver Settings Figure 7.3 NVIDIA Corporation...
  • Page 116 Chapter 7 Configuring Key ForceWare Graphics Driver Features Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 117: Modifying An Existing Application Profile

    Configuring Key ForceWare Graphics Driver Features Modifying an Existing Application Profile To modify pre-defined NVIDIA-supplied application profiles, follow these steps: 1 Set the Active profile list to Global driver settings and click the Restore button to restore all settings to their default values.
  • Page 118 If you renamed the profile (Figure 7.6), then it is considered a “new” profile and the Remove button appears when you retrieve the profile from the Application profile list. You can always remove these types of profiles from the list. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...
  • Page 119 Chapter 7 Configuring Key ForceWare Graphics Driver Features Saving a Modified Profile (1) Figure 7.5 Saving a Modified Profile (2) Figure 7.6 NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 120: Adding A New Application Profile

    5 Enter a name for the profile you are adding in the Profile text entry box, as shown in the left image in Figure 7.7. Adding a Profile Figure 7.7 Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 121: Adding Profiles With An Sli Configuration

    Note: Remember that when you delete a profile that is associated with a single application or multiple applications, all NVIDIA settings for that one or multiple applications as you’ve set in that profile are remove. d If you have created another profile that contains any of these same applications, you may want to use that profile.

  • Page 122: Basic Driver Settings

    You may also want to experiment with different screen resolutions, refresh rates, and/or color depths until you arrive at a setting or combination of settings for antialiasing to work. NVIDIA Driver Settings (Standard) Figure 7.8 Basic driver settings Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 123: Anisotropic Filtering

    Apply. • Off disables anisotropic filtering. • 1x results in maximum application performance. • 2x through 8x results in improved image quality but at some expense to application performance. Higher values yield better image quality while reducing performance. NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 124: Vertical Sync

    Note: This settings is “disabled” by default for most application because enabling this setting generally hurts application performance for wireframe rendering. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 125: Advanced Driver Settings

    Note: Availability of the advanced settings described below may depend on the type of NVIDIA GPU that your graphics card is using and/or the type of graphics card you are using. NVIDIA Driver Settings (Advanced) Figure 7.9...

  • Page 126: Conformant Texture Clamp

    Hardware Acceleration Hardware acceleration settings determine advanced rendering options when using multiple displays and/or graphics cards based on different classes of NVIDIA GPUs. 1 Make sure the View advanced settings option is selected from the View list. 2 Select Hardware acceleration from the driver settings list.

  • Page 127: Figure 7.10 Hardware Acceleration Driver Setting

    • nView Clone/Span mode is the default setting when your nView display mode is set to nView Clone mode or one of the nView Span modes. If multiple NVIDIA- GPU based graphics cards in your system are in use with active displays, this setting is replaced by one of the “multi-display”...

  • Page 128: Disable Enhanced Cpu Instruction Set

    Clone/Span mode is the default setting when your nView display mode is set to nView Clone mode or one of the nView Span modes. If multiple NVIDIA-GPU based graphics cards in your system are in use with active displays, this setting is replaced by one of the “multi-display” modes described below.

  • Page 129: Maximize Texture Memory

    • Auto-select allows the driver to determine the best method based on your hardware configuration. Antialiasing Line Gamma Note: This setting is available on newer NVIDIA GPUs, such as the Quadro FX series. Enabling this option allows gamma-corrected antialiased lines to consider variances in the color-display capabilities of your displays when rendering smooth lines.

  • Page 130: Texture Color Depth

    • Off disables triple buffering. Gamma Correct Antialiasing Note: This option is available on newer NVIDIA GPUs, such as the Quadro FX 4500 and later series of GPUs. • On enables gamma correct antialiasing, which results in a better color calculation to help reduce jaggies and maintain the highest level of color reproduction of 3D images.

  • Page 131: Sli Rendering Mode

    SLI. • Select Single GPU rendering if, for example, you prefer not to use multi-GPU rendering for a specific application. The NVIDIA driver selects the GPU to use for single-GPU rendering. Note: This is not the same as completely disabling SLI. If you are trying to solve a compatibility issue, you may want to completely disable SLI by clearing the Enable SLI multi-GPU check box on the SLI page.

  • Page 132: Stereo Display Mode

    Stereo Display Mode Applies to graphics cards based on newer NVIDIA GPUs, such as the Quadro FX series. Tip: If the stereo or overlay features do not work properly, you may want to try setting different screen resolutions and refresh rates until you arrive at a setting or combination of settings for better results.

  • Page 133: Swap Eyes (L Becomes R, R Becomes L)

    You don't need to use the adapter if your graphics card has a built-in 3-pin DIN connector. Swap eyes (L becomes R, R becomes L) Applies to graphics cards based on newer NVIDIA GPUs, such as the Quadro FX series. Tip: If the stereo or overlay features do not work properly, you may want to try setting different screen resolutions and refresh rates until you arrive at a setting or combination of settings for better results.

  • Page 134: Exported Pixel Types

    Exported Pixel Types Applies to graphics cards based on newer NVIDIA GPUs, such as the Quadro FX series. Tip: If the stereo or overlay features do not work properly, you may want to try setting different screen resolutions and refresh rates until you arrive at a setting or combination of settings for better results.

  • Page 135: Accessing The Video Overlay Settings

    Configuring Key ForceWare Graphics Driver Features Accessing the Video Overlay Settings Page 1 First, open the DVD or video application that you want to view. 2 Click Video Overlay Settings from the NVIDIA display menu to open the Video Overlay Settings page (Figure 7.11).

  • Page 136: Out/In

    Note: If you have only one display connected to your computer and active, you will not see the Full Screen Video menu option on the NVIDIA display menu. However, you will have access to the Video Overlay Settings menu option.

  • Page 137: About The Full Screen Video Mirror Feature

    Chapter 7 Configuring Key ForceWare Graphics Driver Features Note: You can now use the NVIDIA display selection shortcut feature to play video files on any selected display. For details, see “Shortcut to Playing Video Files on Any Display” on page...

  • Page 138: Accessing The Full Screen Video Page

    2 On the nView Display Settings page, set nView mode to a multi-display mode, such as Clone or Dualview. 3 Open the DVD or video application and click Full Screen Video from the NVIDIA display menu. If you need help in accessing the NVIDIA display menu, see “Accessing the...

  • Page 139: Track Overlay Rotation

    (Figure 7.14) to link the degree of rotation you specify on the NVRotate page (see “Using NVRotate Settings” on page 135) for a video overlay between the primary and secondary displays. Adjust Colors “Adjusting Desktop Colors” on page NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 140: Full Screen Video Zoom Controls

    (See “Using Video Overlay Settings” on page 122.) Note: Video players that cannot detect the presence of Video Mirror may not update the zoom factor immediately while displaying a still frame. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 141: Out/In

    Using the Tools Page Accessing the Tools Page To access the Tools page, click Tools from the NVIDIA display menu. If you need help in accessing the NVIDIA display menu, see “Accessing the NVIDIA Display Control Panel Pages” on page Figure 7.15...

  • Page 142: Windows Taskbar

    NVIDIA Settings menu icon Windows taskbar notification area You can click this icon to display and use the NVIDIA Settings menu to apply any of the NVIDIA graphics driver settings (which are normally configurable from the NVIDIA display menu) on the fly. This menu also contains options for restoring default settings and accessing the Windows Display Properties page.
  • Page 143 Chapter 7 Configuring Key ForceWare Graphics Driver Features You can access the following settings using the NVIDIA Settings menu icon. • Screen Resolution • Screen Refresh Rate • Color Quality • nView Display Settings • Performance and Quality Settings • Custom Color Settings •...

  • Page 144: Display Optimization Wizard

    Chapter 7 Configuring Key ForceWare Graphics Driver Features NVIDIA Settings Menus — Another Example Figure 7.18 Display Optimization Wizard Run the Display Optimization Wizard to adjust your displays for optimal viewing and representation of colors. Note: Displays in nView Clone mode cannot be optimized. If you would like to optimize these displays, change the display mode to another nView mode and then restart the wizard.

  • Page 145: Adding Nvidia Menu Options To The Windows Desktop Menu

    7.19), your connected displays appear as choices on your Windows desktop menu. 1 To access the desktop menu, right click on your desktop. 2 Select NVIDIA Display and one of your connected displays from the list that appears (Figure 7.19).
  • Page 146 Figure 7.19 Clearing the Enable desktop context menu check Selecting the Enable desktop context menu box removes the NVIDIA display menu option, but check box adds the NVIDIA display menu item retains the nView Desktop Manager menu items to your desktop context menu.

  • Page 147: Using Nvrotate Settings

    Landscape or Portrait mode. You can rotate your desktop by 90, 180, or 270 degrees. Note: NVRotate is supported on GeForce2 MX and later series of NVIDIA GPUs. Note: If you are using the Video Mirror feature, you can also use the NVRotate feature to rotate the overlay video.

  • Page 148: Before You Use Nvrotate Settings

    • You are using slower GPUs, such as those in the NVIDIA GeForce2 or older series. • Other demands are placed on the NVIDIA graphics driver, such as moving the application window across the desktop.
  • Page 149 Configuring Key ForceWare Graphics Driver Features NVRotate Settings — Inverted Landscape Mode Figure 7.21 To rotate your desktop, click one of these arrow buttons. Select one of these options. NVRotate Settings — Portrait & Inverted Portrait Mode Figure 7.22 NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 150: Adjusting Temperature Settings

    Adjusting Temperature Settings Note: The Temperature Settings page is available with GeForce FX and newer NVIDIA GPUs and on certain older NVIDIA GPUs only if the option has been enabled on your computer. Temperature settings let you adjust the temperature of the selected NVIDIA GPU on your computer.:...

  • Page 151: Temperature Settings

    Displays the current temperature of the selected NVIDIA GPU in your system. Core Slowdown Threshold Enter the value at which you want the NVIDIA GPU to slow itself down to prevent overheating. When this value matches the GPU core temperature value, a dialog box automatically appears warning of the condition and the actions that have been taken to prevent possible overheating and damage to any particular GPU(s) in your system.

  • Page 152: Changing Screen Resolutions And Refresh Rates

    To access the Screen Resolutions & Refresh Rates page, click Screen Resolutions & Refresh Rates from the NVIDIA display menu. If you need help in accessing the NVIDIA display menu, see “Accessing the NVIDIA Display Control Panel Pages”...

  • Page 153: Monitor Settings

    2 Enter the pixel settings for the resolution you want to add in the Width and Height fields. 3 Click Add. 4 When the confirmation message appears, click OK. 5 Click OK to return to the Screen Resolution & Refresh Rates page. NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 154: Enabling Custom Screen Resolutions

    3 Move the Screen resolution slider to a custom resolution that you want to delete. 4 Click the Remove button to delete that resolution. 5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 for additional resolutions you want to remove. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 155: Advanced Timing

    Configuring Key ForceWare Graphics Driver Features Advanced Timing The Advanced Timing page enables you to adjust timings for your NVIDIA GPU- based graphics card in order to support a variety of different display timings for ultimate flexibility for analog CRT and DVI connections.

  • Page 156: Display Mode & Timing Parameters

    Select Custom values from the Mode & timing list and click Apply. Enter the values you want in the various fields as described in Table 7.1 When the confirmation prompt appears, click Yes. Your custom settings are now in effect. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 157: Table 7.1 Advanced Timing Parameters

    If the vertical synchronization polarity value is negative (-), the value of the vertical synchronization pulse is lower than the baseline value. Note: You can select the vertical synchronization polarity independently of the horizontal synchronization polarity. NVIDIA Corporation...
  • Page 158 On the first pass, every other line is painted and on the second pass, the rest of the lines are painted. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 159: Display Timing Standards

    Discrete Monitor DMT is a set of pre-defined VESA timings. VESA updates this standard every Timings (DMT) year. If DMT timing is available for a specific mode, the NVIDIA display driver normally selects it instead of GTF. Coordinated Video CVT became the VESA standard on March 2003. CVT supports higher Timings (CVT) resolutions better than other timing standards.

  • Page 160: Editing The Nvidia Display Menu

    Chapter 7 Configuring Key ForceWare Graphics Driver Features Editing the NVIDIA Display Menu Use the Menu Editing page to remove infrequently used NVIDIA menu items, which you can restore later. Accessing the Menu Editing Page To access the Menu Editing page, click Menu Editing from the NVIDIA display...
  • Page 161 Menu Editing Enabled — Removing Menu Items Figure 7.28 These menu items have been temporarily removed from the NVIDIA display menu. Clear the Enable menu editing check box after removing menu in order to navigate normally within the NVIDIA display menu. NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 162: Adjusting Powermizer Settings - Only For Notebook Computers

    (Figure 7.28). 4 To restore the menu options back to the NVIDIA display menu, you can simply click Restore Defaults or if you want to remove each item manually, follow these steps: a Select the Enable menu editing check box to insert the check mark.

  • Page 163: Current Power Source

    • AC Outlet. Adjust the power consumption from the AC power source relative to performance by setting one of the following: Maximum power savings • Maximum performance • • Balanced • Battery. You can choose any one of the following options: NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 164: Using The Hires Desktop Scaling Feature

    • Conserve battery life by setting Maximum Power Savings, but at some decrease in performance. • Use the full graphics performance of your NVIDIA GPU by selecting Maximum Performance. • Choose a compromise between the two settings by using Balanced.

  • Page 165: Figure 7.31 Effect Of Hires Scaling On Opengl Drawing

    1920 x 1200 versus a desktop set to 3480 x 2400 with hires scaling enabled. Figure 7.31 Effect of Hires Scaling on OpenGL Drawing OpenGL wireframe with desktop at 1920 x 1200. OpenGL wireframe with desktop hires scaled to 1920 x 1200 from 3840 x 2400. NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 166: Activating Hires Desktop Scaling

    4 Change the resolution using any one of the following methods: Using the Settings page a Under Screen Resolution, move the slider to 3840 x 2400 pixels (Figure 7.32), then click Apply. b Click Advanced and then click the NVIDIA Quadro GPU tab. Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 167: Figure 7.33 Hires Desktop Scaling Option On Nview Display Settings Page

    From the NVIDIA display menu, click Change Resolution. c Move the slider to 3840 x 2400 and click Apply. 5 From the NVIDIA display menu, select the nView Display Settings option to display the nView Display Settings page (Figure 7.33).
  • Page 168 Chapter 7 Configuring Key ForceWare Graphics Driver Features Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 169: Using Nvidia Direct Access

    “Adjusting Display Size and Position” on page 164 About NVIDIA Direct Access NVIDIA Direct Access allows you to directly configure monitor settings without using the physical buttons on the monitor. On monitors that use the Display Data Channel/Command Interface (DDC/CI) protocol (see...

  • Page 170: Direct Access Compatible Monitors

    Chapter 8 Using NVIDIA Direct Access Direct Access Compatible Monitors The following monitors are DDC/CI-compliant and supported by NVIDIA Direct Access: NEC FE750+ NEC FE770 NEC FE771SB NEC FE791SB NEC FE950+ NEC FE990 NEC FE991SB NEC FE1250+ NEC FE2111SB NEC FP912SB...

  • Page 171: Using The Direct Access Main Page

    Chapter 8 Using NVIDIA Direct Access Using the Direct Access Main Page 1 To access NVIDIA Direct Access, click the NVIDIA Direct Access option from the NVIDIA display menu. NVIDIA Direct Access Page Figure 8.1 The NVIDIA Direct Access page displays information about your monitor.

  • Page 172: Configuring Display Settings

    Configuring Display Settings Click the sub-menu item Display Settings to open the Direct Access Display Settings page. NVIDIA Direct Access—Display Settings Page Figure 8.2 The controls available on this page depend on which controls are available using the physical buttons on the connected monitor.

  • Page 173: Locking Display Buttons

    You can lock the physical controls on your display so that these controls cannot be used to manually change any settings. Use this setting if you would rather use the NVIDIA Direct Access online controls to change your display settings and would like to protect these settings.

  • Page 174: Adjusting Color Settings

    Adjusting Color Settings Click the sub-menu item Color Settings to open the Direct Access Color Settings page. NVIDIA Direct Access—Color Settings Page Figure 8.3 The controls available on this page depend on which controls are available using the physical buttons on the connected monitor.
  • Page 175 Chapter 8 Using NVIDIA Direct Access Move the slider to the left to decrease contrast, or to the right to increase the contrast. • Temperature refers to the displayʹs color temperature, which is a measure of the whiteness of the light source.

  • Page 176: Adjusting Display Size And Position

    Adjusting Display Size and Position Click the sub-menu item Size and Position to open the Direct Access Size and Position page. NVIDIA Direct Access—Size and Position Page Figure 8.4 The controls available on this page depend on which controls are available using the physical buttons on the connected monitor.
  • Page 177 Chapter 8 Using NVIDIA Direct Access Click the arrows corresponding to the direction that you want to move the display area: Click the left arrow if the left side of your desktop has a black border, the • desktop needs to be more horizontally centered on the display, or if the right side of the desktop extends beyond the viewable area of your display.
  • Page 178 Chapter 8 Using NVIDIA Direct Access Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 179: Using Nvidia Scalable Link Interface (Sli)

    NTERFACE (SLI) NVIDIA SLI (Scalable Link Interface) technology lets you install and benefit from two PCI Express (PCIe) graphics boards in a single PC. Just as dual processors or dual core CPUs improve computer performance, SLI allows dual GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) to significantly accelerate graphics performance.

  • Page 180: Overview Of Sli For Nvidia Quadro Cards

    Using NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) Overview of SLI for NVIDIA Quadro Cards Professional users benefit by using SLI technology on dual NVIDIA Quadro GPUs to span an OpenGL window across multiple displays, or to run a single application on each GPU.

  • Page 181: Hardware Requirements

    Two matching NVIDIA Quadro FX 4400, 3400, 1400, and 540 Power supply • Some SLI capable graphics boards, such as the NVIDIA Quadro 3450, 3400, 4500, or 4400, require an external power cable. • Since SLI supports up to two high-end graphics boards, the load on the system’s power supply can increase significantly.

  • Page 182: Installation And Operating Instructions

    Chapter 9 Using NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) Installation and Operating Instructions Before removing current graphics boards and installing two NVIDIA Quadro FX boards, please uninstall any current drivers and save on your Windows desktop the provided SLI drivers. Installing the Hardware Note: Perform the installation in a static safe environment and utilize a properly grounded anti-static wristband.

  • Page 183: Installing The Display Driver

    Chapter 9 Using NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) 6 If your graphics boards have an auxiliary power connector, connect them to the power supply using the supplied power connector cables. 7 Replace the system’s cover and reconnect your display(s) to the SLI-capable graphics board installed in the x16 expansion slot.
  • Page 184 Chapter 9 Using NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) 5 Check Enable SLI multi-GPU. 6 Click the Select display list arrow, then click the display that you want to use as the SLI display. 7 Click OK. You can now configure your system to use SLI, as explained in the next section.

  • Page 185: Using Nvidia Sli

    Chapter 9 Using NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) Using NVIDIA SLI This section explains how to use the following SLI features: • SLI Frame Rendering • SLI Antialiasing Mode • Viewing Load Balancing SLI Mode Overview The following SLI modes are available: •...

  • Page 186: Sli Frame Rendering

    Chapter 9 Using NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) The resulting SLI modes are listed in Table 9.1. SLI Mode Configuration Table 9.1 SLI Mode Profile SLI Multi-GPU SLI AA SLI Single-GPU SLI AA Single GPU 3D App-Modeling AFR SLI AA...

  • Page 187: Sli Antialiasing Mode

    Chapter 9 Using NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) SLI Antialiasing Mode To use SLI antialiasing, perform the following steps. 1 Enable SLI antialiasing. a Open the Performance & Quality Settings page. b From the Active profile list, select Global driver settings.

  • Page 188: Viewing Load Balancing

    Chapter 9 Using NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) Viewing Load Balancing To view the relative amount of work, or load balancing, performed by each GPU in DirectX and OpenGL applications, select the Show GPU load balancing check box on the NVIDIA SLI Multi-GPU page.

  • Page 189: Figure 9.1 Load Balancing Indicators

    Chapter 9 Using NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) AFR load balancing bar shows relative work provided by each GPU. SFR load balancing line shows relative portion of the screen rendered by each GPU. SLI AA indicator shows the effect of SLI antialiasing modes.
  • Page 190 Chapter 9 Using NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 191: Using Two Nvidia Gpu-Based Graphics Cards

    This appendix contains the following major topics: • “Before You Begin” on page 180 • “Quadro FX 3000 — Installing the NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Display Driver” on page 181 • “Quadro FX 3000 — Attaching the Secondary Display for nView Dualview Mode”...

  • Page 192: Before You Begin

    Using Two NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards Before You Begin This appendix discusses an example of using two multi-display NVIDIA GPU-based graphics cards in one computer running Windows XP. Note: When running Windows with multiple graphics cards (i.e., two or more NVIDIA GPU-based graphics card are installed in your computer), the same NVIDIA driver (version) must be installed for each graphics card.

  • Page 193: Quadro Fx 3000 - Installing The Nvidia Forceware Graphics Display Driver

    9 Click the NVIDIA .inf file and then click Open. 10Click OK on the Install From Disk window. 11Then click the name of your NVIDIA GPU-based graphics card that appears on the Model list and click Next. 12Copying files will take a couple of minutes while you wait.

  • Page 194: Quadro Fx 3000 - Attaching The Secondary Display For Nview Dualview Mode

    Appendix A Using Two NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards Quadro FX 3000 — Attaching the Secondary Display for nView Dualview Mode 1 From your desktop, open the Display Properties Settings page. Three display screen images appear, one of which is active (attached) while the other two are not active, meaning connected but not attached.

  • Page 195: Figure A.2 One Display Device With Identifying Number

    Appendix A Using Two NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards Figure A.2 One Display Device With Identifying Number 4 From the Settings page, right click the inactive screen image numbered display 3 (connected to the GFX 5900 Ultra card), click Attached, and click Apply.

  • Page 196: Figure A.3 Display Properties Settings - 3 Display Devices With 2 Attached

    Appendix A Using Two NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards Figure A.3 Display Properties Settings — 3 Display Devices with 2 Attached Figure A.4 Two Display Devices With Identifying Numbers Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 197: Geforce4 Mx - Installing The Nvidia Forceware Graphics Display Driver

    7 Enable the check box labeled Show compatible hardware, if it is not checked already. 8 On the Model list, if it appears, click the NVIDIA-based graphics card for which you are about to install the NVIDIA driver. In this example, it is GeForce4 MX.

  • Page 198: Attaching Displays For Geforce4 Mx - Nview Dualview Mode

    Appendix A Using Two NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards 17Click Finish when that option appears and then click Close to close the Driver window. 18Respond to the prompts to restart your computer. Attaching Displays for GeForce4 MX — nView Dualview Mode 1 When you have returned to your desktop, right click on the desktop to display the desktop menu and click Properties and the Settings tab.

  • Page 199: Figure A.5 Display Properties Settings - 4 Attached Display Devices

    Dualview mode is enabled. 1 From the Windows Display Properties Settings page, right click any of the four display images. 2 Click Properties and then click the NVIDIA GPU ab to open the associated page. NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 200: Enabling Nview Span And Clone Modes - Detaching The Secondary Display Device

    Secondary Display Device Note: In the following steps, we’ll switch from Dualview to Span or Clone mode for each of the two NVIDIA GPU-based graphics cards. You will notice that the secondary displays become detached (disabled) because nView Span and Clone modes do not detect the secondary display device as separate display devices.

  • Page 201: Figure A.7 Display Properties Settings - 4 Display Devices With 2 Attached

    Appendix A Using Two NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards Figure A.7 Display Properties Settings — 4 Display Devices with 2 Attached 4 MX 420 Figure A.8 Two Display Devices With Identifying Numbers Note: You can repeat steps 4 and 5 and chose Vertical Span or Clone mode. The result will be similar to what is shown in Figure A.7...

  • Page 202: Viewing Multiple Nvidia Gpu-Based Graphics Cards From The Nvidia Display Menu

    Viewing Multiple NVIDIA GPU-based Graphics Cards from the NVIDIA Display Menu You can view multiple NVIDIA GPU-based graphics cards from the NVIDIA display menu and easily access the corresponding NVIDIA Display control panel pages to configure advanced display settings for each graphics card. See Chapter 8, “Configuring Key ForceWare Graphics Driver Features”...

  • Page 203: Figure A.10 Nvidia Display Menu Showing Both Quadro Fx 3000 And Geforce4 Mx Graphics Cards

    Appendix A Using Two NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards Figure A.10 NVIDIA Display Menu Showing Both Quadro FX 3000 and GeForce4 MX Graphics Cards Quadro FX 3000 menu GeForce4 MX 420 GeForce4 MX menu NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 204: Viewing Multiple Card Configurations Using The Nvidia Settings Menu

    Using Two NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards Viewing Multiple Card Configurations Using the NVIDIA Settings Menu You can view the multi-GPU configurations through the NVIDIA Settings icon on the Windows taskbar. If you don’t have the NVIDIA Settings icon enabled, see “Adding the NVIDIA Settings Menu to the Windows Taskbar”...
  • Page 205 Appendix A Using Two NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards 2 To see the configuration options for each GPU-based graphics card, point to the GPU names on the menu (Figure A.11) and then move the cursor to any of the options that appear on the next menu level.
  • Page 206 Appendix A Using Two NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 207: Using Hdtv With Nvidia

    HDTV display. Also see Supported HDTV Connectors in the next section. Any NVIDIA graphics card solution for HDTV ships with an appropriate video cable — examples are shown in the “Sample Video Cables...” sections. • “Supported HDTV Connectors” on page B-196 •...

  • Page 208: Supported Hdtv Connectors

    Appendix B Using HDTV with NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards Supported HDTV Connectors HDTV output using an NVIDIA GPU-based graphics card is supported under the following types of connectors: • Component • HDTV over DVI • D connector Component The component connector path is defined and formats restricted by the encoder on the graphics card.

  • Page 209: Hdtv Over Dvi

    Appendix B Using HDTV with NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards Your NVIDIA HDTV-encoded graphics card is supplied with the “breakout pod” to which you connect the Component Y-Pb-Pr Video Cable for DVD/HDTV that came with your HDTV set. Note: For detailed information, refer to the user documentation supplied with your HDTV set.

  • Page 210: Sample Cables Shipped With Nvidia Hdtv-Encoded Graphics Cards

    Appendix B Using HDTV with NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards Sample Cables Shipped with NVIDIA HDTV-Encoded Graphics Cards Figure B.3 Sample Video Cables Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 211: Figure B.4 Sample Nvidia Personal Cinema™ A/V Cables

    Appendix B Using HDTV with NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards Note: Only cables with a “component” connection can be used with an HDTV. Figure B.4 Sample NVIDIA Personal Cinema™ A/V Cables NVIDIA Corporation...
  • Page 212 Appendix B Using HDTV with NVIDIA GPU-Based Graphics Cards Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...
  • Page 213 P P E N D I X NVIDIA S ETUP IZARD AGES The following sections contain the NVIDIA Setup Wizard pages in sequence for a few different display configurations. • “NVIDIA Display Wizard — Typical Setup” on page 202 •...

  • Page 214: Nvidia Setup Wizard

    Appendix C NVIDIA Setup Wizard Pages NVIDIA Display Wizard — Typical Setup Figure C.1 NVIDIA Display Wizard — Typical Setup Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 215: Nvida Display Setup Wizard - Custom Setup

    Appendix C NVIDIA Setup Wizard Pages NVIDA Display Setup Wizard — Custom Setup Figure C.2 NVIDIA Display Setup Wizard — Custom Setup Pages (1) NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 216: Figure C.3 Nvidia Display Setup Wizard - Custom Setup Pages (2)

    Appendix C NVIDIA Setup Wizard Pages Figure C.3 NVIDIA Display Setup Wizard — Custom Setup Pages (2) Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 217: Nvidia Display Wizard - Hdtv Component Connection

    Appendix C NVIDIA Setup Wizard Pages NVIDIA Display Wizard — HDTV Component Connection Figure C.4 NVIDIA TV Display Wizard — HDTV Component Connection Page (1) NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 218: Figure C.5 Nvidia Tv Display Wizard - Hdtv Component Connection Page (2)

    Appendix C NVIDIA Setup Wizard Pages Figure C.5 NVIDIA TV Display Wizard — HDTV Component Connection Page (2) Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 219: Nvida Display Wizard - Analog Display With Hdtv/Dvi

    Appendix C NVIDIA Setup Wizard Pages NVIDA Display Wizard — Analog Display with HDTV/DVI Figure C.6 NVIDIA Display Wizard—Analog Display with HDTV/DVI Pages (1) NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 220: Figure C.7 Nvidia Display Wizard-Analog Display With Hdtv/Dvi Pages (2)

    Appendix C NVIDIA Setup Wizard Pages Figure C.7 NVIDIA Display Wizard—Analog Display with HDTV/DVI Pages (2) Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 221: Nvida Display Wizard - Digital Display And Television

    Appendix C NVIDIA Setup Wizard Pages NVIDA Display Wizard — Digital Display and Television Figure C.8 NVIDIA Display Wizard — Digital Display with TV Pages (1) NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 222: Figure C.9 Nvidia Display Wizard - Various Types Of Tv Connectors

    Appendix C NVIDIA Setup Wizard Pages Figure C.9 NVIDIA Display Wizard — Various Types of TV Connectors Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 223: Figure C.10 Nvidia Display Wizard - Digital Display With Tv Pages (2)

    Appendix C NVIDIA Setup Wizard Pages Figure C.10 NVIDIA Display Wizard — Digital Display with TV Pages (2) NVIDIA Corporation...
  • Page 224 Appendix C NVIDIA Setup Wizard Pages Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 225: Nvidia Forceware Graphics Display Driver - Feature History

    ForceWare graphics display driver and summarizes the features and enhancements that have been introduced in each release. Driver Release History Release 80 is the latest release of the NVIDIA ForceWare graphics display driver for Windows. Table D.1 includes a summary of previous driver releases and the versions associated with them.

  • Page 226: Release 80 Enhancements

    Appendix D NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Display Driver — Feature History Table D.1 NVIDIA Drivers for Windows (continued) Driver Name Versions Comments Release 60 ForceWare 61.76, 61.77 Release 55 ForceWare 56.64, 56.72, 57.30 Release 50 ForceWare 52.16, 53.04 Release 40 Detonator FX 44.03–45.xx...

  • Page 227: Display Driver

    Appendix D NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Display Driver — Feature History • Additional SLI support — Release 75 adds support for the following combinations of PCI Express graphics cards and NVIDIA products, as listed below: NVIDIA Product PCI-Express Graphics Cards NVIDIA nForce4 SLI...

  • Page 228: Directx

    • UMA support • 2D operations • SLI NVIDIA Display Control Panel Release 75 includes enhancement to the following sections of the NVIDIA display control panel user interface: • Additions and improvements in the Performance & Quality page (see “Adjusting Performance and Quality Settings”...

  • Page 229: Nview Desktop Manager

    • Per-display desktops — Release 75 brings support for independent per-display virtual desktops to nView Span mode and Multiview environments. For details on using nView Desktop Manager features, refer to the NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Drivers: nView Desktop Manager User’s Guide.

  • Page 230: Video

    • Improved SLI multi-GPU mode pages — available with NVIDIA SLI graphics cards intended for use by advanced users. For details, see the document “Application Note — Using NVIDIA SLI Graphics Cards” Version 2.0 or later. nView Desktop Manager Video •...

  • Page 231: Display Driver, Directx, And Opengl

    Appendix D NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Display Driver — Feature History Display Driver, DirectX, and OpenGL Release 70 Graphics Driver — Performance Improvement and New Features Table D.1 Display Driver DirectX OpenGL Performance • Improved stability and robustness • Improved robustness...

  • Page 232: Nvmanagement

    512 MB Frame Buffer Support ForceWare Release 65 graphics drivers provide memory management techniques for supporting 512 MB versions of the new generation of NVIDIA graphics cards, such as the GeForce 6800 or Quadro FX 4000 and later. Multi-GPU Support...

  • Page 233: Operating System Support

    3D Graphics API Enhancements • DirectX Enhancements • DirectX 9.0c Compatibility • Supports the capabilities of the newest generation of NVIDIA GPUs for improved DirectX shader handling and reduced CPU overhead • OpenGL Enhancements Improved and more efficient vertex_buffer_object (VBO) handling •...

  • Page 234: Desktop Manager And Control Panel Improvements

    Appendix D NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Display Driver — Feature History Desktop Manager and Control Panel Improvements Release 65 includes the following improvements in the Desktop Manager and NVIDIA display control panel: • High Resolution Scalable Desktop Performance • Desktop Manager Wizards •...

  • Page 235: 3D Graphics Api Enhancements

    ATI_texture_float • ATI_texture_mirror_once • GL_ARB_texture_non_power_of_two • GL_NVX_centroid_sample GL_NVX_conditional_render • Release 55 Enhancements The Release 55 driver offers new features not found in previous releases of the NVIDIA Driver for Windows. The following highlights the new features in Release NVIDIA Corporation...

  • Page 236: Pci Express Support

    Appendix D NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Display Driver — Feature History PCI Express Support 2D and 3D graphics drivers support the PCI Express I/O. PAE Support 2D and 3D graphics driver support systems that utilize physical address extensions (PAE) nView Desktop Manager Enhancements •...

  • Page 237: 3D Graphics Api Enhancements

    Appendix D NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Display Driver — Feature History 3D Graphics API Enhancements Direct3D • Improved antialiasing performance • Improved shaders OpenGL New extension: GL_NV_pixel_buffer_object Release 50 Enhancements The Release 50 driver offers new features not found in previous releases of the NVIDIA Driver for Windows.

  • Page 238: Display Driver Changes-New Features

    Appendix D NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Display Driver — Feature History with the GeForce FX architecture, NVIDIA has implemented a GPU-specific compiler that can be used to optimize application performance. Display Driver Changes—New Features • Rotation Support for Windows Me/9x • Custom Resolutions - Provides the user with the ability to construct new modes via the NVIDIA control panel.

  • Page 239: Nview

    Appendix D NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Display Driver — Feature History • Change Resolution Panel • Edge Blending and Desktop Overlap Panel • Frame Lock Panel • HDTV Support • New Color Panel with Enhanced Gamma • Overclocking Panel • AGP Settings Panel •...

  • Page 240: Directx Graphics

    Appendix D NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Display Driver — Feature History • Faster desktop switching • Integrated control panels • New Setup Wizard • Driver independence DirectX Graphics • Floating point render targets • Multi-element textures • Improved antialiasing compatibility • Improved shader handling and stability •...

  • Page 241: Enhanced Display Driver, Directx, And Video Capabilities

    QuickTweak, and contains menu items that provide access to all NVIDIA user interface software applications. • New Display Properties Panel — The NVIDIA control panel has been redesigned to make navigating easier and to improve control over the display adapter settings.

  • Page 242: Opengl Enhancements

    • New window actions and application settings. Keystone Support • OpenGL Enhancements • OpenGL 1.4 ICD with NVIDIA Extensions — New extension includes ARB_vertex_program, which co-exists with NV_vertex_program. • Enhancements for Workstation Applications • NV1x line stipple enhancements, and NV2x 2-sided lighting optimizations •...

  • Page 243: Release 25 Enhancements

    (mobile) computers. Note: For further details on NVKeystone and many new nView Desktop Manager features, see the NVIDIA nView Desktop Manager User™s Guide. Release 25 Enhancements The Release 25 driver offers new features not found in previous releases of the NVIDIA Driver for Windows.

  • Page 244: Release 20 Enhancements

    • Support for Microsoft DirectX ® • Support for Microsoft DirectX VA 1.0. • NVIDIA 3D Stereo (requires installation of the optional Stereoscopic driver). The driver provides stereoscopic viewing capabilities for games and still images. • Special support for NVIDIA GeForce3 capabilities: •...

  • Page 245: Release 6 Enhancements

    Appendix D NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Display Driver — Feature History Release 6 Enhancements TwinView TwinView is a Release 6 feature that supports connecting dual displays using a single graphics board (such as the GeForce2 MX or Quadro2 MXR) based on the NV11 chipset.TwinView includes major features such as the Virtual Desktop, Video Mirror,...

  • Page 246: Desktop Manager

    Desktop Manager functions under the TwinView Extended Desktop (Span) mode and, in addition to being supported by the NV11 chipset (i.e, the GeForce2 MX or the Quadro2 MXR graphics board), is also supported by any two NVIDIA graphics boards running in multi-monitor mode.

  • Page 247: Control Panels

    Control Panels TwinView, Digital Vibrance Control, OpenGL, and Direct3D features have associated NVIDIA-specific windows (control panels) from which these features can be configured. These control panels are normally accessed by following one of these procedures from the Windows active desktop: •...

  • Page 248: Opengl Extensions

    Appendix D NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Display Driver — Feature History OpenGL Extensions The OpenGL extensions in the table below were added or changed in Release 5. OpenGL Extensions Modified in Release 5 Extension Status Comment Same as EXT_texture_cube_map ARB_texture_cube_map Same as EXT_texture_env_add...

  • Page 249: Direct3D

    PRERENDERLIMIT Registry key, which is 3 by default. (Default is DISABLED Control Panel NVIDIA now provides Control Panel tabs for Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000. NVIDIA Corporation...
  • Page 250 Appendix D NVIDIA ForceWare Graphics Display Driver — Feature History Quadro Workstation User’s Guide...

  • Page 251: Glossary

    (NVIDIA display) — The NVIDIA display properties “control panel” (shown in Chapter 3 and throughout this guide) refers to the entire NVIDIA-based window with the fly-out NVIDIA display menu containing menu options, each of which opens to a separate configuration page.
  • Page 252 360,000. multi-graphics card configuration — A setup where two or more displays (such as an analog display, a digital display, or a TV) are connected to two (or more) NVIDIA GPU-based graphics cards installed in the computer.
  • Page 253 Instead, the two graphics cards drive a single display1 to provide accelerated 3D performance in DirectX and OpenGL applications2. Note: For additional details, see the Application Note titled “Using NVIDIA SLI Graphics Cards”. window — A window is any independent window on your desktop. Applications such as Microsoft®...

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