ATI RADEON X1900 G5 Mac Edition

IMPORTANT INFORMATION for the
ATI RADEON X1900 G5 Mac Edition

September 2006

The latest updates for all ATI products are available on the ATI web site. Check the site regularly for new driver installations and documentation updates.

This document contains last-minute updates and important information that is not found in the User's Guide or in any addendum accompanying the ATI RADEON Software Installer.

Please finish reading this file before proceeding with the installation.

Contents

Hardware/Software Requirements

Supported ATI Graphics Cards
Minimum Requirements: Mac OS X
Recommended System Example

Installation Notes

Component lists and general notes
Installing a new graphics card for the first time

Release Notes for Mac OS X

Mac OS X 10.4.7
Installer Password Request
ATI Displays
Mac2TV Video Output Notes
Apple DVI to ADC Display Adapter and TV-Out incompatibility
Apple System Profiler reports incorrect VRAM size
Mislabeled Connecting Devices information in Getting Started Guide
WOW corruption at high resolution and 6X FSAA (windowed mode)

Hardware/Software Requirements

Supported ATI Graphics Cards (this release only)

Mac OS X Installer

ATI RADEON X1900 G5 Mac Edition

This software set contains drivers for the above retail product. It is safe to use both a retail product along with an existing built-in product with this single driver set. Please follow the recommended installation procedures to ensure that you do not lose any Apple-specific files.

Minimum Requirements: Mac OS X

Power Macintosh Dual-core G5 system
Available PCI-E slot
Mac OS X 10.4.7
512MB of System Memory (RAM)
CD-ROM Drive for CD-based installation (DVD-ROM drive required for DVD playback)
QuickTime 7.x

This release supports (Tiger) version 10.4.7 of the operating system and later. Please check the ATI.COM web site for retail software updates.

Recommended System Example:

Power Macintosh Quad G5 system
Graphics card installed into PCI-E slot 1
19" or larger Monitor or LCD Panel
Mac OS X 10.4.7
1024MB or more System Memory (RAM)
DVD-ROM Drive
QuickTime 7.1.2 Pro

Installation Notes

Please follow the special procedure below if you are installing a new graphics card for the first time.

Please see requirements above.

Double-Click the installer icon and follow the on-screen instructions.

The ATI RADEON Installer contains the following items:

Mac OS X:

ATIRadeonX1000.kext
ATIRadeonX1000GA.plugin
ATIRadeonX1000GLDriver.bundle
ATIRadeonX1000VADriver.bundle
ATITVOut.kext
ATIRNDRV.kext
ATI Displays Control Panel

The installer application will install the above components. Some of these components offer support for other ATI display devices. Not all components may be necessary for proper operation of any specific card. Extensions not being used by your card will not load and may safely be left in your extensions folder. For example, all versions of Mac OS ship with extensions for various ATI cards pre-installed.

NOTE: If you already have an existing ATI retail product, do not remove your previously installed ATI files. This installer will overwrite any files that need to be updated. If you remove your existing ATI files, your older ATI product may no longer function as expected. ATI built-in graphics found in many Macintosh models also use a file named "ATI Driver Update" which is not included with this retail installer. Do not remove this file from your system.

You must restart your computer after installation is complete.

Installing a new graphics card for the first time.

If possible, please run the installer before plugging your new card into your computer. This ensures that you will have a complete set of compatible ATI software once your card is installed and that no conflicts will be caused by old components.

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General Release Notes for Mac OS X

Mac OS X Update 10.4.7 Minimum Required
The ATI RADEON X1900 G5 Mac Edition software requires at least version 10.4.7 of Mac OS X. Do not attempt to run this installer with earlier versions of Mac OS X - the software is not designed for earlier versions and may not work. Free Mac OS X updates are available from the Apple web site (note that 10.4 Tiger is a purchased upgrade).

This release is designed to work with releases Mac OS X 10.4.7 (Tiger Update). If you have a newer release of Mac OS X, you may already have the required ATI drivers as part of your OS. Running this installer will install only ATI Displays and its associated support files. Any future updates will be available on the AMD/ATI web site.

Installer Password Request
The ATI RADEON X1900 G5 Mac Edition software installer for Mac OS X will prompt you for a System Administrator password during the installation process. Only someone with system administrator privileges should be installing device drivers under Mac OS X. This password verification ensures security for these actions and allows the installer to access your System folder.

ATI Displays - Supported Cards
The current version of ATI Displays supports all retail RADEON, Rage 128 and Rage Pro series cards. ATI Displays will also identify Rage II and older products, but will not provide Mac2TV or other settings.

ATI Displays will also identify a number of Apple's built-in ATI graphics products using the above chipsets. This functionality is for informational purposes only and does not constitute retail-level support for Apple-supplied graphics products by ATI. Users should continue to contact Apple for any issues regarding their computers and built-in graphics.

ATI Displays supports significant new features with all RADEON cards. Please see the PDF User Guide and ATI Displays online help for more information. This release introduces version 4.5.9 of ATI Displays with its new 3D/OpenGL Overrides panel. Please read the included "What's New" HTML document for a synopsis of new features, an in-depth introduction to ATI Displays and a primer on SMOOTHVISION quality options.

Mac2TV (Video Output) with RADEON Cards
The RADEON X1900 G5 Mac Edition product does support TV out functionality, albeit this version of ATI Displays does not currently support Mac2TV features at this time.

NOTE: Simultaneous connection/activation of three analog displays (TV+CRT+CRT) using any adapter or port configuration is not supported on any RADEON card. In this configuration, RADEON 8500 and 9800 will combine the mode lists of the TV and CRT connected to the DVI port and allow them to toggle (one or the other may generate a display, never both).

Apple DVI to ADC Display Adapter and TV-Out incompatibility
Using the Apple DVI to ADC Display Adapter and TV-Out simultaneously is not supported. This is due to the fact that there is not enough space to accommodate access to both connectors at the same time. An alternative product that will work is Dr Bott's - DVIator DVI to ADC adapter.

Apple System Profiler reports incorrect VRAM size
ASP reports 128MB of VRAM for the ATI RADEON X1900 G5 Mac Edition when in fact there is 256MB of VRAM.

Mislabeled Connecting Devices information in the Getting Started Guide
In the Getting Started Guide, under the Connecting Devices section, the information states that the graphics card supports Video In/Out (Input and Ouput on the same connector). This information is incorrect. This product supports S-Video/Composite Out only; Video In is not supported.

WOW corruption at high resolution and 6X FSAA (windowed mode)
Corruption may occur in World Of Warcraft running in windowed mode stretched to 1400x1100 or greater, with a display resolution of 1920x1080 or greater and having the in-game settings:
Video Options : Multisampling : 24-bit color 24-bit depth 6X multisample

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ATI, XCLAIM, Nexus, ImpacTV, RAGE THEATER, RAGE, RADEON, VERSAVISION, and Mac2TV are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ATI Technologies, Inc. QuickTime, QuickDraw, Mac, Mac OS, Mac OS X and Macintosh are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
All other company and/or registered trademarks are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers.