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Technical Data

ELSA GLoria-L, -L/MX, -XL, -XXL

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Technical Data

In this section you will find detailed technical information on the graphics boards. All
interfaces and their assignments are described in detail. 

Characteristics of the Graphics Boards

ELSA GLoria-L

ELSA GLoria-L/MX

Grafics processor

3Dlabs GLINT 500TX 

3Dlabs GLINT MX

3D coprocessor

3Dlabs GLINT Delta

3Dlabs GLINT Delta

VGA

S3 ViRGE 

with 1 MB DRAM 

S3 ViRGE

with 1 MB DRAM 

RAMDAC pixel timing

 220 MHz

 220 MHz

Memory

8 MB VRAM + 

8 MB EDO-DRAM

 (expandable to 16 MB 

EDO-RAM)

8 MB VRAM +

8 MB EDO-DRAM

or 

16 MB EDO-DRAM

BIOS

VBE 1.2 support

VBE 1.2 support

Bus system

PCI

PCI

VESA DDC

DDC1 and DDC2B

DDC1 and DDC2B

ELSA GLoria-XL

ELSA GLoria-XXL

Grafics processor

3Dlabs GLINT MX

3Dlabs GLINT MX

3D coprocessor

3Dlabs GLINT Delta

3Dlabs GLINT Gamma

VGA

S3 Trio64V2/DX

with 1 MB DRAM

3Dlabs Permedia2

with 2 MB SGRAM

RAMDAC pixel timing

250 MHz

250 MHz

Memory

16 MB VRAM, 

24 MB DRAM

 (expandable to 40 MB DRAM)

16 MB VRAM, 

24 MB DRAM

 (expandable to 40 MB DRAM)

BIOS

VBE 2.0 support

VBE 2.0 support

Bus system

PCI

AGP

VESA DDC

DDC1 and DDC2B

DDC1 and DDC2B

Summary of Contents for GLoria-L

Page 1: ...ELSA GLoria TM L ELSA GLoria TM L MX ELSA GLoria TM XL ELSA GLoria TM XXL User Manual ...

Page 2: ...V CERT certification authority has confirmed ELSA con formity to the worldwide ISO 9001 standard in certificate number 09 100 5069 issued on 16 May 1995 Trademarks AutoCAD and Autodesk are registered trademarks of Autodesk Inc Windows Windows 95 Windows NT and Microsoft are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics Inc All other names mentioned ma...

Page 3: ...al provides all the information you will need to get the best out of your ELSA graphics board It will describe the ELSA utilities supplied and give you a short introduc tion into 3D imaging Changes to this Manual ELSA products are subject to continual further development It is therefore possible that the information printed in this manual is not current in all respects However information about th...

Page 4: ...Before you continue The installation of the ELSA GLoria and the associated drivers are described in the Instal lation Guide Please read this information first before you start reading this manual ...

Page 5: ... Memory 7 Installing the Memory Chips in the GLoria L and GLoria L MX 8 Installing the Memory Module in the GLoria XL and GLoria XXL 8 Setting Up Your Graphics System 11 What are Your Options 11 What Makes Sense 12 Multi Screen Operation 12 Requirements 12 Application 13 Changing the Resolution 14 Windows 95 14 Windows NT 4 0 16 Windows NT 3 51 17 ELSA Tools 19 Windows 95 19 Installation 19 ELSA G...

Page 6: ...6 36 Technical Data 37 Characteristics of the Graphics Boards 37 Address Assignment for the ELSA Boards 38 Ports on the Graphics Boards 39 The VGA D Socket 39 The VGA D Sub Plug 40 Port for 3D Shutter Glasses 40 Switching Off the Integral VGA Adapter 40 Appendix 41 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers 41 Installation Problems with your ELSA Graphics Board 41 Problems with Windows 95 41 General Q...

Page 7: ...aximum clock speed of 220 MHz The video memory ensures rapid image generation in the graphics board GLoria L has 8MB VRAM GLoria L MX has 8 MB VRAM S3 s ViRGE VGA graphics chip with 1 MB video memory One of the BIOS s functions is to ensure that the graphics board can be recognized The GLINT Delta graphics coprocessor takes over many of the graphics processor s tasks It is particularly useful in c...

Page 8: ...he GLoria XL has 16 MB VRAM A 3Dlabs GLINT MX graphics processor One of the BIOS s functions is to ensure that the graphics board can be recognized It provides full VBE 2 0 support The GLINT Delta graphics coprocessor takes over many of the graphics processor s tasks It is particularly useful in complex 3D calculations The GLoria XL will accept an additional 16 MB DRAM to a total of 40 MB DRAM 24 ...

Page 9: ...ics coprocessor takes over many of the graphics proces sor s tasks It is particularly useful in complex 3D calculations Interface for 3D shutter glasses Highlights of the ELSA GLoria Graphics Boards 쮿 Multi screen operation for Windows NT with identical ELSA GLoria graphics boards 쮿 Ergonomic refresh rates over 100 Hz are possible in high resolution graphics modes 쮿 Detection of VESA DDC compatibl...

Page 10: ...II pro cessor 쮿 Bus Your computer must comply with the PCI 2 0 specifications The GLoria XXL requires a computer with AGP bus 쮿 Monitor ELSA graphics boards work with the standard IBM VGA compatible hori zontal scan frequency of 31 5 kHz while booting and in DOS operation In addition the monitor must be able to display the graphics mode selected Package Contents Before installing your ELSA graphic...

Page 11: ...alled and used in accordance with the instructions However there is no guarantee that interfer ence will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause interference to radio or television reception this can be determined by turning this equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the follow ing measures 쮿 Reorient or relocat...

Page 12: ...Introduction ELSA GLoria L L MX XL XXL 6 ...

Page 13: ...which you intend to install your board complies with the PCI specifications 쮿 During the warranty period repairs should only be made by ELSA otherwise your warranty and your entitlement to ELSA s product support will be void Changes or modifications to the device not expressly approved by ELSA AG can void your authority to operate the equipment Installing the Graphics Board Installation of the ELS...

Page 14: ...u still experi ence video errors Installing the Memory Chips in the GLoria L and GLoria L MX You can add 8 MB texture memory if your GLoria L or GLoria L MX has free sockets 40 pin SOJ sockets Make sure that the chip is correctly oriented in the socket when you are fitting the memory chips The socket and the memory chip are marked with a notch a chamfer or a dot These must match up when the memory...

Page 15: ... position of the notch on the memory module with the peg on the socket Slide the memory module gently and at a slight an gle into the socket Push the module forwards un til you can no longer see the memory module contact strip 햳 Carefully press the back end of the memory module downwards until you hear it snap into the retainers on each side ...

Page 16: ...Installing the Graphics Board and Adding Memory ELSA GLoria L L MX XL XXL 10 ...

Page 17: ...x 1080 256 32K 75 75 1600 x 1200 256 32K 16M 80 80 80 256 32K 16M 81 81 81 1600 x 1000 256 32K 16M 90 90 90 256 32K 16M 97 97 91 1280 x 1024 256 32K 16M 117 113 113 256 32K 16M 117 117 117 1152 x 864 256 32K 16M 160 149 149 256 32K 16M 163 163 163 1024 x 768 256 32K 16M 188 188 188 256 32K 16M 200 200 200 800 x 600 256 32K 16M 200 200 200 256 32K 16M 200 200 200 32 K 32 768 colors 16 M 16 7 millio...

Page 18: ...e to the resolutions you might select Multi Screen Operation The ELSA GLoria boards are capable of multi screen operation This option enables you to extend your desktop over two or more monitors and so increase your working ergonom ics Requirements If you plan to realize a multi screen solution you should consider the following points 쮿 Operating system Windows NT 4 0 or NT 3 51 쮿 Identical graphi...

Page 19: ...n or multi screen resolution you are considering To answer this question just follow this formula the horizontal resolution in multi screen operation results from the horizontal resolution of the graphics board multiplied by the number of boards If for example the graphics board supports a resolution of 1600 x 1200 in TrueColor mode then the resulting resolution for dual screen operation would be ...

Page 20: ...l the graphics drivers The ELSA settings function brings a significant benefit Once you have specified the graphics board model and the monitor data the program will automatically detect which settings are possible and which are not This means for instance that it is impossible for you to select an incorrect refresh rate which might damage your monitor 햲 Use the commands Start 왘 Settings 왘 Control...

Page 21: ...ires that you know the technical specifications for your monitor Consult your monitor manual to ensure that you have the necessary information correct Click on Change in the Monitor type database window In addition to the information regarding the monitor manufacturer and the model designation you will have to enter the frequency ranges for the horizontal and vertical scan frequencies and specify ...

Page 22: ... ble click on the icon to open an index card with a number of different tabs Click on the Settings tab You can select the possible settings for Color Depth Font Size Resolution and Refresh Rate from this dialog box The available selection is determined by the ELSA driver you have installed You should always check the configuration you have selected by clicking on the Test button You will find furt...

Page 23: ...lette You can choose from several display refresh rates under Refresh frequency Font size allows you to select small or large fonts for menus title bars etc 햳 After making your selections check the new graphics mode by means of a test pat tern Test The test image will be displayed for five seconds when you click on OK Select Yes if the test pattern appears correctly If your monitor cannot display ...

Page 24: ...Setting Up Your Graphics System ELSA GLoria L L MX XL XXL 18 ...

Page 25: ...Windows 95 is most simple if you run the setup program from the WINNERware CD Installation The CDSETUP EXE program is found in the root directory of the WINNERware CD 햲 Start CDSETUP EXE and check the ELSA Windows Tools entry under Installation of 햳 Click on the Install button ELSA GAMMAman GAMMAman allows DTP specialists a genuine WYSIWYG what you see is what you get color display on the monitor ...

Page 26: ...ing are prevented and professional designers may customize the color space and even create an inverse color display Press F1 or click on the Help button to call up the Online help The Online help has greater information on the various topics ...

Page 27: ...of many common CAD applications The settings for these applications have already been optimized and set up for the ELSA driv ers You can also add your own entries with customized 3D settings to this list Just click on Add enter the name of the application and enter the settings you require Click on Apply to include the new entry in the selection list Press F1 or click on the Help button to call up...

Page 28: ...he README TXT file for DESKman You will find information about the installation and features available with the DESKman You can use the ELSA DESKman to make applications appear in ful screen mode on one of the monitors This is a convenient way of operating your CAD application on one screen and using ELSAview 3D on another for example Press F1 or click on the Help button to call up detailed inform...

Page 29: ...ication to make detailed changes to the ELSA driver configuration and specify the settings for your monitor More information on the settings in WinCtrl can be found in the README TXT and WINCTRLD WRI files You will find these on the CD in the GLORIA Board type WINNT35 I386 directory e g in the GLORIA XL WINNT35 I386 direc tory for the case of the GLoria XL ...

Page 30: ...ding future mod els 쮿 Only one executable for all ELSA graphics boards 쮿 Common programming interface under DOS Windows 95 and Windows NT 쮿 Significantly faster graphics functions compared to Windows GDI 쮿 Implemented clipping objects will only be drawn in the permitted area even where windows overlap 쮿 Additionally available 3D extension display list and 3D display list 쮿 Windows online help for ...

Page 31: ...s adapter combine to provide an excellent solution for the most demanding AutoCAD users Additionally your POWERdraft driver includes the powerful utilities SuperView Magni View MultiView and Cockpit each designed to accent the AutoCAD drafting environ ment without inhibiting it Fully dynamic and integrated through ELSA s SmartFocus technology each utility is fully transparent to AutoCAD and availa...

Page 32: ...tory 쮿 AutoCAD LT 3 for Windows The driver will be installed in the AutoCAD LT 3 directory An existing driver will be renamed The driver is based on the POWERlib a driver independent fast graphics library Since this library can also be used by other drivers or applications it may already be installed on your system If the existing POWERlib library is not compatible with the driver SETUP lets you c...

Page 33: ...e and the scale of the drawing Operation of ELSAview 3D makes a significant contribution to user friendliness The most important control functions are found on a toolbar You can move the object freely through space in real time using the mouse The new position is automatically translated to the AutoCAD desktop Installation The ELSAview 3D installation program may be found on the WINNERware CD Inse...

Page 34: ...p to version 1 2 and 3D Studio VIZ The development of this driver has been based on the Heidi driver from 3Dlabs which takes full advantage of the graphics chip s capabilities The optimization of the ELSA driver lets you reach higher display speeds and thus is indispensable for the ELSA GLoria 햲 Ensure that 3D Studio MAX VIZ has not been started 햳 Insert the WINNERware CD into the CD ROM drive and...

Page 35: ...tain information concerning the material and texture The volume of data to be pro cessed increases enormously because of this conversion of the image information 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 Simplified it comprises of the following steps 쮿 Illumination The illumination of t...

Page 36: ...rmal textures sel dom contain more than 256 colors The first 15 bits of a 16 bit wide color representation are reserved for the colors 5 5 5 R G B Information concerning the transparency of the texture is car ried in the alpha channel The last bit is reserved for this information Finally a distinction is made in MIP mapping between bilinear and trilinear filtering Bilin ear filtering interpolates ...

Page 37: ...ayed on the monitor When the drawing process in the back buffer is completed this image is then passed to the front buffer in a process known as flipping The next image will only ever be displayed once the image drawing process in the back buffer is completed This procedure should be repeated at least 20 times a second to give a smooth representation of 3D scenarios In this context we speak of fra...

Page 38: ...lay characteristics of the operating system Direct 3D is based on Microsoft s Common Object Model COM which is also used as the foundation to OLE technology Object Linking and Embedding Direct 3D cooperates with Direct Draw in two dimensional display A typical situation would be for instance rendering a 3D object while Direct Draw is placing a two dimensional background bitmap Microsoft claims to ...

Page 39: ...d through standard interfaces or by means of direct hardware access to special 3D chips Optimum performance can be achieved in this way This API is extremely ver satile and flexible thanks to the many plug ins that are available in addition to the defi nitions Heidi supports internally For further information see the Internet WWW site http www ktx com OpenGL Following its success in gaining a good...

Page 40: ...advantage Only 256 colors can be displayed simultaneously from a palette of 262 144 possible colors DirectColor The situation is different in the case of DirectColor TrueColor RealColor and HighColor In this case the value stored in the video memory is not translated but is passed directly to the D A converter This means that the full color information must be saved for each pixel The meanings of ...

Page 41: ...e model maximum horizontal fre quency timing definitions etc or receive commands from the graphics board There are various standards DDC1 DDC2B and DDC2AB DDC1 Only the monitor can send data unidirectional A line in the monitor cable is used to send a continuous data stream from the monitor to the graphics board In the case of a standard IBM VGA compatible 15 pin monitor connector pin 12 formerly ...

Page 42: ...DC1 as well as the more comprehensive VDIF information VESA Dis play Identification File DDC2AB With DDC2AB additionally to DDC2B the computer may send commands for controlling the monitor e g for adjusting the screen position or the brightness similar to ACCESS bus ...

Page 43: ...ming 220 MHz 220 MHz Memory 8 MB VRAM 8 MB EDO DRAM expandable to 16 MB EDO RAM 8 MB VRAM 8 MB EDO DRAM or 16 MB EDO DRAM BIOS VBE 1 2 support VBE 1 2 support Bus system PCI PCI VESA DDC DDC1 and DDC2B DDC1 and DDC2B ELSA GLoria XL ELSA GLoria XXL Grafics processor 3Dlabs GLINT MX 3Dlabs GLINT MX 3D coprocessor 3Dlabs GLINT Delta 3Dlabs GLINT Gamma VGA S3 Trio64V2 DX with 1 MB DRAM 3Dlabs Permedia...

Page 44: ... addresses and ranges occupied by the ELSA graphics board must not be accessed simultaneously by other hardware compo nents The following addresses area affected The ELSA GLoria requires an interrupt for proper operation or else the board will not be correctly recognized during the driver installation Use the manual supplied with your motherboard to determine which slot the ELSA GLoria is installe...

Page 45: ...han those used by normal monitors and does not produce a stable display The switches are labeled Low and High only on some monitors You can then refer to your monitor manual to find out what input impedance level this refers to or you can experiment to find a position in which a stable image appears in all graphics modes GLoria L L MX GLoria XL XXL VGA D socket 15 way VGA loop through 15 way VGA D...

Page 46: ... normal single screen operation VGA adapters integrated in the motherboard of your computer must be deactivated in the computer BIOS Alternatively you can switch off the VGA adapter on the ELSA GLoria boards In this event you must set the DIP switches on the ELSA GLoria board to ON The GLoria L and GLoria L MX is connected to the external VGA adapter by an optional connecting cable Connection Sign...

Page 47: ... signals However only the compli ant high resolution mode can be displayed It is not possible to display the standard IBM VGA graphics modes no DOS full screen You will need an additional VGA monitor for this setting Problems with Windows 95 Why can t I select higher resolutions and refresh rates in the ELSA settings even though these are supported by my monitor Please ensure that your monitor has...

Page 48: ...olution and color depth you have selected supports hardware OpenGL You can only do this with the OGLQUERY ELSA Tool which you will find in the ELSAWARE OGLQUERY directory on the WINNERware CD Once you start the pro gram you will see a message box indicating which driver is active Microsoft software OpenGL ELSA hardware OpenGL How many energy saving levels does the DPMS screen saver have not appli ...

Page 49: ...d time of the driver file 쮿 Operating system hardware environment and bus system You can call up information about your system via the ELSA Info program Click on Start 왘 Settings 왘 Display to open the Display Properties window Click on the Info tab for a display of various information about your system 쮿 Name and version of the application program with the error 쮿 A detailed error description To b...

Page 50: ... Analog V 90 V 34 Protocol PPP oder MLPPP User name guest No password The ELSA forum in CompuServe GO ELSA By fax to the ELSA support faxline 49 241 606 6399 Or write to ELSA ELSA AG Computer Graphics Support Sonnenweg 11 52070 Aachen Germany If very urgent call the ELSA support hotline 49 241 606 6132 Mondays to Fridays from 9 00 am until 5 00 pm CET 2231 Calle De Luna Santa Clara California CA 9...

Page 51: ...s available for download from our Inter net WWW site www elsa com or our LocalWeb and via direct FTP from ftp elsa com You will also find lots of information and answers to frequently asked questions FAQs You might also consider the newsgroups on our Webpages Before you contact the ELSA Support team please make sure that you are using the latest driver versions Repair If you are not sure whether y...

Page 52: ...t Graphics Board Model Name GLoria XXL This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules Operation is subject to the following two conditions 1 this device may not cause harmful interference and 2 this device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation See user manual instructions if interference to radio reception is suspend On behalf of the ma...

Page 53: ...ix years Excepted from this warranty period are ELSA CRT co lor monitors and ELSA video conferencing systems with a warranty period of 36 months Also excepted are the ELSA TFT Monitors with a warranty period of 12 months This period begins at the day of delivery from the ELSA dealer Warranty services do not result in an extension of the warranty period nor do they initiate a new warranty period Th...

Page 54: ...y refund in full or in part Com pensation claims regardless of the legal basis are excluded This does not apply if e g injury to persons or damage to private property are specifically covered by the product liability law or in ca ses of intentional act or culpable negligence c Claims for compensation of lost profits indirect or consequential detriments are excluded d ELSA is not liable for lost da...

Page 55: ...which textures are assigned depth information which allows the display of relief or raised structures 쮿 Bus system A system of parallel data lines for the transfer of information between indi vidual system components especially to expansion boards e g PCI bus 쮿 Chrominance Color information in the video signal 쮿 Clipping parts of polygons invisible to the representation are determined in clipping ...

Page 56: ...uffer 쮿 Front buffer is the name for the visible image page in double buffering 쮿 Geometrical transformation The position of the object in space is determined from the observer s point of view 쮿 Gouraud shading Shading 쮿 Graphics accelerator refers to a graphics accelerator board i e a board particularly suited for graphics intensive user environ ments 쮿 HighColor designates a 15 bpp or 16 bpp bit...

Page 57: ...esh rate or image refresh frequency in Hz indicates how many times per second an image on the monitor is refreshed 쮿 Rendering Process for calculating the repre sentation of a 3D scene in which the position and color of each point in space is determined The depth information is held in the Z buffer the color and size information is held in the frame buffer 쮿 Resolution The number of pixels in hori...

Page 58: ...sparency values are determined for the tri angles 쮿 Textures Wrapping a bitmap around an object including perspective correction for example wallpaper on a wall or a wood texture on furniture Even a video can be used as a tex ture map 쮿 TrueColor Graphics mode with 16 7 million colors 24 or 32 bits per pixel In this mode the color information saved in the display memory is not translated by a look...

Page 59: ...rmity 46 DIP switches 40 Direct 3D 4 32 DirectColor 34 49 DirectDraw 32 Double buffer 49 DPMS 3 50 DRAM 50 Driver 45 쮿 E EDO RAM 1 2 3 50 쮿 F FCC 5 50 Filtering 30 Flat shading 30 50 51 Flipping 31 50 Frame buffer 31 50 Front buffer 31 50 쮿 G Geometrical transformation 29 50 Gouraud shading 31 51 Grey scales 34 쮿 H Heidi 4 32 33 HighColor 34 50 Horizontal frequency 50 쮿 I Immediate mode 32 Interne...

Page 60: ...51 Rendering 30 51 Repair 45 Resolution 51 Retained mode 32 쮿 S Safety 7 Scan frequency 4 50 Shading 30 51 Shutter glasses 2 3 40 51 Single buffer 52 Stencil buffer 32 Support 43 Support hotline 44 S Video 51 System requirements 4 쮿 T Tearing 52 Tesselation 29 52 Texture 11 29 52 Texture mapping 30 Transformation 29 TrueColor 34 35 52 쮿 V VESA 52 VESA DDC 35 VGA 1 2 4 34 VGA Adapter 40 VRAM 1 2 3 ...

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