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MONSTER 3D II

USER'S GUIDE

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

MONSTER 3D II USER'S GUIDE

1 ABOUT MONSTER 3D II .................................. 5

Monster 3D II Features and Specifications .................. 6

Monster 3D II Performance ......................................... 8

2 HOW TO USE THE USER’S GUIDE ..................... 9

3 INSTALLING MONSTER 3D II............................ 10

Installing the Hardware ............................................... 10

Installing MegaMonster ............................................... 13

Installing the Software ................................................ 15

4 MONSTER 3D II DISPLAY UTILITIES ................. 20

Opening the Display Utilities ....................................... 20

Display Utilities Controls ............................................. 21

5 REMOVING MONSTER 3D II ............................. 27

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A MONSTER 3D II TROUBLESHOOTING................28

FAQs ..........................................................................28

Your game is incompatible with Monster 3D IIor the 3Dfx chipset .................................................29

Monster 3D II is not properly installed..........................30

Monster 3D II Drivers are not correctly installed...........30

Stealth 64 Video GT Drivers ........................................31

Display Modes.............................................................32

B CONTACTING DIAMOND ...................................32

C GLOSSARY .....................................................33

D TRADEMARKS, COPYRIGHT AND WARRANTY ....48

E CE AND FCC INFORMATION ............................50

Diamond on the Web: www.diamondmm.de

Fast Track to Tech Support

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1 ABOUT

MONSTER 3D II

Table of Contents Removing Monster 3D II

Installing Monster 3D II Monster 3D II Troubleshooting

Monster 3D II Display Utilities Glossary

Monster 3D II X100 is for every PC user who wantsto boost his PC with 3D graphics power for nearly allcurrent 3D action games. Based on the Voodoo2 chipset from 3Dfx, it offers reference-class 3Dacceleration with excellent picture quality and highestframe rates. In supporting Direct3D™, Glide™ andOpenGL™, the most distributed gaming APIs, itguarantees maximum compatibility also for upcominggames and ensures long-lasting investment for the PCsystem. Satisfaction is guaranteed by easy installation(add-on design) and expandability (MegaMonsterupgrade) to double the performance. Monster 3D IIis simply fun, fun, fun....!

♦ ♦ MONSTER 3D II FEATURES ANDSPECIFICATIONS

♦ MONSTER 3D II PERFORMANCE

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MONSTER 3D II FEATURESAND SPECIFICATIONS

♦ 3Dfx Voodoo2 chipset for outstanding speedenhancements, stunning visual effects, and crisp,clear graphical images.

♦ Three dedicated 3D engines on a single card,for triangle rendering and texture mappingthat dramatically improve the speed andrealism of game images.

♦ 1 x pixelfx2 - frame buffer memory

♦ 2 x texelfx2 - texture memory for800x600 gaming with Z-buffer!

♦ Accelerates all Glide™ (Voodoo), Direct3Dand OpenGL games for dramaticimprovement in the performance of new andexisting games

♦ PCI bus 2.x compliant

♦ 135 MHz DAC

♦ Analog pass through connection to standardVGA output (DDC2 support)

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♦ Accelerated frame rates:

♦ over 60 frames per second game play withone Monster 3D II

♦ over 100 frames per second game play withdual cards, using the MegaMonster feature.

♦ Superior resolution support

♦ 800 x 600 and Z-Buffer game display with oneMonster 3D II

♦ 1024 x 768 and Z-Buffer game display withdual Monster 3D IIs

♦ Advanced 3D Features

♦ Hardware Triangle Set-up, Anti-Aliasing,Alpha-Blending, Gouraud Shading, TextureMapping and more.

♦ Multiple textures per pixel allow for realisticand colorful images

♦ Single pass trilinear filtering for smoother,more defined visuals

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♦ MegaMonster upgrade option:

♦ Internal connector to connect 2 Monster3D II boards for twice the performance

♦ Monster 3D II and its twin use Scan LineInterleaving (SLI) to draw alternate even andodd scan lines on your screen - doublingperformance and delivering unprecedentedresolution and texture to PC images.

♦ MegaMonster cable free available via Internet(www.diamondmm.de) or from EuropeanDiamond Multimedia TechSupport.

MONSTER 3D IIPERFORMANCE(Pentium 200MHz system)

♦ 90 M pixels/second sustained fill rate for bilineartextures (with alpha blending, fogging and Z-buffering enabled)

♦ 180 M pixels/second with scan line interleavedconfiguration (2 Monster 3D II)

♦ 3 M triangles/second: filtered, MIP-mapped, Z-buffered, alpha-blended, fogged, texturedtriangles

♦ Intel Pentium II / 300 MHz processor (or better)recommended for best performance, andsignificantly better performance than Monster3D.

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2 HOW TO USE THE

USER’S GUIDE

Table of Contents

For your convenience, this online User’s Guide hasbeen formatted as a PDF file. This format gives yougreat flexibility in how you want to use thisdocumentation. If you like, you can easily print thismanual so you can access it off-line and it will looklike any standard document complete with Table ofContents and page numbers.

♦ Use the zoom view tool of the reader, if some ofthe artwork in this User’s Guide should notdisplay properly on your screen.

♦ For printing the User’s Guide, a print resolutionof 600 dpi is recommended.

♦ Hypertext links are active in this manual. If youare reading this manual online, place your mousecursor over Table of Contents entries or mainheadings. If a hand icon appears, simply click tomove to that place in the document. Some emailor World Wide Web address inside this manualmay be active as well. You can go directly to youremail program or Web site simply by clicking onthem if a hand icon appears.

This icon marks useful tips or importantoperational notes.

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3 INSTALLING

MONSTER 3D II

Table of Contents Removing Monster 3D II

About Monster 3D II Monster 3D II Troubleshooting

Monster 3D II Display Utilities Glossary

♦ ♦ Installing the Hardware

♦ ♦ Installing MegaMonster

♦ ♦ Installing the Software

INSTALLING THE HARDWARE

Important! Monster 3D II does not replace yourcurrent video or graphics card. Monster 3D II workswith your current graphics card to deliver cuttingedge 3D performance.

With the power off, remove your computer cover.Find an available PCI slot and remove the bracketand screw. Remember which cables go to whichconnectors. You may want to label your computer'scables before disconnecting them.

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Note: The illustrations show a development prototype card that maydiffer from actual production models.

♦ Insert Monster 3D II firmly into a PCI slot. Careshould be taken to press it evenly and snugly intoits slot. Once you are certain Monster 3D II isinstalled properly in its slot, secure it with a screw.

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♦ Connect the lower port on Monster 3D to themonitor port on your existing graphics boardwith the provided VGA pass-through cable.

♦ Connect the upper port on Monster 3D to yourmonitor with a standard monitor cable.

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♦ Secure your computer cover and attach anypreviously removed cables.

♦ Use Monster 3D II to blast off with the latest andgreatest 3D games. Go forth and conquer!

INSTALLING MEGAMONSTER

For the MegaMonster upgrade you need 2 identicalMonster 3D II cards connected with the internalMegaMonster cable.

Notes:

We recommend that you first install one Monster3D II card and the corresponding drivers beforeinstalling the second Monster 3D II card, theMegaMonster cable, and drivers for the second card.

The MegaMonster cable is not supplied with theMonster 3D II. The cable is available free via Internet(www.diamondmm.de) or from the EuropeanDiamond Multimedia Customer Support.

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♦ Install both Monster 3D II cards into adjacentPCI slots in your computer (see Installing theHardware).

♦ Use the MegaMonster cable to connect theconnectors J3 on both Monster 3D II cards. Theconnectors on the cable and on the cards arekeyed to ensure correct connections.

♦ Connect one of the Monster 3D II cards to yourgraphics card and to your monitor (see Installingthe Hardware).

Note: You need only one VGA pass-throughcable.

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INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE

With the Monster 3D II hardware installed and yourcomputer rebooted, follow the instructions belowthat pertain to the specific operating system that youuse.

To make installing your Monster card easier andmore intuitive, Diamond has provided an installationutility that will run automatically when you insert theDiamond SuperCD CD-ROM. From the SuperCD,you can learn more about Diamond and its products,install software drivers, and read on-line productmanuals.

Notes:

The Diamond SuperCD will install the currentMicrosoft DirectX runtime and Diamond’s DirectXand Glide drivers.

If you cannot start the Diamond Quick Start Utility,follow the instructions in the section Installing Monster3D II Drivers.

If Windows 95 displays a "New Hardware Found"message:

♦ From the New Hardware Found menu, clickCancel.

♦ Continue with Diamond's Quick Start Utility.

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Diamond's Quick Start Utility1. Normally the Quick Start Utility starts

automatically when you start your computer withthe SuperCD in your CD-ROM drive.If it should not start automatically:Click on the START button in the task bar, selectthe option RUN, and then select START.EXEfrom the root directory of the SuperCD.

2. Choose English as your language for theinstallation. Then click the STARTINSTALLATION button and confirm yourhardware if necessary.

3. First you will be asked the location of thedirectory where you want to install your Monster3D II drivers.

4. Next, you will be asked to choose Minimal,Standard, or Custom Installation.

♦ Minimal Installation - Monster 3D IIDrivers.

♦ Standard Installation - Monster 3D IIDrivers, Microsoft DirectX.

♦ Custom Installation allows you to choosewhich software components you want toinstall. If you decide you don't want to ainstall particular component, click on it againto de-select it.

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5. Once you have made your choice, click theContinue button to finish installing yourMonster 3D II drivers.If Windows 95 asks you to restart your computer,choose Yes.

Notes:

Opt for keeping the existing RICHED20.DLL andCOMCTL32.DLL files, if a message prompts you forold/new versions of these files.

Games that use Direct3D or have been acceleratedfor 3Dfx will automatically recognize Monster 3D IIand take advantage of its awesome 3D capabilities.

Installing Monster 3D II DriversThere are two different Windows 95 installationprocedures for Monster 3D II: one for Windows 95(version 4.00.950), and one for Windows 95 (version4.00.950 B—referred to as OSR2). To determinewhich is right for you, right-click on the MyComputer icon on the desktop and selectProperties. You should see the exact versionnumber in the General properties window. If theversion number is followed by a letter B or above,choose the Notes for Windows 95 OSR2 Users section.

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Notes for Windows 95 UsersWhen you first install your new Monster 3D II cardin your system and boot Windows 95 for the firsttime, Windows 95 will inform you that it hasdiscovered a new Multimedia Device and willprompt you to install drivers for it.

♦ Select Driver from disk provided byhardware manufacturer and click OK.

♦ Insert the SuperCD into your CD drive. Changethe A:\ in the Install from Disk windowto X:\DRIVERS, where X is the drive letter ofyour CD-ROM drive. For example, if your CD-ROM is drive D, you would type D:\DRIVERS.Click OK, and the driver files will be copied totheir destination directories.

♦ When Windows 95 prompts you to restart thecomputer, click Yes.

♦ Once Windows 95 has finished rebooting, youwill be ready to use Diamond's Quick Start utility.

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Notes for Windows 95 OSR2 UsersWhen you first install your new Monster 3D II cardin your system and boot Windows 95 for the firsttime, Windows 95 will inform you that it hasdiscovered a new Multimedia Device and willbring up the Update Device Driver InstallWizard.

♦ Click Next. Then click Other Locations.

♦ Insert the SuperCD into your CD drive. Set thepath in the install window to X:\Drivers,where X is the drive letter of your CD-ROMdrive. For example, if your CD-ROM is drive D,you would type D:\Drivers.

♦ Click OK, and the driver files will be copied totheir destination directories.

♦ If you are prompted for the location ofDirectDraw Drivers as files are being copied,simply re-enter X:\Drivers.

♦ When Windows 95 prompts you to restart thecomputer, click Yes.

♦ Once Windows 95 has finished rebooting, youwill be ready to use Diamond's Quick Start utility.

Notes for DOS UsersTo use Monster 3D II under DOS you do not haveto install any additional drivers. Games written totake advantage of specific 3D APIs or that have beenspecifically accelerated for the 3Dfx Voodoo2 chipsetshould function properly.

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4 MONSTER 3D IIDISPLAY UTILITIES

Table of Contents Removing Monster 3D II

About Monster 3D II Monster 3D II Troubleshooting

Installing Monster 3D II Glossary

As part of its Windows 95 drivers, Monster 3D IIinstalls an additional property page to your Displaycontrol panel called Monster 3D II.

The display utility provides options for determininghow Monster 3D II displays information on yourmonitor while you are playing 3D games.

OPENING THE DISPLAYUTILITIES

♦ Click Start - Settings - Control Panel -Display and select the Monster 3D II tab.

♦ You can now make custom changes in your videodisplay.

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DISPLAY UTILITIES CONTROLS

API SelectionShown as “Direct3D” above, the API selection scrollmenu allows you to set display properties forDirect3D, Glide, or Both simultaneously. Tocontrol settings for OpenGL select the Glideoption.

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Refresh RatesUse this control to adjust the refresh rates used bymany games running on Monster 3D II. Choose aresolution from the Resolution slider and arefresh rate from the Refresh Rate slider. Clickthe Apply button to set a permanent associationbetween the resolution and the refresh rate.You may adjust the resolution/refresh ratesseparately for your Glide and Direct3D basedgames or simultaneously for Both.

Note: You will only be able to select resolutions andrefresh rates supported by your monitor, as reportedby the Windows 95 registry. You do not need torestart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Gamma CorrectionUse Gamma Correction to change the brightnesslevels used by 3D games. Some games may appeartoo dark or too bright. Each of the gamma sliderscontrols brightness levels for red, green, and blue asthey appear in games running on Monster 3D II.Manually adjust each of the sliders, apply and test,until you achieve the brightness you want.Select the Link Gamma Slider checkbox tochain all three of the sliders together so that adjustingone slider adjusts them all.

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Web Links♦ This dialog offers direct links to helpful pages on

Diamond’s World Wide Web page.

Advanced PropertiesNote: These settings are for experienced users.Selecting these options may cause problems withsome games and hardware configurations.

♦ If in doubt or in case of problems click theDefault button to return to the factory-defaultsettings.

♦ To display more information on the AdvancedProperties settings, click the ? symbol andmove the cursor to the topic where you wantmore details.

Don’t Sync Buffer Swaps to MonitorRefresh RateWhen selected, Direct3D or Glide applications willnot synchronize buffer swaps with the vertical retracesignal of the monitor. Rendering performance mayincrease when this option is selected; however, visualtearing may occur.

Disable Voodoo2 Direct3D SupportWhen selected, Monster 3D II will not be available asa Direct3D Device.

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Force Trilinear Texture FilteringWhen selected, Direct3D apps which use texturemipmapping will always perform trilinear texturefiltering. Selecting this option will not impactrendering performance.

Force Advanced Texture FilteringWhen selected, Glide apps will utilize an advancedtexture filtering mode. The visual quality of therendered scene may be improved when this option isselected; however a rendering performance decreasemay occur.

Limit Texture MemoryWhen selected, Glide apps will limit the use of texturememory to 2 MBytes for each texture mapping unit.Some Glide games may not work correctly if thisoption is not selected.

Enable SLI Auto-detection (Two Boards)When selected, Direct3D or Glide will auto-detectSLI (Scan-Line Interleaving) boards. Disabling thismay help some games run properly.

PerformanceThe Performance slider allows cutting edge users theability to increase their Monster 3D II performance.

Note: Performance increases may not be seen in allgames. Also, some systems may experiencecompatibility problems when run at maximumperformance.

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System InfoThe System Information dialog provides hardwareand software profiles for Monster 3D II.

Note: This information also is helpful and required ifyou want/need to contact the TechSupport.

The Monster 3D II Hardware Profilesection displays some card-specific hardwareinformation:

Scan-lineInterleave

Indicates that two Monster 3D II boards areinstalled and operating in Scan-line Interleavemode. This mode is disabled if the EnableSLI auto-detection checkbox in theAdvanced dialog is unchecked.

FBI Revision This is the revision number of the frame bufferinterface chip.

Frame BufferMemory

Indicates the total amount of memory available forthe frame buffer. The value impacts the maximumresolution available.

TextureMapping Units

Number of Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) on thecard. Two are needed to accelerate multi-texturedapplications fully.

TMU Revision This is the revision number of the TextureMapping Units.

Total TextureMemory

The sum of each TMU’s memory.

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The Monster 3D II Software Profilesection shows the version numbers of the Monster3D II drivers. Use the version number to helpdetermine if you have current drivers.

FxMemMapVxD Version

This is the version number of theFXMEMMAP.VXD file currently in use.

WinGlide 2.xDriver Version

This is the version number of the GLIDE2X.DLLfile currently in use.

Direct3D DriverVersion

This is the version number of the MNSTR2.DRVfile currently in use.

Direct3D 32-bitDLL Version

This is the version number of the MNSTR232.DLLfile currently in use.

Direct3D 16-bitDLL Version

This is the version number of the MNSTR216.DLLfile currently in use.

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5 REMOVING

MONSTER 3D II

Table of Contents Monster 3D II Display Utilities

About Monster 3D II Monster 3D II Troubleshooting

Installing Monster 3D II Glossary

To remove the Monster 3D II, be sure to do at leastthe following:

1. Shut your computer down and disconnect thepower cable from the electrical outlet.

2. Remove the computer case as outlined in thehardware installation instructions in Chapter 3.

3. Ground yourself by touching the power supplybox.

4. Now, simply reverse the hardware installationprocedures from Chapter 3 and connect theVGA cable to your regular graphics card.

Note: The Monster 3D II software drivers mayremain on your system with no negative effect afteryou have removed the hardware.

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A MONSTER 3D IITROUBLESHOOTING

Table of Contents Monster 3D II Display Utilities

About Monster 3D II Removing Monster 3D II

Installing Monster 3D II Glossary

Windows 95If you experience a problem using Monster 3D IIunder Windows 95, there are three possible causes ofyour problem:

♦ Your game is incompatible with Monster 3D IIor the 3Dfx chipset.

♦ Monster 3D II is not properly installed.

♦ Monster 3D II drivers are not correctly installed.

DOSIf you are experiencing problems using Monster 3Dunder DOS, there are two possible causes of yourproblem:

♦ Your game is incompatible with Monster 3D IIor the 3Dfx chipset.

♦ Monster 3D II is not properly installed.

FAQSFrequently Asked Questions and their answers maybe found at the Diamond Multimedia Web site.

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YOUR GAME IS INCOMPATIBLEWITH MONSTER 3D II ORTHE 3Dfx CHIPSET

Monster 3D supports the following 3D APIs

Windows 95

♦ Microsoft Direct3D

♦ 3Dfx WinGlide

♦ OpenGL (games subset)

DOS

♦ 3Dfx Glide

If the game you are playing does not support one ormore of these 3D API's, your game will not be ableto recognize Monster 3D II, and hence will not takeadvantage of it. Check with the game publisher inquestion about obtaining a version that will supportany of the above API's.

If you experience problems with a game that wasdeveloped for an older 3D API version (for example,DirectX version lower than DirectX 5.0), check withthe game publisher in question about obtaining anupdated version of the game.

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MONSTER 3D II IS NOTPROPERLY INSTALLEDCheck to make sure that Monster 3D II is properlyseated in its PCI slot and that the pass-through cableis firmly and correctly connected to your graphicscard. For more information, please see InstallingMonster 3D II.

MONSTER 3D II DRIVERS ARENOT CORRECTLY INSTALLED♦ Click Start - Settings - Control Panel -

Display and select the Monster 3D II tab.

♦ Some Advanced settings may cause problemswith some games and hardware configurations.Set the Advanced Properties to Default.

♦ Click the System Info button to find outwhich drivers and which driver versions you haveinstalled.

♦ Use the Web Links button and find the latestdrivers and additional instructions for Monster3D II on Diamond’s Internet home page.

♦ Consider to re-install the Monster 3D II driversas described in Installing Software.

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STEALTH 64 VIDEO GTDRIVERS

The S3 968/868 video controller which is used, forexample, in Diamond's Stealth64 Video 3000 series ofvideo cards, among others, contains a memory bug.

If this bug causes problems with the Monster 3D IIcard in your system when running Diamond GTdrivers, you can fix it with the utility FXREMAP.EXEon the SuperCD in\INSTALL\DIGVIDEO\MON3D_2\TOOLS\. Thefile README.TXT in this directory provides moreinformation.

Note: This utility is available on the Internet asS3FIX.

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DISPLAY MODES

Resolution Colors Refresh Rates (Hz)

640 x 480 65k 60, 72, 75, 85, 120

800 x 600 65k 60, 72, 75, 85

1024 x 768 65k 60, 72, 75, 85,

Notes:Z-buffer support up to 800 x 600Z-buffer support for 1024 x 768 onlyin two-card configuration (SLI)Colors are 24-bit dithered to 16-bit RGB (65k colors)

B CONTACTING

DIAMOND

Table of Contents

Diamond on the Web: www.diamondmm.de

Fast Track to Tech Support

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C GLOSSARY

Table of Contents

3DThree-dimensional

3D-DDI3D device driver interface, software interface (3D-API) fromMicrosoft, higher level 3D-APIs like OpenGL and 3DR may beimplemented in Windows 95

3DR3D software interface (3D-API) from Intel, supporting Microsoft's GDIDDI, DCI and 3D-DDI

ADIAutoDesk Device Interface

Alpha blendingCreating transparent materials with the help of additional informationfor each pixel.

AnalogContinuously varying electronic signal to reproduce information.Compare digital.

Analog DisplayMonitor that uses variable color control voltages to display a verylarge number of colors but requires very few inputs.

ANSIAmerican National Standards Institute.

Anti-aliasingInterpolating the colors of neighboring pixels in order to avoid the'pixel look' of an image.

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API - Application Programmers InterfaceAn API is a series of software commands used by programmers toimplement a specific set of instructions, such as the creation of 3Dgraphics, and make those instructions available to other programs,or to make specific functions of your operating system, such asDirect3D, available to an application.

ArtifactsBlurred or "blocky" portions of degraded image quality in a digitalvideo.

ASCIIAmerican Standards Committee on Information Interchange. Astandard used by IBM and compatible computers to representnumbers and characters in binary form.

BandwidthRequired capacity for the data volume and transmission rate.

BIOSStands for Basic Input-Output System. Code in your computer'sROM (Read Only Memory) that provides the power-on self test andother operating functions.

Bits per pixelNumber of bits used to represent the color information of a pixel.

BlitterFast memory transfer in the graphics board without using the CPU,e.g. used for moving parts of the invisible screen.

BMP (Windows Bitmap)This format enables Microsoft Windows to display images ondevices with similar capabilities in a consistent way. Save pictures inthis format if you wish to continue to process them later underWindows.

BNC connectorStandardized connector with a bayonet socket, used for connectinga graphics board to a monitor with separate R(ed), G(reen) andB(lue) inputs.

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Booting/Booting UpStarting the computer. There are two types. Warm booting isaccomplished by simultaneously pressing the CTRL/ALT/DEL keysand can occur only when the computer is running. A cold bootrequires activation of the ON/OFF switch.

BrightnessBrightness of an image is determined by the amount of light emittedby it. No light (black) therefore means 'no brightness', whereas purewhite light means 'maximum brightness'.

Burst modeFastest data transfer mode in which a large burst of pure data istransferred in one block.

Bus masterPCI bus slots must have bus master capability. This means PCIextension boards may move data very fast via the PCI bus withoutusing the CPU (similar to Direct Memory Access).

Bus systemSystem of parallel data lines to transfer information betweenindividual system components, especially to expansion boards (e.g.PCI bus).

CGAIBM Color Graphics Adapter, one of the first color graphicsstandards. Either 320x200 pixels with four colors or 640x200 pixelswith two colors can be displayed.

ChrominancePortion of a video signal which corresponds to color values andincludes information about hue and saturation. This color componentessentially complements the brightness or luminance component ofa color video picture.

ClippingLimiting the drawing area to any rectangular area by cutting itsedges.

Color DisplayType of monitor capable of displaying information in color. It is oftencalled an RGB (red, green, blue) monitor, referring to the signalsneeded to drive it.

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ContrastThe contrast of an image is the difference between light and dark. Acontrast-intensive image is one in which contains strong transitionsfrom light to dark. A contrast-weak image contains transitions thatare hardly noticeable.

CPUCentral Processing Unit, which is the main processor chip of acomputer, e.g. Pentium.

D/A converter (DAC)Converts digital input signal to analog output signal, e.g. image datain the display memory of the graphics board is converted to videosignal for the monitor to display.

DDC (Display Data Channel)The VESA Display Data Channel provides a serial data channelbetween the monitor and the graphics card - if both, monitor andgraphics card support DDC and the monitor data cable includes theadditional DDC wire. DDC support automatically transfers monitordata (e.g. type, name, max. horizontal frequency, timing definitions)to the graphics card. The graphics card may also send instruction tothe monitor via the DDC line.There are different DDC standards: DDC1, DDC2B, and DDC2AB.

Default ModeCapabilities, resolutions and display mode the system operates withwhen you start your computer.

Delta frameFrame containing only the data that has actually changed since thelast frame. Delta frames are an efficient means of compressingimage data. Compare key frame.

Digital(1) Method of representing sound or other waves as a series ofbinary numbers. (2) Tuning method for radios in which the desiredfreq. is set by digital calculation. (3) Numeric display of information.Compare analog.

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Digital DisplayAlso called TTL. A type of monitor that switches signals ON or OFFto determine display color. Types of digital displays include the IBMEnhanced Color Display or Monochrome Display.

DigitizeProcess of turning an analog signal into digital data.

DigitizerInput device in the CAD area, used for scanning printed graphics ordrawings, i.e. converting them to digital computer graphics.

Direct3D3D software interface (3D-API) from Microsoft for Windows 95 andWindows NT. Uses DirectDraw.

DirectColorGeneric term for TrueColor, RealColor and HiColor. Colorinformation is passed directly to the D/A converter instead of beingtranslated by a look-up table. Therefore full color information mustbe saved for each pixel.

DirectXInteractive media technologies for Windows 95 and Windows NT.Allows the development of high-performance interactive applicationsby extending to the developers the full performance of the underlyinghardware. Includes the DirectDraw, Direct3D, DirectSound,DirectInput, and DirectPlay APIs.

DitherProcess of representing a color by mixing dots of closely relatedcolors.

DMADirect memory access, a method of data transfer where informationis transferred directly between system components without the helpof the CPU.

Double bufferingAlso called page flipping. The display buffer has double size. Thenext image can be drawn in the part of the display buffer which isinvisible at first. When it is ready, this part will be displayed, and inthe other part the next image will be prepared. With this techniqueanimations and games look more realistic than with a simple singlebuffer.

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DPMSDisplay Power Management Signaling; VESA standard which allowsenergy saving operation of monitors.

DRAMDynamic Random Access Memory, memory for read and writeoperations which is non-permanent.

DriverPart of a software program that interacts with a particular piece ofequipment in your computer system (i.e. video boards, printers, andkeyboards). Drivers are often loaded by your config.sys at systemboot.

EEPROMElectrically erasable programmable read only memory; used like aROM permanent memory chip, but can be programmed and erasedto replace DIP switches and jumpers on new graphics boards.

EGAIBM Enhanced Graphics Adapter, which allows 640 x 350 pixels with16 colors.

Enhanced Color Display (ECD)IBM Enhanced Color Display capable of 640 x 350 resolution.

Expansion BoardDevice used to expand a computer's capability.

Expansion SlotElectrical connection within the computer used for the addition ofExpansion Boards.

Feature connectorAlso called VGA output connector. 26-pin connector for connectingexpansion boards to a graphics board using a flat cable.

FilterSpecial effect applied to a video clip or image to alter itsappearance. Filters can also correct problems involving colorbalance or brightness and contrast.

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Fixed Frequency MonitorAnalog monitor which can only sync to a very narrow range of scanfrequencies at certain resolutions and refresh rates.

FogFading effect that depends on an object's distance from the viewer.

FpsFrames per second. Measurement unit for the frame rate.

FrameSingle video image.

Frame RateNumber of images shown per time unit. Software videos have afixed frame rate. When playing back the actual frame rate achievedcan differ to the rate defined in the video considerably.

Frame sizeWidth and height of a frame expressed in pixels.

FrequencyNumber of samples per second in a sound or video file. The higherthe frequency, the better the quality of the sound or video.

Glide ™Specialized gaming API developed by 3Dfx

GLINT3D processor from 3Dlabs.

Graphics acceleratorDevice the purpose of which is to increase speed in performance-demanding graphical environments.

GrayscalesGrayscale image consists of different shades of gray (like a black-and-white photograph). This normally means that 254 differentgrayscales plus black and white (= 256) are used.

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H-Synclength of the horizontal synchronization pulse for a monitor, given inmicroseconds

Hardware Triangle Setup3D pictures are computed of small triangles for a better 3D look.These triangles are either generated by software via the CPU or byhardware acceleration for faster rendering.

HeidiAutoDesk's Heidi Development Kit helps developing graphicsintensive software, especially the drawing and display portion of theprogramming, such as render, pan, zoom, etc.

Hercules Graphics Card (HGC)Video adapter that provides bit mapped single color graphics.

Hexadecimal NotationA base-16 numbering system that uses numbers and letters. Thehexadecimal sequence begins: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F, then10, 11 etc.

HiColorDesignates 15 bits per pixel or 16 bpp graphics mode, i.e. 32,768 or65,536.

Hoops3D software interface (3D-API) from Ihaca Software.

Horizontal FrequencyRate at which a monitor displays each scan line, usually measuredin kilohertz (kHz). The value must be set depending on the operatinglimits of the monitor in order not to damage it.

HueSynonym for color.

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I/O PortInput/Output port. An address used to access a hardware device.

Indexed 16 and 256 Color ImagesIndexed color images contain a color table in the file. This table listsall the colors that could be used in the file. An indexed 16-colourimage contains a table with 16 color entries (4 bits) whereas for anindexed 256 color image 256 colors are listed (8 bits).Other colors can be simulated in a way similar to using grayscales ina black-and-white image, by simply positioning the pixels in varyingdensities. The eye then sees color mixtures that are not actually inthe color table.You can transform images into indexed color images in order to loadthem into programs such as Windows Paintbrush, or just to seethem on monitors that can only display 256 or 16 colors.

Interlaced DisplayMonitor that refreshes every other scan line (odd or even) everyother pass of the screen. Thus higher graphics resolution is possible,but more flickering occurs than with non-interlaced monitors whichrefresh the entire screen (every scan line) every pass of the screen.

Interrupt Request (IRQ)Signal used by a device, such as a mouse, to inform the CPU that itis present and functioning and to trigger certain procedures.

JumperSmall plastic plug that fits over a pair of pins. When the plugstraddles two pins it makes an electrical connection. The computermakes decisions based on whether the connection is made or not. Agroup of jumper pins is called a jumper block.

KbpsKilobits per second, a quantity for measuring transmission speeds.

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Line DrawingThis is a hardware function of the graphics processor chip. Only thestarting and ending coordinates of a line are supplied by the CPU.The rest of the work drawing the line is then done by the graphicsprocessor.

LuminancePortion of a video signal corresponding to brightness value -essentially the black-and-white foundation of a color video picture.

MDAIBM Monochrome Display Adapter.

Monochrome DisplayMonitor that displays information in one color only; sometimes calleda black & white display.

MorphingSpecial effect in which one shape is gradually transformed intoanother.

Multi-frequency MonitorType of monitor that supports a wide range of horizontal scanningfrequencies and vertical refresh frequencies. This type of monitoraccepts inputs from many different video display adapters.

OpenGL™3D software interface (3D API) for Windows NT and Windows 95,licensed from Microsoft and based on Iris GL from Silicon Graphics.The OpenGL gaming sub-set is part of the OpenGL instructions.Monster 3D II is not able to run professional CAD/CAM applications,but works with 3D games supporting this OpenGL sub-set.

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PaletteSelection of colors from which to choose. Your board provides asmany as 16.7 million simultaneous colors from a palette of 16.7million. This capability is sometimes referred to as TrueColor. It isbelieved that the human eye can discern no more than 16.7 millioncolors.

PCI busPeripheral Component Interconnect bus; system of parallel datalines to transfer information between individual system components,especially to expansion boards.

Peripheral EquipmentAuxiliary equipment connected to a computer (e.g. monitor, printer,keyboard, etc.).

PixelShort for picture element; the smallest field displayed on themonitor; could be compared to the dots which form images in photosprinted in newspapers. Also called pel.

Pixel clockAlso called pixel frequency. Number of pixels drawn per second inMHz (million pixels per second). The values are either fixed or freelyprogrammable.

Pixel depthAlso called color depth. Number of bits of color information per pixel.A system using eight bits per pixel can display 256 colors. A systemusing 16 bits per pixel can display 65,536 colors. A system using 24bits per pixel can display over 16.7 million colors. Twenty-four­bitcolor is often called true color because the human eye candistinguish among approximately six million different colors, or fewerthan are available in a 24-bit color system. 24 bits means 8 bit foreach RGB. With 32 bit pixel depth 8 bits are used in addition for anAlpha Channel.

Polygon FillSpecial hardware (chip) routine used to fill polygons with pixelinformation.

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Primary DisplayMonitor which is active when you power on your system.

PS/2 Display AdapterIBM VGA board for Industry Standard Architecture (AT bus)computers.

RAMRandom Access Memory; memory that can be read from and writtento.

RealColorNormally designates a 15 bits per pixel or 16 bpp graphics mode, i.e.32,768 or 65,536 colors.

Refresh rateVertical refresh rate in Hz indicates how many full images persecond are displayed on the monitor. The higher the refresh rate, theless the display will flicker.

RenderingProcess of displaying an object with shading effects to yield a morenatural three-dimensional appearance.

ResolutionNumber of pixels displayed in horizontal and vertical direction on themonitor. The higher the resolution, the crisper and sharper theimages appear.

RGB 8ColorRGB8 color file types are 3 bit types in which each pixel can haveone of 8 colors. The RGB8 color images are automaticallytransformed into indexed 16 color images whereby the 8 colors areretained but space for further 8 colors is created. It is not possible totransform an existing file into an RGB8 color file type.

RGB Color ModelMonitors use additive mixing of the three basic colors red, green andblue to create images on the screen with an infinite number ofcolors. Image data is therefore processed via data for RGB colorcombinations. The combinations of the three basic colors create acolor model whose origin is the color black and the opposite value isthe color white.

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RGB True ColorRGB stands for red - green - blue. All the colors that are used in thisfile are created additively mixing parts of the three basic colors. Theparts of the three basic colors can be varied in 256 steps. If you mixall these colors together a total of 16.7 million possible colorcombinations is attainable (3x8 bits = 24 bits, 2 to the power of 24 =16.7 million). As the human eye can not tell the differences betweencolor hues from about this level, such an image is termed 'TrueColor', i.e. 'as in real life'.

ROMRead Only Memory; memory space in your computer for storingpermanent operating instructions. It cannot be written to.

SaturationAmount of gray in a color determining the intensity and purity of acolor. A color with a high saturation value is optically very intensive.A color with a low saturation value appears weak (i.e. with less colorcontent).

ScalingTransformation of image data to different sizes.

Scan Line Interleave (SLI)Two Monster 3D II process in parallel - one card computing the oddlines and the other card computing the even lines of the screenpicture - thus doubling the display performance.

Shading (flat, Gouraud)Shading or rendering is a way to define the colors on curvedsurfaces in order to give an object a natural appearance. To achievethis, the surfaces are subdivided into many small triangles. Thethree most important 3-D shading methods differ in the algorithmused to apply to these triangles:

- Flat shading: In this simplest method each triangle gets one singlecolor, resulting in a faceted appearance of the surface.

- Gouraud shading: The color shades on a triangle are calculated byinterpolating the vertex colors, resulting in a smooth appearance ofthe surface.

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Shading (Phong)- Phong shading: The color shades on a triangle are calculated byinterpolating the vertex colors, additionally regarding the normalvector at each triangle (i.e. its orientation in space).

Single screenDOS screen and high-resolution graphics screen appear on thesame monitor.

StencilSpecial information for each pixel, whether and how it is drawn andredrawn.

SyncStable condition which exists when two repetitive events maintain aconstant time relationship; your monitor is in sync with the signalsfrom your board when the display is correct and stable.

Texture mappingWrapping a bitmap around an object, including perspectivecorrection, for example a wallpaper on a wall or a wood texture onfurniture. A video can also be used as texture map.

TrueColorAbility to display 16.7 million simultaneous colors (24 or 32 bits perpixel). Color information saved in display memory is not translatedby look-up table, but passed directly to the D/A converter. Thus fullcolor information must be saved for each pixel. It is believed that thehuman eye can discern no more than 16.7 million colors. See'palette'.

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V-SyncLength of the vertical synchronization pulse for a monitor, given inmicroseconds.

Variable Frequency Display (VFD)Monitor that is capable of displaying a wide range of resolutionsthrough it's ability to sync to a wide range of horizontal and verticalscan frequencies.

Vertical FrequencyRate at which the monitor screen is refreshed. Usually measured inhertz (Hz).

VESAVideo Electronics Standard Association; consortium for thestandardization of computer graphics.

VGAIBM Video Graphics Adapter with a standard resolution of 640 x 480with 16 colors.

VRAMVideo Random Access Memory; memory chip for fast graphicsboards.

YUV Color PaletteThe image information of individual frames is comprised of abrightness part and 2 color parts. The color part is calculated byevaluating the difference to the brightness value. This method wasfirst utilized in television technology.

Z-Buffer3-D depth information (position in the third dimension) for each pixel.

ZoomingIncreased display of an image section.

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D TRADEMARKS,COPYRIGHT AND

WARRANTY

Trademarks

Diamond Monster 3D is a trademark of Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc.All other products named in this manual are either trademarks or copyrightsof their respective owners.

Copyright Notice

This manual is copyrighted. All rights reserved. This document may not, inwhole or part, be copied, reproduced, reduced or translated by any means,either mechanical or electronic, without prior consent in writing fromDiamond Multimedia Systems, Incorporated. The information in this manualhas been carefully checked and is believed to be accurate. However,Diamond Multimedia Systems assumes no responsibility for anyinaccuracies that may be contained in this manual. In no event will DiamondMultimedia Systems be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental, orconsequential damages resulting from any defect or omission in thismanual, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.In the interest of continued product development, Diamond MultimediaSystems reserves the right to make improvements in this manual and theproducts it describes at any time, without notice or obligation.

© Copyright 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998Diamond Multimedia Systems, IncorporatedDiamond Multimedia Systems Service Company Ltd.Diamond Multimedia Systems Vertriebs GmbH

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Diamond Monster 3D II Warranty

Your Monster 3D II comes with a five-year hardware warranty.Diamond warrants this Monster 3D II against defects in material andworkmanship for a period of five years from the date of purchasefrom Diamond or an authorized Diamond agent. This warranty doesnot cover any incompatibilities due to the user's computer, hardware,software or any other related system configuration in which theMonster 3D II interfaces.To ensure your warranty, it is necessary that you keep the invoice forthe Monster 3D II. If your Monster 3D II card is damaged, contactyour local retailer first.This warranty does not cover any damage caused by negligence,non-authorized modifications, or parts installed without prior writtenpermission from Diamond.This warranty does not apply if the product has been damaged byaccident, abuse, misuse, or misapplication, nor as a result of serviceto the product by anyone other than by Diamond.

DIAMOND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOST PROFITS, LOSTSAVINGS OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGESARISING OUT OF THE USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THISPRODUCT. THIS INCLUDES DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AND, TO THEEXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DAMAGES FOR PERSONAL INJURY.THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES INCLUDINGIMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR APARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Some states do not allow limitation of implied warranties, orexclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, sothe above limitations may not apply to you.

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E CE AND FCCINFORMATION

This device complies to CE Certification pursuantEN55022:1994-08/A1:1995-05 class B

This device has been tested to comply with the FCCstandards for home or office use.

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 undesiredoperation.

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Declaration of Conformity

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