5
• Scissor Mode - each graphics card renders up to half of the display,
either vertically or horizontally depending on the game or application.
• Alternate Frame Rendering - the two graphics cards are used to render
alternate frames of the display. This configuration increases the detail
of the 3D objects each card can render, as each card handles half of
the total number of frames.
• Super Anti-aliasing - improves image quality by combining the
results of full-screen anti-aliasing across two graphics cards in a
CrossFire™ configuration. The two graphics cards work on different
anti-aliasing patterns within each frame.
The first three features are performance features settings automatically
selected by ATI's Catalyst™ Control Center. Super Anti-aliasing is a
display quality mode selectable using Catalyst™ Control Center.
14
On what basis are different rendering modes chosen?
When Catalyst™ A.I. is enabled in Catalyst™ Control Center, it
determines the optimal rendering mode to use, based on the application
or game being used. The default rendering mode is dependant on both
the hardware configuration and the application being run; typically it
will be either Scissor or SuperTiling mode. If Catalyst™ A.I. is not
enabled, any Direct 3D® applications that are running on a system based
on graphics cards with 16-pipeline graphics processors will use
SuperTiling Mode.
15
What type of performance improvement is expected?
Performance enhancements experienced on a CrossFire™ system
depend on the application or game being used. Performance
improvements can be increased up to 100%, and the latest graphics-
intensive programs will generally see over 80% performance
improvement at high resolutions and image-quality modes.
16
How many independent displays can be connected to a CrossFire™
system?
While CrossFire™ is designed for optimal use on a single display, it is
possible to drive multiple monitors using a CrossFire™ system when
CrossFire™ is not enabled. On a standard CrossFire™ system, it is
possible to drive three separate sets of monitors and still have one of
those displays as a dedicated CrossFire™ display. If the motherboard
