Right lots of threads have been turning up recently regarding incorrect clock speeds on Graphics cards, mostly ATi people complaining, so this thread is here to help out those people who have the problem of wrong clock speeds showing up on thier Graphics card.
The reason your clock speeds show up LOWER than whats advertised in the specifications for your card is that the Specifications usually list the 3D speeds.
so for example if your card is a x1900xt the speeds will be advertised as 625mhz core and 1450mhz for the memory.
But, When you first install the card and check in the drivers you will see that the current clock speeds of the graphics card is actually LOWER than what was advertised on the box/website.
The speeds you are looking at are the 2D speeds. The cards usually throttle themselves to lower speeds when they are not in use, such as not playing games or running 3D Apps.(e.g 500mhz core 600mhz memory for the x1900xt.)
The reason most cards have slower 2D speeds is to conserve power and generate less heat when they are not being pushed hard, which in turn reduces the rate at which the fan needs to spin at to cool the card and in return that means a quieter running card.
So as soon as you launch a 3D program such as a Game your correct clock speeds will be used. The card will automatically step up the clock speeds to the 3D speeds which are shown on the box/specs/website of the card you have.
So there is nothing to get alarmed at, you have not been ripped off etc.
Hopefully someone can sticky this and/or edit it to make it better/clearer for all to understand.
The reason your clock speeds show up LOWER than whats advertised in the specifications for your card is that the Specifications usually list the 3D speeds.
so for example if your card is a x1900xt the speeds will be advertised as 625mhz core and 1450mhz for the memory.
But, When you first install the card and check in the drivers you will see that the current clock speeds of the graphics card is actually LOWER than what was advertised on the box/website.
The speeds you are looking at are the 2D speeds. The cards usually throttle themselves to lower speeds when they are not in use, such as not playing games or running 3D Apps.(e.g 500mhz core 600mhz memory for the x1900xt.)
The reason most cards have slower 2D speeds is to conserve power and generate less heat when they are not being pushed hard, which in turn reduces the rate at which the fan needs to spin at to cool the card and in return that means a quieter running card.
So as soon as you launch a 3D program such as a Game your correct clock speeds will be used. The card will automatically step up the clock speeds to the 3D speeds which are shown on the box/specs/website of the card you have.
So there is nothing to get alarmed at, you have not been ripped off etc.
Hopefully someone can sticky this and/or edit it to make it better/clearer for all to understand.
