x1700 running very slowly

I was checking in ATI catylst, and i found that my x1700 GPU had:
core clock in MHz: 209 MHz
Memory clock: 135 MHz

These are WAY slower than the max settings this card should be running at (i believe). I saw here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_ATI_Graphics_Processing_Units that the numbers should be closer to 450 MHZ.
Is this normal to have half the clock speed? does it affect performance? can i change it to a higher speed/is this advisable?
Thanks for any help.

 

Are you on battery? If so the GPU clocks down to conserve batter.

Plug your laptop in and post your results.

Link:

*Warning PDF*

http://ati.amd.com/products/pdf/powerplaywp2.pdf

 

Asus is known to underclock all of their notebook gpu cards substantially from max spec, due to the more restrictive thermal requirements of the smaller chassis' used in their products. Yes, lower clock and mem speed will affect (lower) the performance.

You can increase the clock and mem speed using various 3rd party utils to get some of the performance back, but remember that the system is going to run hotter as a result - i.e. higher system temps and fan usage/speed.

 

To answer USApatriot: I was/am plugged in right now.

I started wondering about the card because movies (even plugged in and on "performance mode") are choppy infrequently, which i feel should never happen. Is this the card or some other setting?
Second, if the card is so underclocked, will i still be able to play decent games at decent settings?
And lastly a guess, most reviews of the F3JP say they get good performance from their laptop, so can i assume that their x1700 GPU is similarly underclocked and thereforre assume that my system will run equally well?

 

209/135 is way too low to be a factory underclock, it has to be power management or a screw up in the settings some where.

 

Make your PowerPlay settings are set correctly.

To do this you need to go into the Catalyst Control Center and fine the tab.

Also make sure your system in in max performance mode.

 

i put the powerplay to max performance, but it didn't change anything. (i am looking at the clock speed in the "information center-graphics hardware" section, is that the right place to see my clock speed?

If it is, then i'm stumped. Performance is maxed, and no change in the 209 MHz speed.
What are you're clock speeds (for x1700 card)?

 

well use software and overclock it.. maybe it is only factory mistake.

 

Which laptop do you have? What version of Catalyst are you using?

 

I have the F3JP AK....P
Catalyst version 8.33.00.........C

 

I have the same computer as you, and on battery in battery saving mode, information center says I'm at 392/252. Take a look at the power play tab and see what you're settings are. I keep mine at Max Performance on AC power and balanced on the battery. I tried using ATItool to overclock the GPU and it wouldn't take. What is everyone using to overclock?

 

ATI Tray Tools worked for me when I did play around with overclocking. On the "Optimal Performance" setting my x1700 runs at 473/396.

 

tried everything, and got nothing. Even when changing from max performance to max battery setting, the numbers didn't change (at least they didn't go down further!), but then again, shouldn't the clock speed change? Since it didn't, maybe their's a problem with the laptop or the card? Do your cards numbers' change when you change the settings?
I spent extra money to get a good video card, i don't want it crippled somehow with low clock speeds. If i 'overclock' it back up to more normal standards, will I void the warranty?

 

Try the latest Catalyst drivers first.

This is the link for the latest XP driver.

http://ati.amd.com/online/mobilecatalyst/

 

isnt that still a bit too low? my x1600 reads 475/475 when on ac power (max).

 

Different models are clocked differently. I wish I had the x1700 in the G2 which is clocked closer to what you have.

 

Oh crap, i just updated the driver by uninstalling the old and installing the newest version. It solved my GPU problem (running at 459 MHz now), but now it seems that text boxes are messed up a little, the text doesn't fit properly in the space provided, but gets lost under the text box borders or overlaps words over each other.
Do i need to fix some settings and if so which ones?
Thanks for all the continuing help. I still like the laptop, but these bugs are wasting my time and are getting really annoying.

EDIT: i did 3d mark06 and it's only 1854, decently lower than what i should expect. That, and my laptop is now definetely hotter than it ran before.

 

Try using ATi Tray Tools to check the clock.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/atitraytools/189/
See if you can clock it manually here.

 

That is really slow

I have the X1700 Ati in my G2 and my clock speeds are as follow:
All are at factory specs and no overclocking done.

Core Clock in MHz 459 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz 495 MHz

 

My information center doesn't display the dedicated video RAM like that, only that I'm running 1024mb of hypermemory. How do you have 512mb dedicated anyways? I thought all the x1700s had 256mb dedicated. My clocks increase to 459/396 when going from battery to AC. I couldn't not find any software changes that would alter the clock speeds displayed.

 

That program doesn't seem to work with Vista. It was successful at turning my screen all grainy though. Reinstalling ATI drivers and system restore hasn't fixed the problem, I'm trying to re-flash BIOS now. Thanks...

 

The G2 has a special version of the x1700. Not all x1700 cards are made the same.

 

The G2 came with 512 dedicated and was the best of all the asus 17" i was able to test.(W2p, A7(older version)) and it even has a higher core speed than my buds nVidia G1 hehe

 

Update: Changed my dpi setting back to 96 dpi and that fixed text issue, but now ati is back at 209/135. HOWEVER, I ran 3dmark06 and got the same score as when it read 459/395, so i think maybe Loopty is right when he says the drivers are ignoring my settings until i actually run a 3d application.