incorrect memory clock on PCI graphic card

my geforce fx 5500 256mb PCI card has a core/memory clock of 270/332 mhz. however, i checked online, and everywhere i checked the clock should be 270/400. i wonder why mine's set at a lower level.

of course, i can manually clock it higher (which i've done). i'm just not sure why the manufacture would want to set it LOWER than the recommended specs.

manufacturer is Jupiter Digital, which i can't find any information online.

Probably the reason right there. The graphics chip companies only design (and possibly make) the graphics processors on the cards, the rest of the stuff is up to the manufacturer. In this case the manufacturer was likely trying to save on costs by putting slower memory that's only spec'd to run at 333 MHz on the card. Those little-known cheap and/or OEM brands do that sometimes. If it runs stable @ 400 you've got a very lucky sample there

yeah, the card is amazingly stable, no matter what i do to it. i've set it to run at 300/400, and there's no sign of any instability. i'll try to get it run a little faster later, maybe 310/425.

there are a few problems though: 1) the card doesn't have a heat sensor, so i never know what temperature it's running at. 2) the 2D and 3D settings are apparently linked. if i overclock the performance 3D settings, the 2D settings go up with it. 3) after some driver installations, the computer will boot to desktop, freeze, and funky black bands appear on screen. i can fix it by going to safe mode, uninstall the drivers, and install another one. this problem ONLY seems to appear when i try to install drivers.

There is only one GPU and one set of memory chips on the card. If you boost the clock speeds on the chips, you boost them for 2D and 3D.

is it safe to leave it at the overclocked state when i'm not using it? since i usually leave the computer turned on all the time, i'm not sure if keeping it at 310/420 all the time is such a good idea, especially since the 2D and 3D clocks are linked.

Manufacurers do that a lot with low budget cards like your 5500, overclocking wont make it a good card all of the sudden ;d
It probably even has a 64bit datapath, yay!

it's a 128bit, fortunately.

the only thing overclocking did was that it can now handle AA without crapping out on me. it can maintain a pretty steady 24 fps even in 8v8, which is all i really need out of that card.