Must you have thought that is it safe to overclock GPU? Many people are afraid to overclock and feel that they will mess their computer up. On the other hand, many people understand how to overclock their graphics card. If you’re facing RAM issue? Know about how to test your computer RAM for problems in this article.
Overclocking your graphics card is a safe procedure if you take things gradually, one step at a time. Follow the guidelines, and you are safe to proceed.
Is Overclocking a Graphics Card Worth it
Overclocking a graphics card raises its functionality by boosting the rate at which graphics card work. Every machine is set to operate at some particular speed. Similarly, all GPU’s are set at some base clock or you can say core clock. Whenever we increase this clock rate, commonly known as overclocking, GPU draws more power and increases its temperature to provide higher performance in terms of graphics and visuals. Therefore, it’s worth it if you have a better or at least a good graphics card.
Overclocking your GPU makes a difference. Common questions that many people have in their mind are that can overclocking lower FPS? Is it bad to overclock your CPU? Overclocking might lower your FPS if you’re pushing your system to its extended capacity. Having a weak graphics card is one of the leading causes of FPS drop while overclocking it, and it’s not a bad idea to overclock your CPU either. It depends on your graphics card and processor. If you are having a good pair of them, you will enjoy the perks of higher FPS.
Overclocking for Gaming
Do you need to overclock for gaming purposes? Well, no, you don’t. Why burdening your system if the game your playing is already at maximum without tweaking. Let’s consider that you have a 2.0 GHz clock rate by default, and the game you want to play at maximum performance requires only 1.8 GHz clock rate. Will you overclock? No, right. It doesn’t make any sense if you do. Yes, you can overclock if you need it for FPS and performance but beware of following the guidelines discussed in later sections.
What You Need to Overclock Your GPU – 2 Types of Tools
1) Overclocking Tool:
You will need an overclocking tool like MSI Afterburner, EVGA Precision and Asus GPU Tweak. These are the free tools and don’t require any charges or fees. We will use MSI Afterburner to demonstrate step by step guide. You can use any tool for this purpose. Does overclocking GPU increase FPS? Yes, overclocking increases your FPS. The rate at which it increases FPS depends on the graphics card. Typically, the higher the clock speed your graphics card can handle, the better the FPS.
2) Benchmarking Tool:
You will also need a benchmarking tool like Unigine Superposition, Unigine Heaven, UserBenchmark, PassMark PerformanceTest, FurMark, 3DMark or GFXBench. These are great tools to use. We will use Unigine Heaven 4.0 version. You can use any mentioned tool for this purpose.
Overclocking Your Graphics Card using a Quick Tool (Easiest Way)
This is the easiest way to overclock your GPU using a quick tool. There are many available in town, and everyone has its dashboard/user interface. After this section, you can fully overclock your GPU. Follow the guidelines. The user interface of the tool might differ, but features and steps remain the same.
Step 1: Download and Install CAM Application
Login to the App via Facebook or Google. You can also use it as a guest mode.
Step 2: Go to the Overclocking Tab
Now, proceed by clicking on the overclocking tab.
Step 3: Turn on this Feature
Turn on the overclocking feature by clicking on the button.
Step 4: Set up Your Power Limit, Core Clock and Memory Clock
The power clock allows you to draw more watts for your GPU. Consider it to have an offset of10% at first. It varies from GPU to GPU that either to increase the voltage or not.
Core clock allows you to adjust the base clock on your GPU and has the most significant effect on overclocking your GPU. Typically, Nvidia cards allows upto +200 MHz overclock while AMD cards allow upto +100MHz overclock. Increase your core clock to 15MHz at first, hit apply and notice any FPS drop by benchmarking again. Repeat this process until you observe a noticeable drop or a flashy screen.
Memory clock doesn’t have much effect on games. Recommended value to be set is between 50 – 100 offset.
Step 5: Get the Best Stable Settings & You are Done Overclocking Your GPU
Once you found your stable settings to overclock your GPU, save it, apply it, and benchmark it. You can reset your overclocking by clicking on the reset button. Enjoy!
Overclocking Your Graphics Card using a Recommended Tool
The user interface of the tools used might differ.
Step 1: Benchmark in Your Current Stock Settings
Open Unigine Heaven Benchmark and benchmark your current stock settings to know the FPS and Score of your current settings. It will be later used for your satisfaction and to see the difference between the overclocked graphics card and a standard underclocked graphics card.
Step 2: Re-Benchmark by Increasing Your Core Clock
Open MSI Afterburner and increase your core clock by 10MHz. Rules are the same as discussed in the previous section of the easiest way to overclock your GPU using CAM App in terms of frequency but with a different perspective.
Increase the core clock by 10MHz and hit apply. Do this process again and again until you notice a heavy temperature change in GPU and CPU. Your system might get stuck at some point or you may see a flash. This is where you stop increasing your core clock. Usually, core clock can go upto +200MHz for Nvidia cards and +100MHz for AMD cards as observed and reported by most users but it can vary with the graphics card to card and processors.
Step 3: Increase Your Memory Clock & Core Voltage (Not Necessary)
Increase your memory clock the same way as core clock. The memory clock doesn’t make much difference but still better than nothing. Overclocking your memory may also produce some flashes and decrease performance because of memory error correction.
If everything is working perfectly, your GPU is still good to this point, increasing the mV voltage by 15 mV until it’s too much for the GPU. Remember to hit the apply button every time you increase your memory clock or core voltage.
Step 4: Play Some Games on Overclocked Graphics Card and Run Stress Test
Once everything is set, you find your stable settings for overclocking. Now is the time to test your graphics card to the fullest. Benchmark again, and hopefully, you will see a better FPS score.
Play some of your favorite games and observe the FPS in real-time. It might be stable for some games, and some games might crash but don’t worry, after some time with little tweakings, you will find the ideal setting for your system to enjoy a boost in performance. Hurray! You’re done.
Final Words for Overclocking Your Graphics Card
Overclocking your graphics card can be a great way to enhance efficiency specifically if you’re running a card that really did not come with a manufacturing facility overclock. One last care is that just because an overclock seems secure throughout your first testing as well as overclocking does not indicate it will never cause issues.
We have actually seen manufacturing facility overclocked cards have issues at their default setups, needing an increase in fan speeds or even a drop of GPU clocks. It’s a great suggestion to check your graphics card temperature levels over the coming months.
MSI Afterburner has a good function where it will certainly show the maximum clock speed, temperature, and so on in its real-time graph. If you see temperature levels regularly breaking 80C, it’s most likely an excellent suggestion to back off a little bit or raises the fan speed, with 75C max being a much safer long-lasting target.
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M Hamza Malik is a writer, blogger, and engineer who loves to create, write, and share his insights about computers, products, and technology. Hamza has spent the last years reading books, tech, and computers, which brings him to writing, giving his character a spark! Therefore, PCFIED is where he started his journey professionally.