The word overclocking can be very scary for some people however when it comes to GPUs you can safely overclock them to a certain amount. Overclocking provides you with a performance boost in your hardware for better gaming performance. Software such as MSI Afterburner and EVGA Precision X can be used to safely overclock your GPU. Usually messing with voltages can be tricky and dangerous. However, in this guide, I will show you how to safely overclock your GPU without messing with voltages. I will also provide tips on using this overclock settings and also how to setup a profile for it.
What is Overclocking
Before we begin this guide, I will explain overclocking to you in easy words. Overclocking means running your hardware at higher speeds than the defaults. Most of the time extreme overclocking requires better cooling and specific hardware to perform.
As an example, we require the K series processor and Z series board to overclock our Intel Processor. However, when it comes to GPUs nearly every GPU can be overclocked to some extent. However, I only recommend overclocking your mid or high tier GPU.
Do not try to overclock your low-end GPUs as they might fail. Please do not try to overclock your laptop GPUs or embedded GPUs.
Safely Overclock Your GPU with MSI Afterburner
First Download MSI Afterburner and MSI Kombuster from the provided links. If you cannot find the download button for MSI Afterburner scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Now Install both of the software and open up MSI Afterburner after installation completes for both of them. After opening MSI Afterburner you will be able to see the Kombuster icon on the top left side. Click on it to open MSI Kombuster.
Click on Run stress test. Do not run a full-screen stress test as we have to monitor Kombuster for our specific overclock.
Adjusting the Fan Speed
Now head back to the MSI Afterburner software and click on the auto button with fan speed to unlock manual fan speed for your GPU. Set the desired fan speed, I usually set it to 60 as it provides me a good enough temperature.
You can set it to 100 percent however that can reduce the lifespan of your fan bearings. However, increase the fan speed if your GPU overheats during this process.
So, select your fan speed click on the tick icon to apply the fan speed.
Now Increase the Power Limit and Temp Limit to Max and click on the Apply Button. Do not worry you will not be able to reach the max temperature limit.
Note: Please Monitor your GPU Temperatures.
Adjusting the Core Clock
First, we will adjust the core clock of your GPU. Make sure that the MSI Kombuster Stress test is running so you can test your settings.
Note: While using this method we are aiming for MSI Kombuster or MSI Afterburner to crash. When it crashes you will know the limit of your GPU. Please remember that this crashing will not damage your GPU.
The driver will usually safely reset to default settings when it crashes. Although, it might not crash for some people so If you also start noticing graphical issues in the stress test that means you have reached the limit.
Every GPU Overclocks differently so do not worry if your GPU Overclocks more or less than others
Now we will start adjusting the core clock. I usually increase the core clock by 50 at a time to find out the stable limit of my GPU. You can extend your GPU limit by unlocking voltage controls but I wouldn’t recommend using voltage controls for a newbies.
Note: These numbers will be different for AMD GPUs you will have to add the exact numbers that you are adding to your core or memory clock instead of +50. e.g. if you want to add +50 to 1607 you will have to write 1657.
Double Click in front of the core clock where it says +0 and Type 50 and press enter and then click on the tick icon to apply the changes to your GPU.
If everything looks stable add 50 more to the memory clock and click apply. However, please note that now you will have to type +100 instead of +50 because you are adding 100 to your GPU in total.
You should keep adding fifty to your number until MSI Kombuster or Afterburner crashes or you start seeing graphical issues in the stress test. Start reducing it by 10 to find the exact limit of your GPU.
Once you find your stable core clock I would recommend reducing it by 10 or 20 to keep things stable. Please remember if the driver or MSI Afterburner crashes it will reset the changes that you made make sure to keep a note of your changes. You might have to re-apply them.
Adjusting Memory Clock
Once you have found out your stable core clock its time to increase your memory clock. Instead of increasing the memory clock by 50, I would recommend adding 100 values at a time.
Once you find your stable core and memory clock click on the save icon to save it as a profile. Click on the save icon and select the blinking “1 2 3 4 5″ buttons to save your profile on the desired number.
You can also select the startup button on the left side to use these settings with your System startup. However, I would recommend using profiles and activating them when you are playing as it will increase the life span of your GPU.
I only select this profile during my gaming sessions so my GPU Only uses this setting while playing heavy games. However you can run the GPU overclock always if you tend to upgrade your GPU’s frequently.
Extra Information for safely overclocking your GPU.
Here is some extra information that you should remember.
- Overclocking will not reduce your GPU’s or CPU’s lifespan by much. Usually, we use specific hardware for 3-4 years, and for that time overclocking is safe.
- Even if it reduces the lifespan it will only be a few percent’s and depends upon your overclocking configuration
- You can unlock voltage controls from MSI Afterburner settings to overclock it further however it’s not recommended. Because putting too much voltage through a CPU or GPU can damage it.
- Please Monitor the temperature of your GPU While performing overclocking. You, GPU Cooler, might overheat your card with your settings even at a maximum fan speed. So reduce the overclocks if necessary.
- If you witness screen tearing or crashes while playing reduce your memory and core clocks.
- Always buy overclockable components such as motherboard, CPU, and RAMs. When they are simultaneously overclocked they provide a huge performance boost.
- Use the latest Graphics Driver for your GPU to attain a stable overclock and better performance.
This article showed you how to overclock your GPU safely. If you think we have missed something or some of our information is wrong feel free to comment down below. We always welcome criticism and use it as a learning opportunity.
