You didn’t buy the gorgeous gaming PC just for show, did you? Unlock the extra potential and spice up your gaming by learning how to overclock GPU. Overclocking your CPU will only boost your slow CPU processor, but this will enhance your GPU and let you play like a pro. If you overclock, GPU is a proven way to increase its performance and bring out the best in it.
Prerequisites You Must Follow
Before you overclock GPU, you need to make sure that you have everything that is required; here you go:
- Not all cards support graphics cards, so check for a graphics card that supports overclocking.
- Also, make sure the computer, specifically the GPU, supports overclocking.
- Good cooling is needed for the GPU and the case as well.
- Plenty of power should be in the GPU. The more power plugs, the better.
- Risk tolerance should be there in GPU because overclocking can hurt GPU sometimes.
If all the above conditions are met, you are good to proceed with the overclocking procedure.
How to Overclock GPU: Step-by-step Guidelines
Overclocking can be dangerous if you don’t follow instructions. Here are the steps for your ease.
1. Launch your Overclocking Tool
We will use the most commonly used MSI Afterburner because the steps for other tools are almost the same. Firstly, run MSI Afterburner. Here is what you need to look at:
- GPU and memory clock: You need to check your ongoing GPU and memory clock because numbers keep moving up and down. If you don’t see any load running on the GPU, there won’t be any fluctuations.
- Current voltage: You need to max out the voltage limit. The latest GPUs prevent you from altering voltage because they damage the hardware. You should check your PSU before maximizing it.
- GPU temperature: You need to monitor the temperature and ensure it is around 80-85°. If it exceeds that temperature, things will get too hot, and the graphics card can damage itself.
- Power limit: Here, you can boost the draw by 20% or more, which is an opportunity to overclock. If it is 250 watts, you can raise the limit to 300 watts by sliding the slider to the right. Monitor the temperatures and noise levels. Your system will be hotter since the limit is high, too.
- Temp limit: You can increase the temperature limit here. You may need to manage the temperature before the GPU begins to crack things down.
- Core clock: It is a magic button that improves performance and increases your GPU clock.
- Memory clock: This is another magic button that increases the memory frequency, which in turn increases bandwidth and FPS.
- Startup: Every time your computer boots, this button lets you run MSI Afterburner.
- OK: Hit this button, and this applies to all the changes made for overclocking.
2. Overclock GPU Clock
Here is how the overclocking starts:
- You need some headroom for the first big step, so raise the temperature limit to its maximum and the power limit by 10%.
- You need to move the GPU slider to the right and set it to +50 MHz. Then click on the OK button.
- Usually, no overclock between 5-50 MHz causes any issues, so all the more reasons to check if it works or not.
- The next step is to stress test the GPU. It is to ensure that everything is operating well. Now, utilize a benchmarking tool to see any artifacts or crashes. If you find nothing, then let’s proceed to the next step.
- Raise the speed of the clock in increments of 10MHz. Click OK.
- Retest, and if it still works, continue raising the speed like before. Do this until the limit is hit and your laptop/PC or game crashes.
- Then, decrease the limit by 10 MHz so you can have some headroom.
3. Overclock GPU Memory
To improve performance in games that rely mainly on it, you can overclock memory from 10 to 15 % to get a boost in performance. In some cases of Titan Xp, its memory operates at 5,505 MHz so that you can push it by 400-500 MHz. A piece of honest advice is to begin lower and go with increments of 50 MHz and increase it until you reach the limit. Now, notice games; they will respond varied to a high memory clock. Some games will operate better; some will show problems.
4. Raise Power and Temp Limit
Once the limit is hit, set the power and temperature limits to the maximum and do it again. You will hit both the GPU and memory clock slightly more. But this won’t be much, and it will also be too noisy. We suggest settling for the power limit of +114%. But every GPU is different, so you have to figure out the maximum overclock of your own GPU.
Is It Safe to Overclock GPU?
In general, it is safe to overlock GPU and has a very small chance of damage. If there is an issue, first, your PC will crash, indicating that our game is soon to crash. If you overclock the GPU every day with the help of shunt mods and LN2 to remove the voltage limit to give more power to the GPU, you will damage the GPU. So we suggest you don’t mess it up unless you know about everything you are doing.
Checklist to Overclock GPU
A straightforward way to boost gaming performance is to overclock the GPU. Here is what you require to do it:
- An overclocking tool: The most common tool is MSI Afterburner. It works with almost all of the AMD and NVIDIA GeForce chips.
- GPU stress test: It is important to do a stress test because once you overclock GPU, it might work fine for a few hours while gaming, but it shows its true colors after quite a few hours of gaming. So, a good GPU stress test will tell you the true condition of the GPU.
What Happens When You Overclock GPU?
Overclocking will provoke your GPU to execute better graphics-related tasks, like video editing or gaming. It boosts your GPU’s memory and clock speed, exceeding the maker’s recommended limit. When you overclock your GPU, it provides a smoother gaming experience, higher frame rates, and faster rendering times.
FAQs
Q: Why should I overclock GPU?
Ans: Only if you need to boost your graphics card. Overclocking is an essential update when the PC is used for gaming.
Q: What is a good GPU clock speed?
Ans: This depends on the GPU model, game/ application, and cooling system you are using. Each GPU differs, so each model’s clock speed also differs.
Q: How much should I overclock my GPU?
Ans: Again, the answer is the same. It depends on the internal hardware, applications, and cooling system, so this also varies from model to model.
Q: Can overclocking damage the GPU?
Ans: If you have followed all the conditions correctly, it won’t damage the GPU in general.
Conclusion
Since you now know how to overclock GPU, you can unleash the potential of your GPU and play as a pro.
