How to Safely Overclock Your GPU to Gain FPS (2024)

Overclocking seems scary, but you might be stunned by how simple and safe the process is. No, your PC won't explode. Instead, it can help you gain more FPS in games and other graphics-intensive applications.

Have you considered overclocking your graphics card before? If you're unsure where to start, keep reading, as we'll teach you how to overclock your GPU in Windows.

What Is Overclocking?

The term "overclock" refers to a PC's ability to increase the clock speed of a component above its default or stock speed.

Components like the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) operate at a certain clock speed. Clock speed is a spec that indicates how fast such components can perform various tasks, and it's usually measured in megahertz (MHz).

Overclocking your computer means manually changing the clock speeds of the CPU and GPU to achieve higher performance. It is generally safe to do so as long as you follow the proper steps and don't push the clock speed limits too far.

Before moving on to the actual steps for overclocking, here are some technical terms you should be familiar with:

• Core Clock (CC): It determines the speed at which 3D objects are rendered in games. The higher the core clock, the better the GPU will perform in tasks that require a lot of processing power, such as gaming or video rendering.
• Memory Clock (MC): The GPU stores some data, such as texture and graphic details, in its memory. And the memory clock measures the speed at which the GPU accesses such data from its memory.
• Core Voltage: The core voltage measures the power allocated to the CPU or GPU. Increasing the core voltage can help stabilize and improve the performance of a component, but it can also cause it to generate more heat.

Now that you know some technical terms related to overclocking, you're all set to overclock the graphics card in your PC.

Step 1: Choose an Overclocking Program

You need a special program to overclock your computer properly. There are many different utilities on the internet for overclocking, each with its own abilities and features.

We'll use MSI Afterburner for this guide, as it's compatible with almost all the AMD and NVIDIA GPUs. Afterburner has an easy-to-use interface and is stable when it comes to overclocking.

Before continuing, there are a few things to remember. Firstly, if your GPU is stuffed in a small case and fan speed configurations are not set, overclocking will lead to overheating, which eventually causes your PC to shut down. Secondly, when running Afterburner, you should regularly check your GPU temperature to ensure you're in an optimal zone.

Download:MSI Afterburner (Free)

Stress testing ensures the stability of your GPU's overclock. If your overclock isn't stable, your PC will run into a variety of graphic issues.

MSI Kombustor is one such software that you can use to test the stability of your overclock settings. It offers benchmarking as well as stress-testing options. Additionally, it provides a comprehensive FPS and benchmarking score to gauge how well your GPU performs.

We highly recommend taking appropriate precautions, like preventing computer overheating, before overclocking your components.

Download:MSI Kombustor (Free)

Step 3: Overclock Your GPU Using MSI Afterburner

Now that you have selected an overclocking program and a benchmarking or stress-testing tool, it is time to start overclocking your GPU.

We recommend creating a restore point in Windows before overclocking to be on the safer side if things go south. A restore point allows you to undo any changes you've made to your system in case of any issues while overclocking.

Here's how you can overclock using MSI Afterburner:

1. Open MSI Afterburner and navigate to its Settings tab (indicated by a gear icon).
2. Under the General window, check the boxes next to Unlock voltage control and Unlock voltage monitoring.

   

3. Click Apply and OK to save the changes. After this, MSI Afterburner will restart.
4. Click the A button to disable the automatic control. Enter 70 in the text box next to Fan Speed (%).

   

5. Increase the Core Clock (MHz) slider by a small amount (for example, +20). Similarly, increase the Memory Clock (MHz) slider by +10.

   

6. Click the check or tick button at the bottom of MSI Afterburner to apply the changes.

You're still not done yet. You need to know how to run a stress test or benchmark to see if the changes are stable.

You can try increasing the limits if the test passes without any issues. However, if the test fails or the GPU crashes, lower the clock speed and try again.

Overclocking is mainly a trial-and-error process that requires a lot of time and patience. You need to gradually increase the Core and Memory Clock settings after testing the system's stability after each step.

Step 4: Stress Test Your GPU

Stress testing allows you to determine the stability of your GPU at the new clock speed and make sure it is not being pushed beyond its limits.

Follow these steps to stress test your GPU:

1. Open MSI Kombustor and change the Resolution field to match the resolution of your monitor.
2. Click RUN stress test and let the test run for at least 5 minutes.

   

   See Also

   Benchmarks - Overclocking RAM for more FPS - Kingston Technology
3. Monitor the temperature of the GPU during the stress test. The temperature of your GPU should not exceed 90C.

While the test is running, open MSI Afterburner and start raising the Core Clock (MHz) by +20 after every test. So, if the previous value in the Core Clock box was 20, it should now be +40.

Do the same thing with Memory Clock (MHz) as well. You need to add +10 MHz to the existing value. Once you adjust both the core clock and memory clock, rerun the stress test to check for performance gains.

If you run into issues like shutdowns or BSODs, you should restart your PC and lower your overclock settings. PC crashes due to overclocking do not imply a serious PC or GPU failure; you can quickly resolve this issue by changing the overclock settings.

Step 5: Run a Benchmarking Test

Benchmarking is slightly different from stress testing. Benchmarking allows you to measure the performance of your GPU by running a series of tests and providing a score. On the other hand, stress-testing tools put your GPU under a heavy load to see how it behaves under such conditions.

After you have stress tested your GPU and ensured that it is stable at the new clock speed, you can run a benchmarking test to see the performance improvements.

Here's how you can benchmark using MSI Kombustor:

1. Open MSI Kombustor on your PC.
2. Mark the checkbox next to Fullscreen.
3. Choose the benchmarking option that matches your display resolution. Click BENCHMARK to start benchmarking.

   

Remember to monitor the temperature of your GPU during the overclocking process and make sure it does not exceed its maximum temperature rating.

Besides MSI Kombustor, there are many other useful benchmarking tools as well. So, make sure to try one of them on your PC.

Step 6: Save Your Overclock Settings in a Profile

Now that you know the best settings for your GPU, it's time to save your configuration so that MSI Afterburner can apply them at boot.

Settings are very easy to save as profiles, and you can use them to put your GPU in an overclocked state with a single click.

To save a setting preference, click on the Save icon (indicated by a floppy disk in MSI Afterburner) and select a number. To load that same configuration, click on the number and hit the Apply button.

Overclock Your GPU for Better Frame Rates

Overclocking may seem like a dangerous way to squeeze more juice out of your graphics card. But if you followed our instructions correctly, you'll know it's a safe procedure for the most part.

Overclocking your GPU is a right, and those who bother learning about graphics card overclocking can stretch their GPUs farther than it has ever performed.