How and why to overclock the video card?
If you are going to increase the performance of a video card, you must first take care of cooling, since using the latest video games that create a huge load on the device, the processor may simply not withstand it. If the cooling system is weak or completely absent, then it is better not to resort to overclocking at all.
The overclocking of the laptop video card is also at great risk. According to statistics, laptops suffer from such manipulations of video cards more often than computers with a mediocre cooler. Also, not all cards offer performance upgrades. You should also pay attention to the fact that sometimes the processor works more than the video card itself.
Before you take a risky step like overclocking a video card, you need to find out about the characteristics of the program or application for which these adjustments to the processor’s capabilities are made. Knowledgeable users lead to overclocking cards that are equipped with a high-quality cooling system and when the purchase of a new device becomes inevitable. It is in this case that it is not a pity to completely disable the card.
MSI Afterburner knows better than anyone else how to help a graphics card gain momentum. By lowering the temperature, it extends the service life.
Video card overclocking algorithm with MSI Afterburner
Overclocking is done with the MSI Afterburner utility. How to disperse is thoroughly discussed further in the text. To learn the program interface, you need to read the manual “How to use MSI Afterburner". The action implies a gradual increase in the load on the video card. It is necessary to observe how the changes have affected the games. Some instability indicates the need to return the former settings. A number of special programs that are suitable for testing, for example:
- 3D Mark;
- FuMark;
- Video Card Stability Test
Some users see graphics boost as the main goal of overclocking. The increase in performance can be traced in games, it is about 15-20%. Directly overclocking the video card through MSI Afterburner is facilitated by further actions.
Run the program and see your video card in the Graphics card column. Above it is the image of a gear. Next to the option to reset the current data.
- Enter the menu;
- in the column “Selecting the leading graphics processor” the overclocking video card is indicated;
- If you have two cards, you must synchronize the settings of the same GPU;
- click “unlock voltage monitoring” in the “Compatibility properties” option;
- in “Cooler” select “Enable software user auto mode;
- by moving the marks on the graphic table, set the temperature mode and set the cooler speed. It is not recommended to determine 100%, this can permanently disable the cooler.
Voltage, power consumption and temperature remain at their original state (Fan Speed na auto and equal to 30%). To overclock the video card, you will have to interfere with the core clock (Core Clock) and the video memory clock (Memory Clock). Move the core indicator to the right by 10-20 MHz and “apply”. Need data 921 and 2072 MHz
Watch the overclocking video below.
Without minimizing the program, you should start the game in the window, moreover, from those that load the processor itself. The game is tested in an additional window lasting about two hours, and temperature fluctuations are monitored in parallel. If there is no distortion or anomaly, the indicator shifts by 10-20 MHz, reaching 941 and 2092 MHz. The process is repeated again with careful monitoring of the oscillations. As soon as distortion begins to appear, it is necessary to reset the frequencies by 10 MHz. In the case of establishing stable indicators, you can fix the parameters. If the indicators are unstable, you should decrease to the stop.
Frames per second (FPS) tracking is done by Riva Tuner Statistics Server. It is loaded in parallel with MSI, the state is set to on for the Show own statistics column. The number of frames per second will be highlighted in purple corner. It is impossible to pinpoint exactly when a performance jump will occur. Here’s a jump in temperature during the second or subsequent attempt indicates that overclocking should not be practiced. This does not mean that the video card is out of order, but long-term use will cause it to burn out. Therefore, overclocking should begin with ensuring good cooling. The card can only withstand temperatures up to 90 degrees.
If there are no powerful games in the arsenal, then you can turn to hardware tests. To do this, you need to download the VSI Komduster utility from the MyDiv site, run it through MSI Afterburner with the K button before overclocking. Frames per second, temperature and overall load are observed. You should fix this data and monitor the data again with a new overclock. It should be noted that games better display growth.
When it’s time to save the configurations, care should be taken to ensure that the frequency and cooling rate start working at the same time. You should click Startup. Subsequently, save and choose any of the five slots. Then, in the "Settings" menu in the "profiles" column, write down the new parameters: core frequency, video memory frequency, cooling rate. The profile should not be modified.
Difficulties when overclocking a video card
Manufacturers, developing some video cards, excluded the possibility of overclocking. MSI Afterburner takes care of everything to overclock the processor without any problems. It is necessary to remove the blocking really do it yourself. You should find the MSI Afterburner.cfg file. And in the UnofficialOverclokingEULA column, after the = sign, write the text “I confirm that I am aware of unnofficial overclockingI imitations and fully understand that MSI will not provide me any support on it. In fact, this is an agreement with risks, the likelihood of which increases after the removal of the overclocking ban, this relieves MSI of responsibility for the following actions. The owner of the device is responsible.