How To Overclock GPU Safely

What is GPU Overclocking?

GPU overclocking involves increasing the core and memory clock speeds of your graphics card above what is specified by the manufacturer. This can boost your graphics performance in demanding games. The processing power of your GPU is determined by its clock speed, so by overclocking you are effectively giving it a temporary “speed boost” to render graphics faster.

Typical gains from a moderate, stable overclock range from 5-15% faster framerates depending on the game and resolution. Overclocking allows you to squeeze more life out of your existing graphics card and is a free way to gain an edge in demanding titles.

Example of GPU Overclocking

The GTX 1060 comes from Nvidia with a base core clock speed of 1506 MHz and memory clock of 2002 MHz. Using a program like MSI Afterburner, I started by increasing the core clock in steps of 25 MHz until it became unstable. It stabilized at 1600 MHz, giving me a modest 6% increase.

Next, I upped the memory clock in steps of 100 MHz. I quickly found the card could handle 2200 MHz without issues during stress testing. Combined with the core overclock, I saw a 10-12% improvement in benchmark scores and framerates over the stock speeds.

To maintain good temperatures under load, I ensured my case fans were running at high speed. I also upgraded my CPU cooler to keep the whole system running smoothly. After many hours of gaming and folded at home crunching, the overclock has proven rock solid.

The extra performance I’ve gained comes at no cost, showing how overclocking can significantly boost older GPUs and help them keep up with newer games for longer. With care and testing, even modest chips like the 1060 have some headroom.

Things to Consider Before Overclocking GPU

Before attempting to overclock your graphics card, it’s crucial to ensure you have all the necessary components and that your hardware is compatible. Overclocking is not supported on all GPU models, and some graphics cards may not be suitable for overclocking at all. Make sure you have everything required before you proceed with the overclocking process.

• An overclocking-capable computer, especially the motherboard
• An overclocking-capable graphics card, since not all GPUs have this feature
• Plenty of power, with extra power ports on the GPU being preferable.
• Good cooling, both on the GPU and in the case overall.
• A tolerance for risk, since overclocking can damage your GPU

Preparations for GPU Overclocking

Before attempting to overclock your graphics card, it’s important to first establish the baseline performance of your GPU. Running a GPU benchmark tool like 3DMark Time Spy can provide valuable insights – you’ll be able to see your current benchmark score, monitor the GPU temperature, and measure the power consumption.

If the GPU is already reaching temperatures above 85°C during the benchmark, you’ll want to focus on lowering the GPU temperature before proceeding with any overclocking. Overclocking will typically result in even higher temperatures, so addressing the cooling needs upfront is crucial.

Next, you’ll want to research other people’s experiences overclocking that specific model of GPU. The exact brand is less important than the general GPU model. The key information to find is what the recommended safe maximum voltage is for that GPU. If you can’t locate reliable data on the optimal voltage, it’s best to limit yourself to no more than an additional 100 millivolts when overclocking to play it safe.

Overclocking a GPU is exclusively done through software applications. There are a few different programs available that support GPU overclocking, with the most popular being MSI Afterburner. Both AMD’s Radeon Software and Nvidia’s GeForce Experience also provide their own official overclocking tools, though the effectiveness of those varies.

Before you begin, it’s important to note that Nvidia’s official overclocking utility is limited and won’t allow for true, in-depth GPU overclocking. For the best and most comprehensive GPU overclocking experience, I would recommend using MSI Afterburner if it supports your particular graphics card model.

Safely Overclocking GPU: Step-by-Step Guide

Now that we have covered the necessary preparation, we can proceed with the actual overclocking process. The overall steps are fairly straightforward, though it can be a time-consuming task. You can attempt to overclock both the graphics processor and the video memory, but it’s advisable to focus on overclocking the graphics chip first before tackling the memory overclocking. Trying to overclock both components simultaneously may complicate the process

Step-by-Step Overclocking

1. The first step is to increase the power limit setting for your GPU as high as it will go. Don’t be concerned about this – adjusting the power limit in this manner is a completely safe operation.
2. When increasing the GPU clock speed, do so in small increments, no more than 5% at a time. You can often adjust the clock speed in very fine steps, such as 1MHz increments, which allows you to target a precise clock speed if desired.
3. Once you have set the new, higher clock speed, be sure to save those settings.
4. Next, run a GPU stress test like 3DMark Time Spy to evaluate the stability of your overclock settings. Longer duration test runs are more effective at revealing any instabilities, so it’s recommended to let the stress test run for at least 30 minutes.
5. If your system remains stable and does not crash during the stress test, then your current overclock settings are stable. You can repeat the process of incrementally increasing the clock speed, saving the settings, and testing for stability. However, if your PC crashes or you observe visual artifacts during the stress test, that indicates a lack of stability, and you will need to take steps to increase the stability of your overclock.
6. To improve the stability of your overclock, you should increase the GPU voltage, ideally using an offset-based voltage adjustment. I suggest incrementing the voltage in small steps of 25 millivolts or 0.025 volts. Keep in mind that raising the voltage will result in a moderate increase in both power consumption and heat generation for your graphics card.
7. After increasing the voltage, save the new settings. Then, run the GPU stress test once more.
8. If your system remains stable during the stress test after increasing the voltage, then your overclock is now stable. In that case, you can return to the earlier steps of incrementally raising the clock speed, saving the new settings, and testing for stability. However, if your PC still crashes, even with the increased voltage, you will need to repeat the voltage adjustment process (steps 5 and 6) again to improve stability.Eventually, you will reach a point where your GPU hits a limit – no matter how much you increase the voltage, you won’t be able to further raise the clock speed without causing instability. At that point, you’ll need to settle on a stable, safe combination of clock speed and voltage that your GPU can reliably handle.

Even after you are satisfied with your final overclock settings and haven’t encountered any crashes during benchmark testing, it’s still a good idea to validate the stability by running an actual game. This will help ensure the overclock is functioning reliably in real-world usage scenarios.

While the primary objectives of this overclocking process are to achieve maximum performance and stability, some users may prioritize more optimal thermal and noise levels instead. In those cases, it may be preferable to target a lower clock speed and voltage combination, even if it means sacrificing some of the potential performance gains. This is a perfectly valid approach that many users opt for if the increased heat and fan noise is not desirable.

Overclocking Tools From Nvidia and AMD

Nvidia and AMD offer their own overclocking utilities, but they are more limited compared to third-party tools like MSI Afterburner. Nvidia’s tool mainly just allows the GPU to boost more aggressively, without providing direct clock speed or voltage control.

In contrast, AMD’s overclocking software is more robust and feature-rich. It provides functionality comparable to third-party tools like MSI Afterburner, but with a more modern user interface. Additionally, AMD’s tool offers several automatic overclocking presets and optimization options.

AMD’s tool provide different overclocking options:

• Undervolt GPU reduces the voltage and tries to maintain normal clock speed so the GPU runs more efficiently and the cooler.
• Overclock GPU is basically an automatic overclock, or rather a more aggressive version of the frequency boost AMD GPUs already come with.
• Overclock VRAM overclocks the memory rather than the graphics chip.

For AMD GPU owners, the built-in overclocking utility can be a compelling alternative to third-party tools like MSI Afterburner. It not only matches the functionality of those external programs, but also offers some additional options and features, along with a more polished user interface – without requiring a separate download.

Additionally, the AMD software allows you to create custom overclocking profiles tailored to individual games, rather than just a single global profile like many other overclocking tools.

Is it safe to Overclock GPU?

GPU overclocking comes with inherent risks since you’re pushing hardware beyond factory specs. However, modern GPUs have extensive safeguards built-in to protect against damage from unstable overclocks. Here are some key points about safety:

• If an overclock becomes unstable during stress testing, the software will usually recover gracefully by restoring default clocks. This prevents crashes.
• GPUs are designed to intelligently scale back clock speeds or voltages if temperatures get too high. This acts as a thermal limiter.
• Most issues that could potentially harm the card, like corrupted displays or system crashes, are recoverable by reverting to a validated, stable overclock profile.
• Well-reviewed overclocking tools like MSI Afterburner have strict safety limits built-in as an extra layer of protection.

Provided you approach it carefully, monitor temps properly, and don’t try to achieve world-record clocks, overclocking done judiciously via software poses very little risk of hardware damage for modern GPUs. However, it’s still not fully risk-free. You may experience decreased lifespan over time.