What is the most important component of any gaming desktop or laptop? Of course, it is the GPU of your system. A graphics card or GPU gives you power and frames which you need to support high-res graphics of your games. But sometimes the performance which you get from your GPU is not up to the mark and you feel the need to maximize it. That’s where overclocking comes to play. We are going to be talking about simple steps in which you can overclock you GPU, by using a great GPU software known as MSI Afterburner.  

What is Overclocking? 

Overclocking is simply enhancing your computers performance by increasing the clock rate, which was certified by the manufacturer. It makes your CPU or GPU run faster than it was originally intended to. When you overclock your GPU, you can accelerate its speed to get more performance and FPS out of it. You can manage a number of things to get the desired results. But having said that, it is never without risk because when you try to tweak the settings far beyond the default ones, then you can cause permanent damage to your hardware as well. Whenever you are trying to overclock your GPU, it is recommended that you have proper skills or knowledge about it. If any unnatural thing happens to your hardware or something does not feel right, then make sure to consult a more knowledgeable person.  

MSI Afterburner 

If you have used MSI laptops, then by now you might be familiar with MSI Afterburner. It is a GPU software which is filled with great features and works on every GPU even if it is not MSI card. This is GPU software to overclock the GPU and manage other things like monitoring hardware in real-time. It gives the users a complete control and the best thing is that it is completely free.  

Prepare for Overclocking 

You need to download MSI Afterburner software if you already don’t have it installed. When you open it, you will see an interface in front of you which can leave confused if you don’t know anything about it. So let us talk about some setting options which you will be seeing there.  

At the left side you will see two clocks. The upper reading is your core clock speed which is the main speed you will be overclocking. Below it is the memory clock that can also be overclocked but only after testing core clock.  

In the very middle is control panel which you can use to overclock the fan speed, memory clock, and core clock. 

On the right side you will see the temperature of your GPU.  

Let’s Get Started 

Now that you know the options on the MSI Afterburner dashboard, it is time to get started and overclock your GPU.  

  • Open the software and click on the settings icon you see just below the control panel.  
  • When you click on the settings icon, a new window will appear in front of you. Click on the “General” tab and under the compatibility properties you will see Unlock voltage control, Unlock voltage monitoring, and Force constant voltage. Tick all three of them and apply the settings then click OK. After that your computer will ask to restart, click ok to restart.  
  • Once your laptop is restarted, open the MSI Afterburner software again and then you can tweak the settings.  
  • This time you need to stay on the dashboard and slide the temperature limit to 87 degrees. When you slide the temperature, you will notice that the power limit has also gone up. 
  • Look for the core voltage (%) and slide it all the way to the right. The percentage will always be dependent on your GPU or graphics card. 
  • When you are done with these settings, click on the check button which is placed underneath the sliders. Then you can choose the core clock and add 23+ number and click on the check button again.  

Once you have changed all the settings you will need to check the stress of your GPU or system. You can install any third-party software which will tell you all the stats of your computer, while running a high-res graphic visual. You will notice a slight improvement in the frames and at the same time an increase in the temperature. If you don’t notice any graphic glitches or the temperature is good enough then you can raise the core clock a bit more. Then again run the stress test and see what the stats are telling you.  

When you reach a point where you start to notice abnormal activities by your system like temperature being too high or crashing of your PC, then you don’t have to worry. Open the MSI Afterburner and lower the clock speed by 20 or 30. The speed you choose after that will be the optimal speed for your GPU.  

Final Step for Overclocking 

Now that you are done with the settings of your GPU overclocking you need to save the settings which you have just changed. Click on the save button on the dashboard of this software and assign a number to it like 1, 2, 3, and so on. This will save your settings so you can simply boost the performance of your GPU with these saved settings whenever you want. Then you need to run your favorite games and see the changes of performance you are getting now.  

If you are not getting good results or your game is crashing constantly, then you need to go to MSI Afterburner and reset the settings. But if the game is running all well, then congratulations you have successfully overclocked your GPU MSI Afterburner.  

Bottom Line 

Well, there you have it, this was the article, and we hope it covered everything you needed to know. these were some simple steps to overclock you GPU with the help of MSI Afterburner. If you are looking to buy a good laptop, then we recommend you visit Laptop Outlet and choose from a wide collection of powerful MSI laptops.