Overclocking your GPU can help you gain extra processing power, but it also requires additional work that is potentially risky. You might be asking yourself if it is even worth overclocking your GPU.
This guide will help you grasp the concept of overclocking and clear up some misunderstandings about it.
Before moving on to the discussion of GPU overclocking, let’s look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of overclocking.
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What Is GPU Overclocking?
Simply put, overclocking refers to tweaking your GPU to operate at a higher clock speed. Consequently, when the GPU functions at an increased clock speed, it accomplishes more tasks within a set timeframe. As a result, you will witness an elevated number of frames per second.
Part of this performance boost is seen via VRAM overclocking, which is often deemed part of the overclocking process and not specifically referenced. To avoid confusion, we’ll stick to referring to the complete process as GPU overclocking.
Overclocking VRAM allows for faster data transfer between itself and the GPU, which leads to superior-quality images being processed.
Another part of the overclocking process is adjusting the cooling. Making the GPU run at a higher speed than the manufacturer intended will make it run hotter, thus increasing the necessity for efficient cooling.
In most cases, this will mean adjusting the fan velocity, as that’s how the majority of graphics cards are manufactured.
The Pros And Cons Of GPU Overclocking
On paper, overclocking your GPU likely seems like a win-win scenario.
Unfortunately, this isn’t entirely accurate because there are some drawbacks to the process.
The Pros
A higher clock means improved performance, which is the main reason anyone would overclock their GPU. Although it might not seem like much, a 10% performance increase can make the game you’re playing more enjoyable or at least playable, depending on how it was previously running.
If you’re having difficulty maintaining a consistent 30 FPS, you will probably be delighted to achieve it without purchasing new hardware. The same can be said for 60 FPS or whatever else your FPS goal is.
The improvement in game performance isn’t the only remarkable thing about enhancing the GPU clock. It can also have a positive impact on the image quality and provide you with more appealing visuals.
When adjusting the resolution and texture quality, you will often have to patiently fiddle with the settings to get them just right. Even then, getting the exact results that you’re looking for can be hard.
Overclocking your GPU means you can access a more refined approach when trying to achieve the best-looking and most optimized performance.
Although the list of pros is quite brief, we believe that it is important enough to be fairly measured against every con that the overclocking process might have.
The Cons
Before looking more closely at the few cons of overclocking a GPU, we should state that, as technology has progressed, the entire process has become far easier, and risks have become less frequent.
What we would point to as the biggest negative of the overclocking process is the increased voltage. You need this because both the GPU itself and VRAM will require more power to meet the demands of a higher clock speed. The fans will also need to pull their weight as the performance increase leads to more heat being produced.
A significant side effect of the increased voltage is the shortened lifespan of circuits. Although this used to be a much bigger problem, it’s still a stumbling block when considering overclocking. Both GPU companies have improved considerably at making their circuits more durable, but it’s still a major downside.
Another reason why overclocking is considered an unreliable process is the rise in heat that it brings. This is a contributing factor to any possible damage your PC might receive. In truth, most modern GPUs have really good cooling solutions that can handle the increase in temperature, but you still need to be careful.
In some situations, more prevalent in the past, you would need to acquire a third-party cooler to ensure entirely safe performance.
The most effective way to deal with this rise in warmth is to boost the fans’ RPM. Nonetheless, this will lead to more noise, which can be quite irritating, particularly if you have set up the fans to automatically adapt their speed based on the temperature.
This means the fans will get a surge during visually intense scenes and slow down during quieter moments.
Is GPU Overclocking Worth It?
In the end, after weighing up the pros and cons, this is what it all comes down to. The matter is ultimately quite straightforward. The value of overclocking your GPU is determined by how much you need the extra performance boost.
We mentioned earlier that the overclocking process has gotten simpler.
One of the benefits of this is that largely thanks to excellent tools such as MSI Afterburner, you are now able to save multiple overclocking profiles and switch between them, depending on how graphically demanding the game you want to play is.
Given how graphics card companies have improved their manufacturing standards, it’s safe to say that overclocking has become a far more reliable process than it used to be. It’s evident that we’re heading toward almost risk-free overclocking.
