How to overclock your GPU

1. Download and open an overclocking software

Overclocking a graphics card starts with the right software, and a popular choice remains the likes of MSI Afterburner. Originally developed for the company's hardware, it's since been adapted by PC gamers thanks to its easy-to-use, pleasing UI, which gives you fast and accurate metrics of your GPU's voltage, clock speeds, fans, and more. It's been upgraded and streamlined many times over the years, making it easier to use than ever.

2. Steadily increase your GPU's clock speed

Now comes the actual overclocking part of the process, which involves boosting the clock speed of the GPU beyond its stock capabilities, which increases performance. The key is to do things slowly, moving granularly in steady increments, making sure to keenly observe how the power draw and (likely) increase the heat output, too. Your results will vary depending on what kind of cooler you've got slapped on your GPU, with some AIB offerings fairing better than the default options.

3. Scale the fan speed with the increased voltage

You'll notice as you increase the clock speed of your graphics card that its temperature and power draw will increase as well. It's of paramount importance that you scale your fans' speed up to accommodate them, which can be done through MSI Afterburner itself or a dedicated monitoring app such as NZXT CAM. As your GPU's heatsink fans spin faster, it will mean increased noise and a heavier power draw, but we also recommend pushing your PC case fans up as well, which can be done from your motherboard's BIOS settings. You're going to need all the cooling you can get, after all.

4. Monitor your GPU's performance

Once everything appears level in your GPU monitoring app of choice, the key to successful overclocking is to keep things consistent. You'll become aware of the increased power, heat, and sound generated, so you must watch for spikes and ensure that your video card stays within a safe temperature range (anything under 70°c / 158°f should be fine for prolonged periods.

5. Compare your framerates in games

Now, for the most important part of overclocking your graphics card, enjoying the extra frames on offer. Depending on the optimization of the software, and your GPU's VRAM, CUDA cores, and memory bus width. While older GPU generations could see a boost of up to 10% in rasterized games in 1080p, things are much different lately, especially when factoring in higher resolutions like 1440p and 4K, and that's to say nothing of ray tracing, too.

You can expect anywhere from 1 to 5% increased performance in today's modern games. It may not sound like much, but it could be the difference between hitting 60fps or 120fps depending on whether you're thinking of utilzing DLSS/FSR/XeSS for your relevant GPU brand.