In order to get the best performance out of your graphics card without spending a fortune, you can overclock it. Here are answers to some of the most common questions about overclocking and how to overclock.
Discover how to use PC optimization software to improve your gaming experience. BIOS settings are the best way to control overclocking. You will learn how to benchmark your system, change its settings, and monitor it in this guide. Using an interface on the motherboard, you can configure your system.
You can use the BIOS to manually overclock your processor by changing voltage and frequency settings. In this article, overclocking is explained with the assumption that you know what it is. If you’re a beginner in overclocking, take a look at this overclocking overview.
Don’t forget to check your hardware as well. Consider software that simplifies BIOS overclocking before you attempt it. You can also read our complete guide of How to Choose Your Gaming Motherboard
In contrast, overclocking from the BIOS provides access to all the system performance settings. Using the BIOS, you can fine-tune your system settings and control every aspect of your overclock.
Before you begin the process, make sure your BIOS is current. If the motherboard manufacturer has released any new features or fixes, you should take advantage of them. Instructions for updating your motherboard’s BIOS can be found online or by consulting the appropriate documentation. If the clock frequency or voltage is altered, any warranty will be void and the performance, security, and life of the processor will be affected.
Table of Contents
What’s GPU overclocking?
Each graphics card has a set clock speed set by its manufacturer. In the same way, a car may have 50, 100, or 500 horsepower under the hood. Overclocking your graphics card can boost performance in the same way as tuning a car’s engine. As a result of overclocking your graphics card, you will be able to play multimedia files and games faster.
If you overclock your graphics card properly, it will last longer. Following these guidelines will help you update your BIOS.
Overclocking GPU’s: The Do’s And Don’ts
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OC/Boost Cards:
Is it something you would recommend? Overclocked graphics cards are common today. Sapphire and ASUS are both known for selling products with names such as “Boost” and “OC”. The cards described here can be bought by those who do not wish to overclock them themselves. As long as the booster is still in place before the card becomes unstable, the card can be overclocked even higher, but you need to take the card’s lifespan into consideration as well.
You can purchase any of the above cards if you are not interested in BIOS flashing, but make sure you aren’t buying an overpriced card like the Tri X by Sapphire. Tri simply stands for a triple fan. Although they look good, you can easily save $100 if you make a modification like that yourself.
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Software overclocking vs BIOS overclocking:
In addition, software overclocking is considered a good idea as well. Overclocking tools are available, including ASUS GPU Tweak, MSI Afterburner, or Sapphire Trixx. There is even the possibility of applying overclocking settings at boot (Afterburner is the most reliable), however a modded BIOS will give you a better cost/watt. Some cards do not support voltage overclocking through software, or they draw a lot more power this way.
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Overclocking GPU Requirements
All other cards in your system should be removed except the one you wish to overclock. Multiple graphics cards can be flashed simultaneously. ATIWINFLASH, but we do not recommend this technique and therefore won’t include it because of safety concerns.
Also read: How Much VRAM Do I Need for Gaming
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Using GPU-Z, export BIOS
To proceed with flashing our BIOS, we must first export our original BIOS. It allows you to restore the original BIOS in case you want to sell the card, as well as provide a failsafe. Make sure you backup your data.
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Export Gpu Bios.png
Save the BIOS with the codename of the GPU, for example Tahiti, Barts. To distinguish the original BIOS file from the modified/overclocked one, I HIGHLY recommend adding “original” before the .rom.
You will have to look for your BIOS files later if you do not create a new folder for them. I suggest that you save the BIOS file to your SkyDrive, Dropbox, or desktop account if you need it.
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Original Gpu Bios.png
In most cases, it will tell you the size of the original ROM file.
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WARNING:
Everything you do from now on is at your own risk. The risk is that you may damage your hardware or lose your warranty. To reduce the possibility of grave mistakes, don’t proceed or double-check with different sources.
We will use Techpowerup’s VBE7 application to view the original BIOS. The VBE7.0.0.7b.exe file I’m using can be started by double-clicking it. A properly overclocked graphics card can extend its life considerably. We will show you how.
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Software overclocking vs BIOS overclocking:
Software overclocking is also considered to be a good idea. In addition to GPU Tweak from ASUS, Afterburner from MSI, and Trixx from Sapphire, a number of overclocking tools are available. Generally, they work and can apply overclocking settings at startup (Afterburner seems to be the most reliable), but if you overclock with a modded BIOS, your costs per watt will be lower. Many cards do not support voltage overclocking via software, or draw a significant amount of power through software overclocking
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Overclocking Video Cards.png
How does memory clock speed affect performance? The use of filters, HDR processing, or other technologies usually requires a high memory bandwidth for video games. You can increase the memory clock in that case to make the game run more smoothly, but don’t overdo it. If you’re OC-ing a card, starting at 1600 may be a good idea.
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Flashing Your GPU BIOS with ATIWinflash
As soon as you have settled on a few settings, we can either look them up online or test them incrementally.
- Save the file in VBE7 by clicking the Save button
- Then, save the Overclocked Modded Bios File.png file with the identifier Tahiti-xfx-modded.rom or Tahiti-R9280x-modded.rom.
- You must run the command prompt as an elevated administrator (necessary!)
- Locate and extract atiflash to a folder. Then type cd K:/Users/[username]/Downloads/atiflash_271 to get to the directory where atiflash is located
- You need to run this command to flash your card: atiwinflash -f -p 0 C:\path\to\romfile.rom
- The progress bar should be titled atiwinflash. You might want to read it carefully.
- In case there are no errors (read carefully! ), reboot to test your new clock speeds.
- In the event of an error, for example, a READ FAIL, switch to the command prompt, press the arrow up key to bring back the last command, and change atiwinflash to atiflash. The BIOS can sometimes be difficult to write to an active card with atiwinflash. It does not have a progress bar, however.
- You’re done! It is now time to test the card under load when the PC boots. You must repeat all the steps above and lower the CPU/memory clock/increase the voltage if your PC freezes or crashes.
you may also love to read: Best Motherboards for Ryzen 5 5600X
Can my computer be overclocked and undervolted at the same time?
There have been some cards able to run 1200 clocked cores and 1600 clocked memory at about 1084 VDDC (depending on the manufacturer and cooling). However, these cards can’t run games. A graphics card with shaders uses more power than a mining rig. While gaming cards often use more than 200W, mining cards rarely require more than 300W.
To render high-quality textures, a lot of resources are required. A 3D rendering program will require a long time to render any effects you apply to a 3D model.
Crypto mining is found to be less harmful to your hardware than playing games 24 hours a day, but who plays games 24 hours a day? Exactly. Eventually, graphics cards will stop working if they don’t get enough power. The first thing to fail is their fans. If the fan fails, you may have to replace it for $50 or more.
Troubleshooting:
You may run into a few problems. VBE cannot read your card’s BIOS or the VBE driver cannot be installed. It may only be necessary to restart when the latter is true.
Settings to Know for Overclocking
In this way, BIOS provides system-wide hardware access and offers a variety of menu options. Depending on the manufacturer, a BIOS may also have different names and menu layouts. Search the BIOS for the feature you want to change or find its location on the Internet.
Here are some of the most useful overclocking settings:
- This multiplier, or CPU core ratio, determines your CPU’s speed. Based on the base clock speed (BCLK) of your processor, you can determine its overall speed. By adding 100MHz of BCLK to a CPU core ratio of 45, the result is 4,500MHz, or 4.5GHz. Speeds on individual CPU cores can also be changed.
- CPU Core Voltage represents how much power is supplied to the CPU. Increasing the CPU core voltage increases the voltage input to the CPU. As a result, it can run faster.
- CPU cache and memory controller frequencies are controlled by the cache/ring ratio.
- Cache input voltage is increased by this device. As a result, the overclocking process will be smoother. You cannot change the voltage separately on some platforms since it is linked to the CPU core voltage.
Monitoring System Vitals
You will need to monitor your system’s temperature carefully when overclocking, since your hardware’s power supply can affect it.
It’s better to use Windows-based software because BIOS offers limited monitoring options. Using Intel® XTU, you can monitor your computer with CPU-Z, CoreTemp, HWiNFO32, and other tools.
We will benchmark your system once we know what settings you will be changing.
Read more here Best Motherboards for Ryzen 7 3700X
Step One: Establishing Baseline Performance
A benchmarking tool can be used to determine the baseline performance of your system before you overclock it. Performance metrics can be compared after overclocking, showing any improvements clearly. Using a BIOS benchmarking program requires a Windows-based benchmarking tool.
Benchmarking your hardware with Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility software is one option. We also have a comprehensive guide to overclocking, which we recommend.
Keeping track of your benchmark score can help you compare it with subsequent scores and see how your work has progressed as time passes.
Step Two: Adjusting Performance Settings
It depends on your BIOS and your hardware where the BIOS and hardware settings are located. Although overclocking differs between systems, the fundamentals are the same.
Among the settings you should change is the CPU Core Ratio, which determines how fast the computer will run. Your BIOS is where this setting can be adjusted.
Step Three: Measuring Performance Gains
Check the performance gains from your overclock with the same benchmark you used before to determine your baseline. Next, compare the results. If the number is higher, then your CPU’s performance has been improved. You can choose between two options.
- The next step is to ensure stability after you have achieved a satisfactory performance gain.
- It may be necessary to update the BIOS if your changes do not improve performance.
Step Four: Stress Test
An evaluation of a system’s performance over a short period of time is a benchmark score. Stress testing your CPU’s higher frequency is important to ensure system stability for longer periods or for more intensive workloads.
Stability testing software comes in several varieties. Your choice should reflect the type of system you intend to use.
How to Overclock Your CPU?
For each CPU and motherboard, there are different BIOS options. An overclocking guide cannot be created that is universally applicable. Here are a few basic concepts:
- Provide Proper Cooling: Your CPU comes with a heatsink and fan. These are designed to handle the heat produced at the CPU’s standard speed. As the speed increases, more heat will be generated. Therefore, you will require more cooling if you accelerate the process. A heatsink aftermarket or a fan with a higher motor can effectively dissipate heat from the CPU. You should have enough room inside your computer for the air to circulate and eventually be blown out by the fan, which may also require an upgrade. Even if you install a heatsink and CPU fan, all that hot air will remain inside your case.
- Overclockers looking for the best performance may want to consider water cooling. Such systems, however, are more expensive. Through tubes inside the case, water-based coolant absorbs hot air. Afterward, the heat is pumped out through a radiator into the atmosphere outside the case. Cooling with air is significantly less effective than cooling with water.
- The BIOS of your computer can be modified to increase the CPU clock rate or voltage. Increase it slightly and restart the computer. Make sure your computer’s cooling is adequate by running a demanding benchmark like Prime95. Run another test to ensure the PC is stable if it is stable. Increase your overclocking amount once it is stable. Whenever you notice temperatures fluctuating or too hot, the level drops back down. Ensure your CPU’s speed is stable by overclocking little by little; do not dramatically increase it all at once
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is it possible to overclock a GPU in BIOS?
The process of overclocking your graphics card is really easy, and you won’t even have to leave Windows! It is usually the motherboard’s BIOS which overclocks CPUs, but desktop software overclocks graphics cards.
- Is Overclocking on BIOS possible?
By setting the voltage and frequency settings in the BIOS, you can potentially overclock your CPU to achieve a higher clock speed.
- Does my GPU have an overclock in the BIOS?
If your CPU is set higher than advertised, check the overclocking section of your BIOS. Should you wish to see if it has ever been overclocked.
- Does overclocking a PC harm it?
It is possible to damage your processor, motherboard, and in some cases, the RAM on your computer if you overclock it. In addition to voiding the CPU warranty, the motherboard warranty may also be void.
- Does overclocking GPUs increase FPS?
Overclocking a GPU increases its base clock and frequency. Therefore, at the same quality, it will increase only the frame rate.
- Does overclocking reduce a CPU’s lifespan?
Even though OC’ing shortens the lifespan of the CPU, people do it because of its FREE performance, and does a lot more upgrading than the average consumer. Overclocking does not decrease the component’s lifespan when merely increasing the frequency.
Conclusion
After following the above instructions when overclocking BIOS, you should get a stable system with a faster CPU than before. The system should be stable after running the stress test.
Even so, you still need to check your settings periodically for the temperature of your CPU, especially if you modify or replace any other hardware. Get the most out of your faster CPU and the new overclocking you’ve done.
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