260°

How To Overclock Your Graphics Card

Overclocking is more popular than ever. And since it's so easy to boost the frequency of your Intel processor, it would be a shame not to. But CPUs aren't the only components that can be overclocked. The GPUs on graphics cards can also be speeded up, and so can their memory. And since an affordable card only differs from more expensive ones in its clock speed, overclocking can be your key to some real savings.

Overclocking a GPU is a less common process than overclocking a CPU, and above all, it's more complex. One of the reasons for that is that a graphics card's BIOS is not as easily accessible as a motherboard's. This article will shed some light on the different methods that can be used and the results you can expect when overclocking your graphics card.

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tomshardware.com
Kakkoii6277d ago (Edited 6277d ago )

Quote: "And since an affordable card only differs from more expensive ones in its clock speed"

That's quite false.

If that were true. Then why would I buy a Radeon HD 3870 clocked at 800mhz, instead of the Radeon 3450 clocked at 800mhz?

Because the more expensive the card, the better features it has. Clockspeed has almost nothing to do with it.

The more expensive cards have more pixel pipelines/stream processing units, higher memory bitrate, more memory usually, a kind that can be pushed faster.

Also, "Architecture" is a main part of it to.

Why do you think that while Nvidia's graphics cards are clocked lower.. They still seem to beat ATI's cards in benchmarks?

It's because Nvidia has a better processing architecture.

Simply overclocking your card will almost never bring you the kind of gain that buying a better card would. Cause clock frequency is a VERY small part of the differences between cards.

Bonsai12146277d ago

yeah, clockspeed has little to do with performance in graphics cards, but its an ego boost to say yours is running faster than mine...

rivatuner ftw if you have an nvidia card. i'm still rocking an mx440 in my pc at home and intel integrated on my laptop. haha

Charlie26886277d ago

I find it disturbing to read a comment like that coming from such a highly respectable site as TomsHardware O.o

TheIneffableBob6277d ago

Tom's Hardware has gone way down in credibility over the years.

They've put up some truly terrible articles. One of the worst was a graphics card review which was translated from Chinese to English. Half of it didn't even make sense.

Bonsai12146277d ago

most graphics cards today are meant to be overlocked by the buyer. i believe ATI packaged tools with theirs to do it. (if not ATI, some company did)

and like i said, Rivatuner can boost any nvidia card without any problems

Pathard6277d ago

You sir, are very correct. Even with all that though, it does increase performance, but only slightly.

Still, it's fun to do. I enjoy it. To bad it's not like over-clocking a CPU which can really make a difference.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 6277d ago
Tyrael6277d ago

We need more articles like these "How to"

DarkArcani6277d ago

Yeah instead of every crap quality vid of GTA4. Good thing I haven't watched any of them. I don't want to ruin the fun of "Oh my god...I can do that!?"

HuntTheWumpus6277d ago

Great comment and I completely agree with the both of you.

+bubs

v1c1ous6277d ago

websites that have like 1-3 paragraphs on a page and have the gall to spread that info into like 5+ pages (all with 1-3 paragraphs on them)

if you took the time to break the info down into so many pages with just a few paragraphs and 2 or 3 pics, why can't you just half the number of pages and double the amount of content?

not that i am complaining about the extra clicking, its visually annoying, time consuming, and just plain dumb.

TheIneffableBob6277d ago

They do that to generate ad revenue by having the ads refreshed.

I hate it.

50°

TerraTech Legion blasts new tracks through the Bullet Heaven genre | TheSixthAxis

TSA writes: TerraTech Legion rolls into the enemy-infested wastelands, guns blazing, electricity arcing and explosives… exploding all around.

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thesixthaxis.com
70°

Final Fantasy IX Music Special Live Stream Announced For 25th Anniversary

Do not miss the Final Fantasy IX Music Special Live Stream on July 7th! Celebrate FFIX's 25th anniversary with unforgettable music.

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gamersocialclub.ca
Goodguy011d 9h ago

And the remake announcement there probably.... hopefully

jznrpg43m ago

It should be there. All signs are pointing to it

60°

Eight must-play racing games still to come in 2025

These are the racing games we’re looking forward to playing in the second half of 2025.