Top GPU Overclocking Tools
Graphic cards are occupying a major part of hardware today. As we can see today's motherboard are more and more compatible with many high end graphics cards. This had made the users a resource hungry creature which always demands for better processing power to get the best on their system. SLi support has given a add-on benefit to use around 4gpus on a single system. Surely that is a high end system. Overclocking is another term which keep taking pace in technology. Today many of use are quietly aware about this. Many now that today Graphic Cards comes with more power and to unlock the same we need to overclock them. By using specialized tools you can increase the clock rate which can force the graphic card to work on a high speed and give you optimum performance. But beware, this pressure can blow you card out which will result in a dead system. The same applies for the CPU also. Some geeks do not stay behind because of this. I had seen many samples where users has just destroyed their new GPU's within some time of purchase. The reason can be lack of awareness. Via overclocking you can harness the entire power of GPU for sometime, especially when you are playing a game or want to do some resource intensive work. I had tried to cover the best tools that can provide aid to overclocking, certain tips and top GPU overclocking tools.
What I was talking before is about lack of awareness. Today companies from their side work and develop easy to use feature which allows you to overclock your system. You just need to go in BIOS or use your mouse to enable Boost you get a higher performance. But do you really consume or use that entire power. Not really. This is true. Some motherboard comes with Boost Utility which offers you to overclock your cpu in ease. And the unaware user keeps it on every time. This in result degrades the GPU's life. A grahic card or cpu is not destroyed by overclocking but it is destroyed or detteroirate becaue of power fluctuation. If your system has as table power supply you can avoid easy dieing of cpu. So in this part you must understand the minimum power consumption before playing with the clock rate. First whenever you are going for a overclocking especially for a GPU do not forget to add a power supply which much be not less than 700w. There are some companies which provides dedicated power supply specially made to handle overlcocking pressure. Second important thing that matters is the cooling. If your system is not properly ventilated then nothing can be done here. Liquid cooling is one of the best and costly solution for this.
Important points to be considered before Overclocking
Maximum Cooling : Your cpu cabinet much have maximum cooling support. Do not see budget here or else you will loose your precious hardware. Your cabinet should be ventilated enough. If you are using liquid cooling remember that you had properly tied up every thing without any leakage. You must keep in mind that adding more fans in your system does not mean that your cpu will stay super cool, but on the other hand it will eat more power. You must buy a fan which can provide you a better heatsink and good speed. The design is waht all matters. There are ample of cpu fans which are made specially for overclocking.
Buy a Better System Case : Overclocking can be appropriate if everything is fine. In the cpu cabinet also matters. If you buy a small size which is conjusted enough with wires and other stuff then that can block the flow of air. A big with lot of space here is recommended so that the cpu fan can continuous through out heat. It is also better if you can leave the side panel open at the time of overclocking.
Get a good CPU/GPU fan : Usually gpu is comes with fixed fan but for cpu I will recommend you to buy a new one. Do not really with the traditional one which comes with the packet. You can install any third party fan which is better in the market. Regular fan lacks design and are slower also. Go for a higher one.
Re: Top GPU Overclocking Tools
List of some top free software's can be used to test your system before overclocking :
Below I am proving list of some best and free tools that can help you to analyze that your system is ready for overclocking or not. You can keep the somewhere in your system so they can be use as and when needed.
Real-Temp : This software helps you to monitor your system temperature. It is quiet recommended for all of use. It does not matter if you are overclocking your system or not. It help you to identify the system usage. The new version support single and multi core processors. You can leave the tool working on the other side so that it can tell you want is the current temperature.
Prime95 : This tool is a kind of test for the system hardware. It can also be called as benchmark tool. When you run the software the tool puts maximum pressure on your cpu and ram and find out that how much your system is stable. Only after a successful completion of this test you can overclock your system.
OCCT : This is another similar tool ike Prime 95 which deals in finding out that your system can handle the overclocking pressure or not.
MSI Kombuster : This tool is specially built for Graphic cards. You can use this tool to find out the performance of a graphic card. It stress the gpu to perform on a maximum level.
Memtest x86 : If you want to check that your RAM is fine or not you can use this tool. It is a kind of memory diagnostic software. The software scan the ram for errors and generate report. It works from bootable disc.
Intel burn test (IBT) : This is one of the most recommended software. It is a powerful software which has the ability to put maximum pressure on the cpu. This software is much better alternative to Prime95.
CPU-Z : CPUz is a free utility which helps you to find the exact hardware configuration. You can find the clock rate, your ram frequency, etc in the same. It is also possible to figure out the core voltage and other cache information.
Bios : Bios are the best place where you can overclock your system. This are factory settings which are limited and does not destroy your cpu/gpu. They are well tested and designed specially for high performance.
Top Tools to Overclock your Graphic Card
TriXX : This is one of the most newest tool which is used for overclocking. This tool allows you to overclock AMD gpus. I am not sure about others, but you can give a try for the same. The tool offers a small utility by which you can modify the current fan speed. Also you can adjust the core and clock speed of the graphic card as per your usage. You can maximize the gpus performance as per your need and reduce the same when you do not want it. The tool helps you to create a number of different profiles by which you can save settings as per the need.
MSI Afterburner: This is one of the best tool for Gpu overclocking. It is widely used. The reason is its features and stability it offers in overclocking. Another best part of this tool is that it offers overclocking support for both Nvidia and AMD gpus. You can play with the voltage and fan speed here. Compared to above this software offers you to save and create 5 different profiles. You just need to load the profiles. With this software you will also get Kombuster. This tool is like Prime95 which finds out that your gpu is stable for overclocking or not. It also helps you to find out that what can be the effect if you overclock the gpu over limit. As icing you get different colors that you can use on the interface. Other than you can find out the fan speed, monitor the voltage in graph mode, etc.
GPU Tweak : This is another small utility which is made for overclocking. It is provided by Asus. The best part of this tools is its features. You can perform many actions. It not only overclock the graphic card but it is also possible to optimize the performance of your gpu. Other than this there are some exclusive features which you can enjoy on the same.
Gigabyte OC Guru: This tool is not so great but good for beginners. Works with Nvidia Geforce cards. You can perform all basic functions with this gpu. This tool does not has any kind of advance options.
EVGA Precision: Again similar to OC Guru this tool allows you to overclock your system with most basic overclocking features. You cannot control the voltage here. There are some additional features in this tool which are worth to view. Like the In Game monitoring support. This option allows you to get on screen display support for game you are playing. You can see the temp, frame rage and clock speed also.
AMD OverDrive – ATI CCC (Catalyst Control Center): This comes with set of AMD Catalyst drivers. The best part of this tool is that it is very easy to use. The software is only for AMD gpus. AMD has not added many things in this. Equipped with all basic features to modify your gpu core will do the work. You can play a little with the voltage and control the fan speed also.
