The GPU Advantages of Undervolting & overclocking

MSI Afterburner Walkthrough: GPU Overclocking and Undervolting

Overclocking is easy with our free MSI Afterburner, the most popular graphics card overclocking software. Tuning, monitoring, and other adjustments improve GPU gaming. Avoid phishing sites with modified installers that steal your data by downloading MSI Afterburner from msi.com or guru3d.com.

MSI Afterburner is feature-rich. We offer one-click overclocking, manual overclocking, undervolting, on-screen display, hardware monitoring, custom fan profiles, and video capture.

Before starting

Install modern GPU drivers and MSI Afterburner with RivaTuner Statistics Server for stats and on-screen display. Disable Start Windows in Settings and click OK to save a bad MSI Afterburner install. After PC restart, install. FurMark evaluates stability when changing values.

Enable Start with Windows in MSI Afterburner Settings to load GPU fan profile and settings at startup. Choose GPU manufacturer from the drop-down and enable Unlock Voltage Control and Monitoring. Restart MSI Afterburner and see voltage readings in the main window by clicking OK and Yes. Restarting PCs may detect new GPUs.

Remember to click Apply at Windows Startup in the main window’s upper right corner. Every system startup should use your profile. Application at Windows Startup is greyed out without Profile lock icon. Settings doesn’t allow global hotkeys. Let’s overclock.

Overlocking Guide: OC Scanner

Warning: GPUs lower clock or voltage to prevent overload. Overclocking is safe, mods risky. Always save and close apps before starting. It takes 30 minutes or less on most GPUs, including non-MSI. Info window displays MSI Afterburner and GPUs.

Benchmark and compare MSI Afterburner’s four main GPU clock, Memory Clock, Voltage, and Temperature values to the framerate after enabling Unlock Voltage Control and Monitoring in Settings/General. The latest version includes troubleshooting, manual overclocking, and OC Scanner’s one-click overclocking. MSI Afterburner tracks laptop GPU CPU and GPU temperatures in small increments.

Set power, temp limit, and core voltage to max before applying. Read about this interface in Undervolting by clicking Curve Editor or Ctrl+F. Press the magnifying glass with “OC” on the main window or click OC Scanner in the upper-right corner. While most skins have OC buttons, this article uses Mystic.

One-click scan overclocks. The procedure takes 30 minutes. After completion in the main window, the Core Clock will say Curve and the Memory Clock may be 200 MHz conservative. Adjust after achieving curve.

Create a custom curve in 30 minutes and save it to two profiles using the Floppy icon and profile numbers. Click the bottom centre checkmark to overclock. Because number keys 1–5 load a saved profile and Ctrl+1–Ctrl+5 deletes it, choose the main window carefully. Clicking the circular arrow icon or pressing Ctrl+D resets your GPU to default settings during testing, preserving your saved profiles.

Unigine Heaven/FurMark verify overclock stability. Test the benchmark for 10 minutes for glitches, flickering, blackouts, and crashes. If issues arise, change the curve, save, and retest. Start your favourite game to test.

Manual unlocking FAQs

Although OC Scanner is recommended, you can manually overclock. First adjust processor, then memory. Drag power and temp limits to max in main window and apply. Adjust Core Clock 20–30 MHz per step, apply, and test.

Click Save and profile when done. GPU chip overclocking sets a target, but silicon lottery may affect results.

After a stable overclock, boost memory by 50-100 MHz. Stability test. Bugs? Reduce memory clock by 10 MHz until stable. Save to profile, benchmark 10 minutes, play if stable. Reduce core and memory overclock for stability.

Overclocking may increase power draw. Pigtails need power supply cables to reach the first GPU connector. Your PSU may overprotect during transient spikes, turning off your PC. Change fan curve as GPU heats up and uses more power. Instructions below.

Restart a frozen or blue-screened computer. Thank goodness you saved that successful attempt. If the screen goes black and unresponsive for minutes, hold the power button for 4 seconds to shut down your PC. Or turn off the PSU switch, wait 10 seconds, turn it on, and press your PC’s power button.

CMOS clearing may be last. Turn off power. Bridge motherboard CMOS jumper pins for 10+ seconds with tweezers or screwdrivers. Luxury motherboards may have Clear CMOS. After connecting or turning on your power supply, restart your PC.

Curve editor undervolting guide

GPU undervolting saves power, heat, fan noise, and FPS. Reduced power may boost GPU performance. The chip may perform better with less power and heat. Undervolting is safe but risky.

Run OC Scanner and save two profiles before undervolting. However, aggressive undervolts benefit mid- to high-end GPUs, but monitoring and tweaking is tedious. Undervolting videos from Tech Illiterate and Tech Yes City shaped this section.

Click the monitor heartbeat icon or press Ctrl+M to undervolt MSI Afterburner on the left. Like Hardware Monitoring, the window shows real-time GPU temp and voltage graphs, but you can select or rearrange entries.

Play or benchmark your favourite game to compare framerate. After 5 minutes of Furmark and FPS recording, MSI Afterburner compares GPU, Memory, Voltage, and Temperature. Benchmark behind MSI Afterburner to test our changes. HWinfo displays GPU voltages and temperatures.

After getting your Curve, set Power Limit% to 100 and Core Voltage% to 0 in OC Scanner and click Apply. Curve Editor or Ctrl+F opens the voltage curve editor. Dragging a corner expands the window for easier point-grabbing and adjustments. Assess target GPU undervolting settings and compare results.

ALT+drag lowers OC Scanner’s custom voltage curve by our search amount. At low power, Ctrl+dragging the curve bottom up prevents undervolting. Take the 950-millivolt point you found.

Hold Shift and drag slightly left or right of the point in empty space above or below. Shift+Enter twice flattens line. Keeping this profile. DOTS indicate GPU curve position.

Stability testing includes frame stutters, artefacts, and 1% benchmark small changes. Adjusting Memory Clock speed by 50-100 MHz follows. Best wins.

Undervolting with Power Limit Slider

The Power Limit% main slider works, but Curve power limiting is better. The main MSI Afterburner window shows default Power Limit and Core Voltage. Adjust the Power Limit slider to 70%–90% in 5% increments, apply, and test. OSD and hardware monitoring balance FPS and power. Monitoring/Settings may call this “Power.” Save profile. Subdued.

Apply to Windows Startup loads these settings. Game after 10-minute benchmark if stable. After maxing, boost power for stability.

Which stabilises? Frame stutters and 1% lows outnumber artefacts. If benchmark, game, or PC crash, try 50 or 30 mV.

GPUs like the 4090 may be firmware-locked below the graph, lowering results. Play your favourite game after a 10-minute benchmark to test undervolt stability. FSR, Ray-Tracing, and DLSS may use more power in games.

• FAQs on Undervolting Curve editor offers point and curve editing advice.
• Line alt-dragging vertically adjusts curves.
• Drag with Shift to use saved or default profile curves.

• Ctrl+dragging raises/lowers the graph curve.
• Double-click to clear graph area for point adjustment.
• Shift+Enter twice doesn’t flatten the graph? Double click to clear the area, select past the dot, and try again. Adjust after clicking again.
• Select and press Enter to enter voltage.
• Adjust the selected point by 1 using up and down arrows or by 10 using Ctrl+up or down.

After applying, the editor’s L key locks GPU voltage and frequency to that dot. GPU dynamic adjustment and power-saving won’t happen. It doesn’t lock graph dots. Use L to unlock and apply if testing helps. Reset the card to defaults (Ctrl+D) after saving a few profiles to avoid waiting 30 minutes for another OC Scanner session.

Graphics may undervolt by default. Why? Manufacturers maintain a stable voltage range for identical GPUs with slightly different tolerances. Resetting undervolting decreases fps, increased 1% lows, screen tearing, and instability.

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