Introduction

Most video cards manufacturers offer overclocked versions ofexisting video cards. The benefit of buying these cards is that you get extraperformance over stock card, and it’s actually approved by manufacturer.Therefore if there are any issues with the card, the overclock was done fromthe factory so the card will be repaired/replaced at no cost to you.

The problem with these cards is that manufacturer’s can’talways test them with every game out there. Some games come out after theproduction of the card that may not work well with overclocked settings. Somegames are never even tested.

DISCLAIMER:

The following guide is only a temporary resolution. It doesnot get around the fact that you may have a defective video card. If your cardis actually defective, then you will need to submit a request for RMA witheither the manufacturer or your custom pc builder. The guide is meant to beused as a temporary solution until one of the following happens:

1)     Better video driver comes out that fixesproblems

2)     Patch for the game comes out that fixes problems

Also, if you change any other values other than the onesspecified in this guide you risk voiding your manufacturers warranty.

The Program

There are few programs out there that will allow you tochange the clock speed of the video card. I personally like to use the MSIAfterburner because of its features and aesthetics.

You can download afterburner at:

http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm

The download should be a zip file containing 2 installers,one for Afterburner and one for Kombustor. Kombustor is a benchmarking/testingprogram that accompanies Afterburner. You don’t need to install it for thepurposes of this guide, but should you decide to experiment with the program,you’re welcome to install it as well.

Before you run the program and start modifying settings youshould gather some information first. Every video card out there has a referencemodel with the stock speed settings. You must find out the following:

1)     Your current card speed (core clock, memory andshader, if applicable)

2)     Reference speeds (core, memory and shader ifapplicable)

Usually cards are overclocked by couple Mhz, typically 40-100depending on the model.

For example, if your card has core clock of 950, but thereference model  has the core clock of900 Mhz, then that means that the card was overclocked by 50Mhz. So the bestplace to start is to downclock the card using the software to 900 (it’soriginal values) and start raising up by 5-10 mhz increments until your cardbecomes unstable again.

THOSE NUMBERS ARE ONLY EXAMPLES, MAKE SURE YOU OBTAINCORRECT INFORMATION FOR YOUR CARD.

Using the program

By default you do not have to change any options in thisprogram. Leave everything on default and only adjust core clock. Shader willfollow if applicable. Only adjust core and memory according to reference specs.

You can setup profiles for certain games. If you only haveproblem with 1 game, you can setup a profile and activate it when you’re aboutto play that game.

You can either leave the settings at reference speeds, oryou can begin to increase them in 5-10mhz increments until you reach stabilityproblems again. Then back down 5-10 mhz until everything is back to normalagain. If you wish to maintain the profile settings you can tick the “Apply atstartup” radio button.

For further instructions on how to use the program, pleaseconsult the help file in the installation directory.

Keep in mind that adjusting these values OUTSIDE OFMANUFACTURER RANGE WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY. If you wish to overclock orunderclock the card beyond the range that the manufacturer has provided, yourisk voiding the warranty.

 *Disclaimer: AVADirect and its Staff are not responsible for any damage to software/hardware, loss of data or personal injury by following our How-To guides. These guides are provided only as an aid to help you troubleshoot system problems. If you do not feel comfortable performing these steps its always best to send in your system to a local repair shop or contact an appropriate technical support line for additional assistance.