GPU is one of the most important hardware elements. Its productivity affects many processes that are important for people’s work, rest and wellness. Having a productive GPU is crucial for video production and editing, gaming and, of course, cryptocurrency mining.
There are ways to speed up a GPU which can be helpful when you want to get the most of your hardware without spending a load of money on the latest GPU models that will probably be soon replaced by the newer ones. If you are lucky, you may have a chance to overclock your video card by up to 50%. Still, you should remember that there is always a risk to shorten the hardware’s life if you do it wrong.
In addition, when you overclock your video card, you may think of specific results, but in reality, the GPU’s productivity may gain a mere 5-7%. The results may be better if you use manufacturer-specific software that was tested with the latest GPU series and approved by the chipmaker.
And last, but not least, not all video cards can be safely overclocked because certain models may have already been sped up by the manufacturer. For this reason, we suggest that you double check if your exact model can handle the overclocking.
NVIDIA is one of the most used GPU manufacturers, so we are going to overview the Top-5 GPU overclocking tools compatible with various NVIDIA video card models.
- MSI Afterburner
- EVGA Precision XOC
- Zotac Firestorm
- ASUS GPU Tweak
- NVIDIA Inspector
MSI Afterburner
MSI Afterburner is an advanced GPU overclocking tool that is considered one of the top ones in the market. It is compatible with the latest versions of Windows (both 32 and 64 bit), Android and remote servers. The tool comes with a pleasant and intuitive interface that by default shows core voltage level, power limit, core clock, memory clock, GPU temperature and fan speed.
MSI Afterburner also offers some useful side-features such as in-game fps counter, a set of various custom skins and profiles, video card benchmarking and monitoring functions as well as a video capturing option.
Using this software, you can customize up to 5 profiles and switch between them to better control the state of your hardware. There is also an automatic scanning option that analyzes the value limits of your graphic card and suggests the most suitable parameters.
EVGA Precision XOC
EVGA Precision XOC is ideal for working with NVIDIA GeForce series because it supports all the latest GeForce 10 models and gets updated as soon as the manufacturer releases new graphic cards. This tool allows overclocking both GPU and Memory at the same time and supports lots of advanced settings and features such as voltage and temperature adjustment, fan speed control, etc. The software can be launched on any versions of Windows starting from Windows 7/Windows Vista and up and is also compatible with DirectX 12.
The interface is very user-friendly, and the controls are conveniently made in the form of sliders that allow you to set the power and temperature targets and adjust GPU and Memory clocking. In addition, you can enjoy multiple customizable profiles, hotkeys, auto fan speed adjustment and much more.
Zotac Firestorm
Zotac Firestorm is an overclocking software released by the well-known video card maker Zotac for speeding up their video cards based on NVIDIA GeForce technologies. It supports all the latest manufacturer’s cards and DirectX 12 and can work on any Windows versions starting from Windows 7. Zotac claims that this software is officially recommended by NVIDIA.
Zotac Firestorm offers convenient and user-friendly interface that visualizes the key indicators such as GPU and Memory clocking, GPU temperature and fan speed, and features slider settings that let you adjust the clocking, voltage and power levels, GPU target temperature and display clocking.
Additional features include up to 3 customizable profiles, BIOS settings and switching between manual and automatic preferences. The built-in hardware status monitoring function allows tracking the effect from the applied setting in real time.
ASUS GPU Tweak
ASUS GPU Tweak is a GPU overclocking tool provided by ASUS. As you would expect, it is compatible only with ASUS video cards based on NVIDIA microchips. Some say it can be used with other cards as well, but stability of work in this case is not guaranteed.
This software offers automatic optimization of ASUS video cards using the in-built presets, and also offers a wide choice of manual settings. The interface is a bit complex but can provide a lot of useful information to professionals who will be able to manually adjust certain advanced settings. Additional skins are not available.
ASUS GPU Tweak allows one-click overclocking of your device’s GPU and Memory, and also controlling its fan speed and voltage. The tool can also let you adjust visual effects and control operating system services.
ASUS GPU Tweak can operate in 4 different modes, namely the Overclocking mode, Gaming mode, Silent mode and User mode which applies the setting saved in the user’s custom profiles.
NVIDIA Inspector
NVIDIA Inspector is an open-source overclocking software for video cards based on NVIDIA technology. It has a good track record in overclocking GPUs since early 2010, which also makes it one of the oldest tools on the market.
NVIDIA Inspector is a simple tool with a very basic interface that allows you to set and control your device’s GPU voltage, fan speed, power and temperature targets, etc. All the applied changes and corresponding results are shown right there on the same screen.
This tool can also be conveniently used to show you the detailed specifications and technical information regarding your GPU and Memory. NVIDIA Inspector has not been updated for some time already, which may affect its compatibility with the latest video card series. However, it can always be used as a convenient tool to monitor the state of your GPU and learn its specifications.