No matter how much high-speed CPU or GPU you purchase, somehow you will always have that feeling of not having enough. New machines are being released every year with faster processing power, so we won’t blame you if your machine gets outshined rather quickly. If you think your machine isn’t powerful enough for your needs, then you should think again.
Most of the PCs are shipped with limited CPU and GPU speed limit than they are capable of. The speed limit you see is actually the speed a chip is tested and approved at and should work fine on. However, you can easily overclock the speed of most CPUs and GPUs and gain noticeable performance boost using any of the best GPU and CPU overclocking software.
Also Read: Top 10 Best File Sharing Software for Peer to Peer File Sharing
Contents
Top 8 Best GPU and CPU Overclocking Software
Although it seems quite an enticing idea, it comes with its many negative effects as well. Overclocking a CPU means giving more voltage to the chip to make it run faster, this obviously leads to heating up the chip. This can lead to crashes and even destroying the CPU, hard drive or GPU.
So you need to be very careful while overclocking your PC and ensure you just slightly overclock it to keep your device safe. If you start seeing sudden crashes, you should immediately slow it down. An external cooling system may also help keep the chips at working temperature. Below are some GPU and CPU overclocking software that you can try to overclock your PC. You can use more than one if any software isn’t working for your PC model, just be careful about overclocking limit.
1. AMD Overdrive
For overclocking your GPU, there is no better option than AMD Overdrive, especially, if you have an AMD chipset. It should work great for other manufacturer chips as well, but it works better with AMD chipset. AMD Overdrive has a very simple interface making it perfect for beginners, and its powerful tweaking capabilities make it a gem for experts.
It will let you overclock your GPU to the point you want with a simple slider. You can also increase the fan speed to help your PC stay cool evenly. It is built mainly for AMD/ATI GPUs. You can make GPU Core/ Memory clock adjustments with little control over voltage and manual fan speed. All these activities like fan speed.
2. CPU-Z and GPU-Z
CPU-Z and GPU-Z are actually made to provide real-time information about your systems, such as speed, fan speed, voltage and other useful information. It cannot overclock your PC by itself, so you will have to use another overclocking software along side to overclock your CPU or GPU.
However, the information it provides makes it good enough to be in this list of best GPU and CPU overclocking software. You will be able to see the current speed and capacity. You can use this information to overclock your PC without any fear of destroying your PC. However, you might have to experiment a bit to get the right speed though.
Check out: 7 Best Free Disk Defragmenter Software Programs to Defrag Your Hard Drive
3. RivaTuner
RivaTuner is a really old overclocking software, but it does wonders when it comes to overclocking. It has a really simple interface without any bells and whistles, and the client itself is quite light on the resources. It is capable of overclocking most of Nvidia, AMD and ATI GPUs.
What makes RivaTuner so special is its support for older chipsets. If you have an older device with an older GPU, then you should try using RivaTuner if other software fails. It will let you control the speed of your GPU, memory, shader and Fan speed. Its installer is of just 2.7 MB size, which is quite small as compared to other overclocking software that is more than 35MB.
4. Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility
If you are using Intel chipset then this will be the best CPU overclocking software for you. Although Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility works with other chipsets as well, some of its features only work with Intel chipsets and its latest motherboards. This utility lets you both monitor and overclock your PC in its interactive interface.
You can easily monitor your PC temperature, voltage and fan speed to adjust your overclocking needs. The software can overclock your CPU, memory and bus speed, and the fan speed can also be adjusted to cater the overclocking speed. Its interface can be a little confusing for beginners, but things get easier as you use it and create profiles.
5. MSI Afterburner
MSI Afterburner is actually based on RivaTuner by cooperating with RivaTuner developers. It has a simple and polished interface as compared to RivaTuner, but it holds tons of extra features that might attract many gamers. You can set a custom theme for the interface, use different languages and add extensions to increase functionality.
It is specifically created for AMD and Nvidia GPUs, and you can easily overclock and monitor heat, voltage and fan speed to keep track of its effects. It has full multi-GPU support and you can adjust fan speed, shader, and power for supported chipsets. MSI Afterburner also has some additional features, including, Video and image capture, Push-To-Talk, custom fan control, hardware health monitoring, automatic profiles and memory 10 voltage control.
6. Built-in Overclocking Utility
Many popular manufacturers add their own overclocking utility with their chipset. These utilities might not be as efficient as some third-party solutions, but they should be good enough to safely overclock your CPU or GPU.
You can find these options in the context menu when you right click on any blank area on the desktop. You should see a button with your GPU manufacturer’s name and “Control Panel”, like Nvidia Control Panel or Catalyst Control Panel. There should be a section with name Overdrive or Overclock. Nvidia users will have to download and install Nvidia’s nTune utility to enable “Performance” tweaking option in the Control Panel.
Check: 7 Best Free System Information Utilities to Check Complete System Specs
7. CPU-Tweaker
If you are an expert and want a software that offers complete control over your CPU, then CPU-Tweaker is a great option. Its interface might be quite basic, but it hides great power if you actually understand the concept of overclocking. It will let you overclock your CPU, memory, and shader. You can also adjust fan speed with custom fan control and get full information about your hardware.
However, CPU-Tweaker only works with CPUs with integrated memory controllers, so it may not work for you. Its other options include Power down mode, adjust read and write cycle time, Auto-Precharge, read latency, multiple windows and adjust command rate.
8. ATI Tray Tools
If you have ATI chipset, then you don’t need any other overclocking software, just download ATI Tray Tools and you should be good to go. It is a very tiny overclocking software that works only for ATI chipsets. The software rests in the system tray and will automatically load profiles according to what you are doing on your PC.
It is also capable of automatically overclocking your GPU according to the situation of your hardware. Its advanced features include overclocking templates, temperature monitor, desktop shortcuts for profiles, system information, shader overclocking, screenshot, audio recorder, and plugins.
Check out: Top 10 Best Free Audio Editing Software and Free Audio Editors
The Pro Review From TechReviewPro
Moderately overclocking your CPU and GPU is a great way to get the most out of your PC and take more advantage from the cash spent. The above-mentioned software will let you overclock your GPU and CPU and also adjust many other settings like fan speed, voltage, and shader, etc.
Although, be very careful while using any of these GPU and CPU overclocking software, and never go to maximum limits. It will either hang your PC or even damage its components. You can take advantage of CPU-Z and GPU-Z tools to keep track of the changes and make a sound decision. Which software do you use for overclocking your PC? Would you like to share your experience with overclocking? Let us know in the comments below.
Don’t Miss:
- 31+ Best Free Graphic Design Software to Create Stunning Graphic Visuals
- Top 10 Best Free Photo Editing Software to Edit Photos Like A Pro
- 7 Best Data Backup and Recovery Software for Worst PC Crash
- Top 10 Best Video Editing Software to Edit Videos Like A Pro
- How to Capture Windows Screen? – Top 10 Best Screen Recording Software for Windows
