New to overclocking...
New to overclocking...
I don't understand overclocking well, but I followed the YouTube video from UserBenchmark as a reference. My current overclock is +150 MHz on the Core Clock and +1500 MHz on the Memory Clock with Afterburner. Does this seem excessive? I'm especially worried about raising the Memory Clock from 6000 MHz to 7500 MHz. Temperatures stabilize around 71°C and everything runs smoothly. Kombuster isn't crashing. The card is an 1650 Super. Any feedback would be appreciated!
The memory OC does seem a bit too high, although it may not look like anything bad is happening there is a high chance your memory is outputting a lot of errors and is costing you FPS. Run a GPU benchmark like Heaven or Superposition 5 times and see if your results are the same every time. If not then that shows your VRAM is outputting too many errors and trying to correct itself during the run, essentially costing you performance. You would need to find the sweet-spot for memory OC that gives you the best performance with low error output, for example my 2080 Ti is OC'd to about +800MHz, any higher and some VRAM intensive games will start losing FPS due to large amounts of errors. Any lower and I lose FPS due to lower performance in...
The memory OC setting appears slightly elevated, but it might not indicate a serious issue. There’s a possibility your graphics card is generating many errors, which could reduce FPS. Perform a GPU benchmark such as Heaven or Superposition five times to check consistency. If the results differ, it suggests VRAM is overloading and attempting corrections, hurting performance. You should aim for an optimal memory OC that balances speed and minimal errors. For instance, my 2080 Ti was OC’d to around +800MHz; higher speeds may cause frame drops in VRAM-heavy games. Lower settings could lead to lower overall performance. +800MHz is the ideal sweet spot—your specific card will differ. Begin by increasing by 150 each time and monitor the outcome.
Thank you for the detailed feedback! I wasn't expecting faster to be better. My main worry was harming the card. I think if the temperature stays within a reasonable range, I won't be causing any damage.
If temperatures rise during a mem OC, you might notice "GPU artifacting." This refers to random shapes appearing and disappearing in the game as texture glitches occur every few seconds. These visible issues indicate instability in your VRAM. It’s clear something is wrong, though it doesn’t necessarily mean permanent damage. The only risk of lasting harm would be pushing the card beyond its safe operating limits, which could cause a crash and require a safe restart to undo the change. However, if you adjust the voltage beyond specifications, the card itself remains intact. If you attempt to modify the voltage further (especially with custom BIOS), there’s a chance of damaging the GPU chip, shortening its lifespan or causing more serious problems.
But when using MSI Afterburner for OC, don’t hesitate to set the power and temperature limits to their maximums. This will force the card to operate at its highest safe wattage, giving you optimal performance without any drawbacks.
EDIT: You can adjust your memory OC while playing to compare FPS changes.