Editing Overclocking (section)

== Graphics cards ==

[[File:Bfg geforce 6800 gs oc.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The BFG GeForce 6800GSOC ships with higher memory and [[clock rate]]s than the standard 6800GS.]]
Graphics cards can also be overclocked. There are [[utility software|utilities]] to achieve this, such as [[EVGA Corporation|EVGA]]'s Precision, [[RivaTuner]], [[Advanced Micro Devices|AMD]] Overdrive (on [[Advanced Micro Devices|AMD]] cards only), [[Micro-Star International|MSI]] Afterburner, Zotac Firestorm, and the PEG Link Mode on [[Asus]] [[motherboard]]s. Overclocking a GPU will often yield a marked increase in performance in synthetic benchmarks, usually reflected in game performance.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.altesc.net/2013/06/15/gtx-780-overclocking/ |title=Alt+Esc {{!}} GTX 780 Overclocking Guide<!-- Bot generated title --> |work=Alt+Esc |access-date=2013-06-18 |archive-date=2013-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624231537/http://www.altesc.net/2013/06/15/gtx-780-overclocking/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It is sometimes possible to see that a graphics card is being pushed beyond its limits before any permanent damage is done by observing on-screen artifacts or unexpected system crashes. It is common to run into one of those problems when overclocking graphics cards; both symptoms at the same time usually means that the card is severely pushed beyond its heat, [[clock rate]], and/or voltage limits, however if seen when not overclocked, they indicate a faulty card. After a reboot, video settings are reset to standard values stored in the graphics card firmware, and the maximum [[clock rate]] of that specific card is now deducted.

Some overclockers apply a [[potentiometer]] to the graphics card to manually adjust the voltage (which usually invalidates the warranty). This allows for finer adjustments, as overclocking software for graphics cards can only go so far. Excessive voltage increases may damage or destroy components on the graphics card or the entire graphics card itself (practically speaking).