Overclocking your computer's video card is a great way to improve graphic performance in games. While overclocking won't take your graphics card's performance to new heights, it is useful for squeezing out those few extra frames in your favorite game. With the right software and cooling, overclocking is a fairly safe and fun way to boost your gaming performance for free.
Instructions
1. Ensure that your card is properly installed and that you've downloaded the latest drivers. Visit ATI's website to download the latest Catalyst drivers.
2. Download the latest Catalyst Control Center. The Control Center is usually bundled with the display driver, but download it again if you don't have it. Once it's installed, open the program and choose the "ATI Overdrive" feature.
3. Move the GPU and memory speeds up with the sliders in small increments. Always start small, because even small increases can multiply heat and therefore instability exponentially. Use the "Test Custom Clocks" button to see how the new settings work. Alternatively, run a 3D benchmark program or play your favorite 3D game for a few hours for real-world testing. If the game crashes, freezes or returns errors, back down the clock speeds and try again.
4. Monitor the temperature and increase the fan speed as necessary. Using higher clock speeds, the core temperature on your Radeon 9600 will rise. Manually set the fan speed higher as necessary to offset this. Anything above 85 degrees is reason for concern.
Tags: clock speeds, Control Center, favorite game, latest Catalyst, your favorite