There are many different little tips and tricks that you can use to try and increase the quality of your gameplay when you’re playing online. One of the best tricks to make your gameplay faster is by overclocking your monitor.
However, most people aren’t exactly sure how to go ahead and do this. And in fact, many aren’t even really sure what overclocking even means.
So, let’s discuss how to do this, and what overclocking your monitor even really means. Then, we can take a look at some of the best options out there if you’re looking for an overclockable monitor.
How to Overclock your Monitor
It actually isn’t that difficult for you to overclock your monitor – in fact, the process itself is pretty straightforward. But, it will generally depend on what graphics card you’re using; Nvidia or AMD. Here’s a quick way to do this for both of them.
Doing this can help increase your monitors refresh rate – for example, some 144Hz gaming monitors can be increased to 165Hz by overclocking them. This means that your image will refresh more times per second, which can be very useful when you’re playing games like COD.
Overclocking Your Monitor with an Nvidia GPU
- The first thing that you need to do is access the Nvidia control panel – they make overclocking a very simple process with their GPU’s.
- There’s a whole page that you can access for this. Under Display, you can click through to Change Resolutions.
- Click on the Customize option, which will allow you to select an alternative resolution than your current one. Here, you’ll want to find the Enable Resolutions Not Exposed by the Display, and tick the box next to it.
- Now, you can increase the refresh rate of your monitor. Most people recommend doing this slowly in small increments and seeing how your monitor reacts and if it copes.
How to Overclock your Monitor – AMD GPU
The process for doing this with an AMD GPU is very similar, but there are a couple of differences in the layout and how you do it. You can go into the setting of your AMD (the equivalent of the Nvidia control panel), and from there you can create Custom Resolutions. Like with an Nvidia, start by increasing the refresh rate slowly until you reach your desired maximum.
As with any monitor overclocking, it is important for you to take things slow and steady. Don’t go jumping straight up to the maximum possible with your monitor.
Is it safe to overclock a monitor?
If you’re going to overclock your monitor, you’re going to want to know whether it’s the right thing to do. Not only wondering whether it’s the right thing to do, but whether it’s safe to do so too.
The main thing that you’re going to do if you overclock your monitor is that you’ll probably ensure that it doesn’t last as long as it could. When you’re overclocking your monitor, you’re essentially making it overpowered.
Think about it like a car – if you were to drive a racecar around at a normal speed everyday, it’s going to last much longer than it would if you spent your time racing it. Overclocking your monitor means more wear and tear at a faster rate.
Another thing that you might want to think about is the warranty of your monitor. Though some brands even expect you to do this, not all of them will provide a warranty if you do this to your monitor. So, make sure to double check that beforehand.
But in terms of safety? Yes, it’s definitely safe to overclock your monitor, and there’s nothing seriously bad that can come of it.
Why would I want to overclock my monitor?
In many cases, it might not even be worth overclocking your monitor. Essentially, it’s for those that want something a little better than what they already have.
Doing this will essentially increase the refresh rate of your monitor, which means increasing the amount of time you display refreshes every second. Whilst most of the time this will only increase a little bit, it can make a difference, especially if you take gaming quite seriously.
So, should you overclock your monitor?
Most people will want to do this for first person shooters, but it can also come in handy in other games too. If you play a lot of COD or CS:GO competitively, then overclocking to get a higher refresh rate makes sense, as it’ll give you a slight edge over others.
Though the truth is that for most people playing most games, it’s probably not actually going to be worth it. A 144Hz monitor should be more than enough for the average person, especially if you’re making the step up from using a 60 Hz monitor or television.
You overclock your monitor at your own risk, and although it’s unlikely to do any damage, it can shorten the lifespan of your display. So, it’s worth investigating whether it’s worth your time to do.
Best Overclockable Monitors
If you’re still set on getting a monitor that you can overclock, then there are various different options out there for you. Bear in mind that not all monitors can be overclocked to higher refresh rates, and some of them will have a maximum of only around 80Hz.
This is why it’s important to find the right monitor that can be turned up to 165Hz. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Pixio PX7 Prime
For those that are looking for the best gaming experience possible, then you’re going to want to get a monitor withh an already high refresh rate. The PX7 Prime comes with a 144Hz refresh rate, which means that it refreshes the display on your screen 144Hz per second.
To be honest, for most people this is going to be fast enough already. But, you do have the ability to overclock this monitor up to an impressive 165Hz refresh rate, which will be perfect for gaming.
Remember that if you’re going to opt to overclock the monitor, you’re going to need to connect to it via Displayport. You can’t overclock this monitor with a HDMI cable.
Gigabyte G27FC
Another good monitor which you can overclock very easily is the Gigabyte G27FC. It’s an excellent curved monitor, which allows it to give you a great perspective of your gameplay.
Like the other monitor, you have the ability to overclock this one up to an impressive 165Hz. When you combine this with the minimal response time (1ms), you’re going to have a pretty great gaming monitor on your hands.
The monitor is actually designed to be extremely energy efficient. So, bear in mind that if you do overclock it, it’s not going to have the same level of consumption.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these are just a few of the best overclockable monitors out there available. Any of them would be a pretty good option, and they’re relatively easy to adjust too, as long as you follow the simple guide above. if you want the best gaming experience possible, then overclocking your monitor is a good idea.
