Question MSI Afterburner Interface Confusion

[GamerLegend590]

So I recently have been wanting to overclock my GPU since some online games(or games in general) I have been playing are not getting the frames I've been wanting to get them to. And I looked into doing this with MSI Afterburner since it seemed it was not only popular but also really good for overclocking.

So I load up Afterburner and open a tutorial for it so I can know what I'm doing. I try to follow the directions but some things are off. (The Imgur links here can be good references)

1. Core and memory clock numbers are different, as I have actual numbers and they have "plus" numbers
2. The temp limit cannot be accessed at all, but the power limit can, and it moves both power and temp limits on their screen when they do it

That's kinda about it, but also their GPU is different than mine, so I'm not sure if that is the limitation for me. But I have also tried looking up this issue, and all I could find was confusion with the new user interfaces. And I have tried going into the Afterburner settings and tweaking around with it a bit to see if anything worked, but it didn't. I even tried using the overclocking feature provided with the AMD Radeon software (since I have a Radeon GPU), but I feel like it did not do much for me, plus this seems like a good overclocking software. And any video I have found about other overclocking software(ex. GPU Tweak II) has even recommended Afterburner a bit as well.

So is it just a limitation with my GPU? Or is there a fix to do that I am missing?

Links:

• My Afterburner:

  https://imgur.com/lQLuJEr

  View: https://i.imgur.com/lQLuJEr.png
  
• Their Afterburner:

  https://imgur.com/wh8Zoy0

  View: https://i.imgur.com/wh8Zoy0.png
  
• Screenshot source of "Their Afterburner"; Tutorial I've been trying to use:
  View: https://youtu.be/wEhlKK5qKXo
  
• PC Specs of my computer from a benchmark test I recently did: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/53302096

 

[tennis2]

I prefer AMD driver software (used to be WattMan). Already installed and running. Does everything Afterburner does, and more.

I have been playing are not getting the frames I've been wanting to get them to.

What improvement are you looking to get here? It may well be that your expectations exceed reality.

 

[GamerLegend590]

I'm kinda just looking to get better than consistent 30fps (or even 7 sometimes) in my games. There isn't a specific improvement I am looking for, but since my monitor is 144hz, I'd like to get something at least decent.

 

[tennis2]

Ok, well you're not going to 4x your FPS by OCing your GPU 5-10%. (Sounds like you're generally shooting for 2000MHz boost clock)

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-rx-5500-xt-4gb/3
Have a read through this article to get some performance expectations. Not sure what resolution your monitor is, presumably 1080p. Keep in mind, these benchmarks are not for online/multiplayer gameplay typically. If your GPU isn't performing relatively close to the benchmarks in the article (they used a 9900K). Let us know.

 

[drea.drechsler]

I'm kinda just looking to get better than consistent 30fps (or even 7 sometimes) in my games. There isn't a specific improvement I am looking for, but since my monitor is 144hz, I'd like to get something at least decent.

My experience with Afterburner and Wattman for overclocking the Navi GPU's is that Wattman has some better tools for it.

First: it's the only way (I know at least) to enable SAM at driver level. Second, Navi has a high and a low clock. If you change just the high clock the low clock defaults to the lowest possible. I'm really not sure what it does precisely, but raising the low clock along with the high clock (much lower of course) will get more stable OC's for both the 6800XT I have now and the 5700/XT I had previously. It is a bit more pronounced with the 6800XT where the low clock wants to be within 100-200Mhz of the high clock for best results.

Only Wattman has a low clock adjustment, Afterburner does not so OC'g with afterburner means always running the lowest low clock. I hoped it would be different since my 6800 XT is an MSI partner card...and AB is their OC application for their GPU's. AB is still the best in-game GPU monitoring overlay with RivaTuner though.

One last thing I've also learned: do not try to use both (simultaneously) to overclock your card thinking you'll get the best of each. OMG, what a mess.

Last: the only way I know to get a steady frame rate is have card that's vastly over-powered for you game, resolution and game settings. Then set an FPS limiter well below it's highest capability. That's my strategy with the 6800 XT: i game at 1440p with an 75FPS limiter and it's smooth as glass even in Cyberpunk, ultra settings, w/raytracing and FSR1.0 Ultra Quality, although it gets a bit hot even with racing fans. A less demanding game (Sniper Elite 5, Ultra settings) lets the GPU run cool and quiet even with FSR disabled.