If you're a PC enthusiast like me and you play some video games that are quite demanding of your hardware, then chances are you're probably interested in keeping an eye on the temperatures inside your PC, particularly for your CPU and GPU. This is important, because these components can get very hot and without proper cooling, they will not last very long. Monitoring temperatures is actually easy with MSI Afterburner, but the software is capable of so much more!
This recommendation is based upon a comparison between MSI Afterburner and EVGA Precision X1. Amazingly, you MSI Afterburner doesn't care what GPU you're using, it will work with it. It doesn't matter if you have Nvidia or AMD. However, if you want to use Precision X1, you're going to need an Nvidia GPU.
Both pieces of software not only help you monitor GPU temperatures, but they also help you with controlling fan speeds and overclocking. Overclocking isn't something I'm into, though I've dabbled with it a bit. It does seem, to me, that MSI Afterburner is actually better at this than Precision X1. With the latter, you pretty much just have to stick some what random values in and try to see if you can find the correct values that work before a game or software crashes. It's pretty much guess work. However, MSI Afterburner has an icon in the top left-hand corner marked with "OC" and a magnifying glass. Clicking on this icon will let you scan and test values. So, it can help you automatically overclock your GPU, where as Precision X1 requires much more manual work.
MSI Afterburner also has a lot more features and settings than Precision X1. Even if you're not overclocking your GPU, MSI Afterburner is still the better piece of software to use, in part because it not only helps you monitor your GPU temperature, but also your CPU temperature and your FPS. If you go into the software's settings, you can set up a hot key to enable or disable the OSD (On-Screen Display). You can also configure it with a variety of options. Unfortunately, even though Precision X1 has a similar OSD, it does not work in every game. In fact, I can't even recall which games it actually works with. However, I've never had a problem with MSI Afterburner's OSD not working.
It's ok to have both programs installed, but not recommended to run both at the same time, so be careful with that. MSI Afterburner has a lot more features and configuration settings than Precision X1. It may be a bit more confusing, but there is box that will pop up when hovering over each setting that will help you understand it better. Both pieces are software are free, but it is MSI Afterburner that seems to deserve a very strong recommendation.
I've embedded a video from JayzTwoCents which is a guide to overclocking your GPU. He uses MSI Afterburner and Heaven Benchmark. If you're interested in getting more performance out of your GPU, you may also want to check out another one of his videos here: https://youtu.be/cqshaJTI8FQ I think he has even more videos on these subjects, so you may want to check out his YouTube channel, I strongly recommend it, it's my favorite for PC enthusiasts.
Do you have thoughts on this recommendation that you'd like to share? Do you overclock your hardware? Do you monitor temperatures and FPS? Feel free to reply in the comments section!
This recommendation is based upon a comparison between MSI Afterburner and EVGA Precision X1. Amazingly, you MSI Afterburner doesn't care what GPU you're using, it will work with it. It doesn't matter if you have Nvidia or AMD. However, if you want to use Precision X1, you're going to need an Nvidia GPU.
Both pieces of software not only help you monitor GPU temperatures, but they also help you with controlling fan speeds and overclocking. Overclocking isn't something I'm into, though I've dabbled with it a bit. It does seem, to me, that MSI Afterburner is actually better at this than Precision X1. With the latter, you pretty much just have to stick some what random values in and try to see if you can find the correct values that work before a game or software crashes. It's pretty much guess work. However, MSI Afterburner has an icon in the top left-hand corner marked with "OC" and a magnifying glass. Clicking on this icon will let you scan and test values. So, it can help you automatically overclock your GPU, where as Precision X1 requires much more manual work.
MSI Afterburner also has a lot more features and settings than Precision X1. Even if you're not overclocking your GPU, MSI Afterburner is still the better piece of software to use, in part because it not only helps you monitor your GPU temperature, but also your CPU temperature and your FPS. If you go into the software's settings, you can set up a hot key to enable or disable the OSD (On-Screen Display). You can also configure it with a variety of options. Unfortunately, even though Precision X1 has a similar OSD, it does not work in every game. In fact, I can't even recall which games it actually works with. However, I've never had a problem with MSI Afterburner's OSD not working.
It's ok to have both programs installed, but not recommended to run both at the same time, so be careful with that. MSI Afterburner has a lot more features and configuration settings than Precision X1. It may be a bit more confusing, but there is box that will pop up when hovering over each setting that will help you understand it better. Both pieces are software are free, but it is MSI Afterburner that seems to deserve a very strong recommendation.
I've embedded a video from JayzTwoCents which is a guide to overclocking your GPU. He uses MSI Afterburner and Heaven Benchmark. If you're interested in getting more performance out of your GPU, you may also want to check out another one of his videos here: https://youtu.be/cqshaJTI8FQ I think he has even more videos on these subjects, so you may want to check out his YouTube channel, I strongly recommend it, it's my favorite for PC enthusiasts.
Do you have thoughts on this recommendation that you'd like to share? Do you overclock your hardware? Do you monitor temperatures and FPS? Feel free to reply in the comments section!
