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Some signs your GPU is overheating inside your PC
Although most modern graphics cards have a safe temperature limit of 90C, they shouldn't ideally shouldn't exceed 85C when you're gaming. Otherwise, you'll start experiencing problems. While it's a good idea to keep an eye on your GPU temperature with tools like MSI Afterburner while playing games, the overlay—to me, at least—disrupts the immersion. So, I rarely ever use them unless I'm benchmarking a new game for a few minutes.
That said, I've used gaming PCs for so long that I can tell whether my graphics card is overheating without launching any monitoring software. All you need to do is look out for some obvious signs and use all available tools to check the exact temperature before troubleshooting the issue further. Here's how to tell if your graphics card is struggling with waste heat.
How to lower your GPU's temperature
Keeping your GPU's temperature in check can extend its lifespan and enhance your overall gaming experience simultaneously.
Increased fan noise
Loud enough that you can hear them through your headset
When you're browsing the web or working on documents, you rarely hear your graphics card. That's because your GPU isn't under heavy load. Many fans on modern graphics cards don't spin until they reach a certain temperature. However, when you're gaming or performing other graphically demanding tasks like rendering on your computer, the fans will ramp up and you'll hear it.
However, if the fans get too loud that you can hear them while you have your headset on, they're probably running at 100% speed. At this point, your graphics card almost sounds like a jet engine. By default, your GPU's fans won't run at these speeds unless it's over a set threshold, usually 80C or so. Unless you've set a custom fan curve to keep your card extra cool, you can be sure that it's overheating.
Unstable in-game FPS
You encounter framerate dips and stuttering while gaming
It's not uncommon to experience Frames-Per-Second (FPS) drops while gaming. More often than not, an unoptimized game can use occasional dips in framerate. However, if you're experiencing this frequently after a few minutes of gaming, your GPU is likely thermal throttling. Graphics cards typically lower their clock speeds when the temperatures exceed 80 to 85C to mitigate overheating and protect the internal components. When your GPU does this, you'll experience frame drops and stuttering during your gaming session.
Don't be quick to jump to the conclusion that your GPU is the culprit, though. It's also possible that your CPU is either overheating or bottlenecking your GPU. To be sure that your GPU is indeed overheating, I highly recommend launching MSI Afterburner (or equivalent software) and monitoring your hardware for at least 15 minutes. Keep an eye on the GPU usage, GPU clock speed, and temperature readings of both your CPU and GPU while actively running the game you're experiencing FPS drops on.
How to use MSI Afterburner to overclock and monitor your PC
From overclocking to undervolting, MSI Afterburner is a really useful software. Here's how you can use it to improve your GPU's performance.
Frequent crashing and hanging
An overheating GPU causes system instability
Besides frame drops and stuttering due to thermal throttling, you may experience game crashes in some extreme scenarios. That's because when your graphics card overheats, the system becomes unstable. So, if you encounter a crash with a Windows message like "Display driver has stopped responding" right after a visually demanding scene in a game, an overheating GPU may be the culprit.
In some cases, your PC may freeze entirely, and you'll need to reboot it using the power button manually. You may also encounter the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error when your graphics card exceeds the safe thermal limits. Oftentimes, you'll experience visual artifacts before a GPU-related crash.
Hot GPU backplate or chassis
Your graphics card is too hot to the touch
Open your PC's case and place your fingers on your graphics card's backplate to determine if it's too hot to your touch. Be careful, though; I don't want you to get a burn. To be extra safe, I highly recommend powering your PC off before you touch it, especially if your graphics card doesn't have a backplate. If you have a laptop, place your hand on the bottom of the chassis right underneath your keyboard area to see if it's hot. Since the CPU and GPU are closely packed in laptops, they can both suffer from overheating.
If you have a desktop, you can attempt to alleviate overheating issues by cleaning dust off your GPU's fans. Laptop users can wipe the exhaust grills or use a cooling pad as a temporary solution. While I normally suggest replacing the thermal paste in case of CPU overheating, I wouldn't recommend doing the same with your graphics card, as doing so will void your warranty. Another solution is to increase case airflow. Remove more heat from the chassis to let the GPU breathe a little.
Alleviating GPU overheating issues
Unlike a desktop CPU, you can't simply buy a more powerful cooler to combat GPU overheating. You can't even replace your GPU's thermal paste without voiding the warranty in most cases. However, you still have some options. For starters, you can improve your PC's airflow by adding more intake or exhaust fans. Cleaning dust off your existing fans can also go a long way in keeping the temperature in check. It's also worth setting a more aggressive fan curve so that they ramp up as soon as the GPU hits 75C, especially if you don't mind dealing with the fan noise.
Lastly, but most importantly, you can undervolt your graphics card to reduce the heat it generates. The lower the voltage, the lower your GPU temperatures will be. However, finding the right balance is crucial because if you lower the voltage too much, your GPU will become unstable. In most cases, you should see the temperature drop by 5 to 10C after a successful undervolt. A new PC case may be required if your current chassis has poor airflow and too few fan mounts. These can all help bring your GPU temperatures down slightly.
How to undervolt a GPU: Everything you need to know about GPU undervolting
Here's how to reduce the temperature of your AMD, Intel, or Nvidia GPU.
