Reviewed by Eman SakrTested on Windows 11, Windows 10Last tested: October 3, 2026
MSI Afterburner is a powerful yet easy-to-use software designed for Windows, offering gamers and professionals the ability to fine-tune their graphics card performance, monitor system metrics in real-time, and create custom fan profiles.
Developed by MSI in collaboration with RivaTuner, it first launched in 2009 and quickly became a go-to tool for overclocking enthusiasts and casual users alike.
Over the years, it has evolved with regular updates, adding features like hardware monitoring, on-screen display, and support for a wide range of GPUs, making it one of the most trusted utilities in the PC community.
So, What is MSI Afterburner?
Simply put, MSI Afterburner is a free software tool for Windows that lets you control and monitor your graphics card. Think of it as a control panel specifically for your GPU.
While its most famous feature is overclocking – pushing your graphics card to run faster than its default settings – it’s capable of much more.
It also lets you monitor your GPU’s performance in real-time, adjust fan speeds to keep things cool, and even create custom fan curves.
It works with most graphics cards, regardless of whether they’re made by MSI or another manufacturer like NVIDIA or AMD.
Overclocking
This is the headline feature. Afterburner lets you increase the core clock speed and memory clock speed of your GPU, which can boost your gaming performance.
However, it’s important to do this carefully, as pushing things too far can lead to instability or even damage.
Monitoring
Even if you don’t plan to overclock, Afterburner is invaluable for monitoring your GPU.
It shows you real-time information about your GPU temperature, memory usage, core clock speed, fan speed, and more. This is crucial for understanding how your graphics card is performing, especially during demanding games.
Fan Control
Keeping your GPU cool is essential for both performance and longevity. Afterburner lets you manually adjust your GPU fan speed or create a custom fan curve.
This means you can set your fans to spin faster when the GPU gets hotter, keeping temperatures in check.
Voltage Control
For advanced users, Afterburner allows you to adjust the voltage supplied to the GPU.
This can enable even higher overclocks, but it’s also the riskiest aspect of overclocking and should only be done by experienced users who understand the potential consequences.
On-Screen Display (OSD)
Afterburner can display key information, like your frame rate, GPU temperature, and GPU usage, directly on your screen while you’re gaming. This lets you monitor your system’s performance without having to Alt+Tab out of your game.
Why is it so popular?
Several factors contribute to Afterburner’s popularity:
Free: It’s completely free to use, which is a huge plus.
Versatile: It works with almost any graphics card, regardless of the manufacturer.
User-Friendly (relatively): While it has a lot of advanced features, the basic controls are easy to grasp.
Lightweight: It doesn’t consume a lot of system resources.
How to Download & Install
MSI Afterburner is a must-have tool for anyone looking to optimize their GPU’s performance, whether for gaming, streaming, or creative work.
If you’re new to the software, don’t worry – downloading and installing it is quick and easy. Here’s a simple guide to help you get started.
Step 1: Download the Installer
Click on the above download button – at the top of this page – to download the latest version.
Step 2: Run the Installer
Locate the downloaded file in your “Downloads” folder or wherever your browser saves files.
Double-click the installer file to start the installation process.
Step 3: Follow the Installation Steps
A setup window will appear. Click “Next” to begin.
Read and accept the license agreement, then click “Next” again.
Choose where you want to install MSI Afterburner. The default location is usually fine, but you can change it if needed.
Click “Next” and then “Install” to start the installation.
Step 4: Install RivaTuner Statistics Server (Optional but Recommended)
During the installation, you’ll be asked if you want to install RivaTuner Statistics Server (RTSS). This tool works with MSI Afterburner to provide on-screen display (OSD) features, like showing FPS and temperatures while gaming.
Check the box to install RTSS and click “Next”.
Step 5: Complete the Installation
Once the installation is finished, click “Finish” to close the setup window.
MSI Afterburner will launch automatically. If it doesn’t, you can find it in your Start menu or on your desktop.
Step 6: Set Up MSI Afterburner
When you open MSI Afterburner for the first time, you’ll see a simple interface with sliders for core clock, memory clock, and fan speed.
Take a moment to explore the settings. You can customize the on-screen display, create fan curves, and save profiles for different games or tasks.
That’s It!
You’ve successfully downloaded and installed MSI Afterburner on your Windows PC.
Now you’re ready to take control of your GPU’s performance, monitor your system, and get the most out of your hardware. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, MSI Afterburner is a tool you’ll find incredibly useful. Enjoy!
Pros & Cons
👍 What we liked
Free to use.
Works with most GPUs.
Real-time monitoring
Powerful monitoring tools.
Great for overclocking.
Custom fan control.
On-screen display (OSD).
Lightweight software.
👎 What we didn't like
Overclocking can be risky.
Can potentially void your GPU warranty (sometimes).
MSI Afterburner is more than just a tool, it’s a game-changer for anyone looking to take control of their GPU’s performance.
Whether you’re a gamer chasing higher frame rates, a content creator needing stable performance, or a PC enthusiast tweaking your system, MSI Afterburner delivers.
Its combination of powerful features, ease of use, and compatibility with almost all GPUs makes it a top choice for beginners and experts alike.
Why Choose MSI Afterburner?
It’s Free: You get premium features without spending a dime.
Universal Compatibility: Works with NVIDIA, AMD, and even non-MSI GPUs.
User-Friendly: Simple sliders and real-time monitoring make it easy to use.
Customization: From fan curves to on-screen displays, it lets you tailor your experience.
Reliable and Trusted: Over a decade of updates and improvements.
MSI Afterburner vs Others
While there are other GPU tuning tools like EVGA Precision X1 or ASUS GPU Tweak, MSI Afterburner stands out for its simplicity and versatility.
Unlike some competitors, it’s not tied to a specific brand, works on a wide range of hardware, and offers a more polished experience.
Plus, its integration with RivaTuner Statistics Server (RTSS) for on-screen displays is unmatched.
Final Verdict
If you want a reliable, feature-packed, and free tool to optimize your GPU, MSI Afterburner is the clear winner. It’s not just software—it’s an essential part of any PC enthusiast’s toolkit. Give it a try, and you’ll see why it’s been a favorite for over a decade.
Changelog - What's new in version 4.6.6
- Ported to VC++ 2022 compiler. Please take a note that due to this change MSI
Afterburner will no longer be able to start under Windows XP. Please stay on
the previous versions of the product if you need this OS support
- Please take a note that size of mandatory VC++ 2022 runtime redistributables
roughly doubled comparing to the previously used VC++ 2008 redistributables,
and we’d like to avoid providing overblown application distributive,
drastically increased in size due to bundling newer and much heavier VC++
redistributables with it. To deal with this issue we provide our own original
tiny web installer for VC++ redistributables, which allowed decreasing the
size of final application distributive drastically even comparing to the
previous VC++ 2008 based version. Please take a note that install time can be
increased slightly due to downloading VC++ 2022 runtimes redistributables on
the fly during installation. If you install MSI Afterburner offline, you can
always deploy required VC++ 2022 distributives later with web installer by
launching .RedistVCRedistDeploy.bat
- Now the installer and uninstaller are performing active application instance
checking on earlier stages before displaying any GUI
- Added NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50x0 series graphics cards support
- Added quad fan control support for reference design NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50x0
series graphics cards
- Added software interface for future G-Assist integration
- MSI Windows 11 Dark skin is selected as default application skin now. Please
take a note that quad fan control GUI is currently available in Dark and Light
editions of MSI Windows 11 skins only. If you prefer to use some older legacy
skins on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50x0 with 3 or 4 independently controllable fans,
you may still switch between all fans in async fan control mode by
pressing + repeatedly
- Added new MSI Special and MSI H2O skins by Drerex design. New skins natively
supports quad fan control feature on reference design NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50x0
series graphics cards
- Extended +3000MHz memory clock overclocking range tweak for NVIDIA RTX 5000
series graphics cards
- Added AMD RDNA4 GPU family and AMD RADEON RX 9000 series cards support. Please
take a note that MSI do not sell any AMD RDNA4 based graphics cards, so RDNA4
support is completely unofficial
- Added MP2988 and MP29816A voltage controllers support. New PWM controllers
support is reserved for future extreme overclocking oriented graphics card
models with triple/quad channel voltage control. Please take a note that such
voltage controllers are also used on the most of currently existing NVIDIA RTX
5080 and RTX 5090 series cards, but unfortunately I2C address range of PWM
controllers on reference cards is blacklisted by NVIDIA display driver, making
extended voltage control on currently existing NVIDIA RTX 50x0 series cards
impossible
- Added voltage control support for AMD RADEON RX 7800XT series graphics cards
- Added voltage control support for new low-cost revisions of NVIDIA GeForce RTX
40x0 GPUs
- Added new GPU hiding functionality. Added "Hide GPU" button to GPU selection
panel of default Dark and Light editions of MSI Windows 11 skins. Alternately,
you may use + keyboard shortcut to hide currently selected GPU if
you prefer to use legacy or third party GUI skins with no such button. You may
use it to completely remove some GPUs from MSI Afterburner's GUI, including
both hardware control and hardware monitoring sections. The functionality is
intended for hiding integrated iGPUs
- Relaxing preemptive sleep delay is now excluded from cumulative polling time
displayed by performance profiler on Overdrive8 capable graphics cards to
avoid confusing beginners
- Name of voltage rail mapped to AUX or AUX2 voltage slider (e.g. VDDCI, MSVDD,
PEXVDD or 1V8) is now displayed in context help of AUX or AUX2 GUI controls
and inside MSI Afterburner system info window ("i" button)
- Added internal database format improvements, allowing us to remap AUX/AUX2 GUI
controls to different physical voltage rail if multiple optional controllable
voltage rails are available
- Empty compact names of some iGPUs in GPU selection panel are now replaced with
abstract "AMD GPU" / "NVIDIA GPU" / “Intel GPU" names
- Fixed GUID, PCI location and registry key info displayed in MSI Afterburner
system info window ("i" button) for secondary Intel GPUs
- I2C cache of secondary GPUs is now saved inside proper hardware profile file.
Previously it was always written to and read from the primary GPU's profile
- Asynchronous fan control buttons are no longer displayed in GUI on GPUs with
no fan control support (e.g. iGPUs)
- Now MSI Afterburner reinitializes skin scaling engine on DPI scaling change
events to prevent cases when GUI looks cut off in some cases (e.g. after
switching between display resolutions with different DPI scaling settings)
- Now MSI Afterburner is forcibly uninstalling IO driver on OS shutdown to
prevent the driver from being hibernated and reloaded due to fast startup till
the next clean system boot event
- Fixed instances enumeration for some performance counters with no localized
names (e.g. GPU related Windows performance counters) in PerfCounter.dll
plugin
- Added experimental support for "Beta: Use Unicode UTF-8 for global language
support" option enabled in administrative regional OS settings. Now each
localization description file contains additional "Codepage" field, defining
runtime ANSI to UTF8 conversion rule for selected language pack
- Refactored CPU info database format provides more simplified and unified
future database updates for MSI Afterburner monitoring HAL, CPU.dll sample
plugin and RivaTuner Statistics Server’s own monitoring HAL
- Added experimental support for AMD Ryzen 9xxx CPUs
- Added experimental support for Intel Arrow Lake CPUs
- Added alternate Voltage/Frequency point locking mode inside Voltage/Frequency
curve editor. Now you may repeatedly press key inside V/F curve editor to
switch between voltage locking and max frequency locking mode
- Optimized GPU context switching implementation in HAL. This provides slightly
faster GPU selection in GUI and slightly reduced CPU polling time for the
systems with multiple GPUs
- Now MSI Afterburner uses extended 32KB RivaTuner Statistics Server’s text slot
instead of previously used 4KB slot to display On-Screen Display. Due to this
improvement legacy MSI Afterburner On-Screen Display can fit up to 8x more
text items without hitting the limit
- Updated HwInfo.dll plugin. Now the plugin can automatically spawn new versions
on HwInfo, which now store path to installed application in slightly different
installer’s registry key
- Added Bulgarian localization
- Seriously revamped German and Ukrainian localizations
- Fixed ACL bypass vulnerability and NULL ptr dereferencein RTCore driver
(reported by Andres Roldan)
- RivaTuner Statistics Server has been upgraded to v7.3.7:
- New version’s changes list is huge, it includes more than 150 compatibility
enhancements, changes and new features including programmable conditional
layers support, PresentMon, LibreHardwareMonitor and NVIDIA Reflex integration
