MSI Afterburner 4.6.6 beta released: Ending support for Windows XP
MSI Afterburner is the software many gamers and overclocking enthusiasts first think of when discussing GPU overclocking. It has been widely used by gamers and overclocking aficionados for over a decade. The success of this MSI software has inspired many competitors to develop similar applications, with the last stable version released in April 2023.
According to Guru 3D, MSI Afterburner has received an update, introducing the 4.6.6 beta version. This version discontinues support for Windows XP, a decision made as the developers upgraded the software’s C++ runtime library from the 2008 version to the 2022 version, marking the end of overclocking and hardware monitoring programs on Microsoft’s legacy operating systems. MSI Afterburner’s discontinuation of Windows XP support comes relatively late compared to many other software titles and is somewhat compelled by circumstance.
Furthermore, the 4.6.6 beta version introduces NVIDIA Reflex latency monitoring and Intel PresentMon statistics, among other features. It supports programmable conditional layers and bundles the latest 7.3.5 version of RivaTuner Statistics Server to enable certain functionalities. Gamers can now monitor latency in games that utilize NVIDIA Reflex. If a game does not support NVIDIA Reflex, RivaTuner can inject its latency markers, although the patch notes mention these statistics may not be accurate, and this feature is only applicable to DX11 and DX12 games.
Additionally, this update highlights two features: voltage control for the Radeon RX 7800 XT and the forthcoming NVIDIA GPU’s PCI device ID, primarily for compatibility considerations.
