Razer Cortex vs. MSI Afterburner: Which one should I use?

If you’re looking to optimize gaming performance, you probably know about Razer Cortex and MSI Afterburner. Both tools offer ways to improve FPS, reduce lag, and fine-tune your system, but they serve different purposes. Here, we’ll compare Razer Cortex vs. MSI Afterburner based on features, performance impact, compatibility, usability, and more to help you decide which is best for your gaming needs.

Razer Cortex vs. MSI Afterburner comparison

Quick overview

Feature	Razer Cortex 🎮	MSI Afterburner 🔥
Purpose	Game booster (frees up system resources)	Overclocking & hardware monitoring
FPS Optimization	Boosts FPS by closing background apps	FPS increases through overclocking
System Resource Management	Yes ✅	No ❌
Overclocking Support	No ❌	Yes ✅ (GPU & VRAM overclocking)
Fan speed control	No ❌	Yes ✅
On-Screen Display (OSD)	No ❌	Yes ✅
Game Recording	No ❌	Yes ✅
Free to Use?	Yes ✅	Yes ✅
Best For	Casual gamers who want automated FPS boosting	FPS increases through overclocking

What is Razer Cortex?

Razer Cortex is a game booster software that optimizes your PC’s RAM, CPU, and system processes for better gaming performance.

✅ Key features

✔ Game Booster: Automatically closes background apps and processes when launching a game.
✔ FPS Booster: Optimizes RAM allocation & CPU usage to reduce lag.
✔ Auto Game Launcher: Starts games with optimized settings.
✔ System Cleaner: Removes junk files & cache to free up space.
✔ Game Deals: Tracks game discounts from multiple stores.

🛠 How it works

• Before launching a game, Razer Cortex suspends unnecessary processes to free up RAM and CPU power.
• This helps low-end and mid-range PCs run games more smoothly without manual tweaking.

⚠ Limitations

❌ No overclocking features – It won’t improve GPU or CPU speeds.
❌ No FPS overlay or hardware monitoring.
❌ Limited impact on high-end PCs – It works best for low-mid-range systems.

Razer Cortex is great for gamers who want an automated, hassle-free FPS boost without modifying hardware settings.

What is MSI Afterburner?

MSI Afterburner is an overclocking & monitoring tool designed for GPU performance tuning.

✅ Key features

✔ Overclocking: Increase GPU & VRAM clock speeds for more FPS.
✔ Fan Speed Control: Adjust GPU fan speeds to reduce overheating.
✔ On-Screen Display (OSD): Monitor FPS, temperatures, CPU/GPU usage in real-time.
✔ Hardware Monitoring: Track GPU temp, CPU load, power usage, and FPS.
✔ Game Recording: Built-in screen capture and video recording.
✔ Custom Profiles: Save different overclocking settings for different games.

🛠 How it works

• You manually increase GPU clock speeds and adjust fan speeds to optimize performance.
• The On-Screen Display (OSD) allows you to monitor your FPS and hardware usage while gaming.

⚠ Limitations

❌ Requires technical knowledge – Overclocking can cause crashes if not done properly.
❌ No automated FPS boosting – You need to manually tweak settings.
❌ Doesn’t optimize background processes like Razer Cortex.

MSI Afterburner is good for gamers who want full control over their GPU performance and don’t mind tweaking settings manually.

Performance comparison: Which is a better FPS booster?

1. FPS Boosting

• Razer Cortex: Helps by freeing up system resources, which can improve FPS on low-to-mid-range PCs.
• MSI Afterburner: Improves FPS by overclocking your GPU, which can provide higher gains if your GPU supports it.

If you know how to overclock your PC, MSI Afterburner is the clear winner, but Razer Cortex can be better for you if you’re a casual gamer.

2. Ease of use

• Razer Cortex: Fully automated – just install and click the Boost button.
• MSI Afterburner: Requires manual overclocking & testing.

Razer Cortex is a lot easier to use and anyone will be able to get the benefits from the app. MSI Afterburner is for advanced users. Although it can be easy to use, you really need to know what you’re doing with the app. Otherwise, you may actually do more harm than good.

3. Additional features

• Razer Cortex: Game booster, system cleaner, game deals.
• MSI Afterburner: Overclocking, FPS monitoring, fan control, recording.

MSI Afterburner obviously has a lot more features, but it’s a dedicated tool for overclockers. However, if you want some gaming deals, Razer Cortex is very useful.

Which one should I use?

Use Razer Cortex if…

✅ You have a low or mid-range PC and need an easy FPS boost.
✅ You don’t want to tweak overclocking or GPU settings.
✅ You prefer automatic system optimization.

Use MSI Afterburner if…

✅ You want higher FPS through GPU overclocking.
✅ You need real-time hardware monitoring & FPS tracking.
✅ You have a dedicated GPU and want more control.

There is no clear winner here, you can use both tools because they serve different purposes. By now, it should be clear that if you need game booster software, you should go for Razer Cortex. It’s easy to use by anyone.

If you’ve got a powerful gaming PC and want to overclock it, you should install MSI Afterburner and make the best out of your machine.

We can discuss about Razer Cortex and MSI Afterburner in the comments below if you have another oppinion.