System vendors abhor it, but people are digging the overclocking scene in a serious way. The chip makers are much more concerned with unscrupulous dingleberries who overclock CPUs en masse, re-mark them with a higher clock setting, and then sell them at a higher price. While CPUs have always been the target of overclockers, 3D accelerators are now also feeling the heat. Thanks to a variety of registry hacks and third-party software, pushing 3D accelerator clock speeds is easier than ever. Push any microprocessor past its spec'd speed and it will heat up more than it should.
Heat is the number-one danger for overclockers.
It can melt internal circuits and cause all sorts of problems. But, if you're brave enough, read on. We give you four overclocking case studies. The key is to absorb the general conventions of overclocking and then apply this knowledge to your own rig. And, of course, one must always prepare for increased CPU heat by installing extra cooling devices.