Introduction:

Computing sure has changed in the past couple of years. Over time two groups of computer users have been formed. One group are those who see computers as a piece of electronic equipment that allows common tasks such as word processing. The members of the other group have a completely different perception of a computer system. They see computers as an engineering marvel with untapped capabilities, very much like the way automobile enthusiasts see cars more than just a vehicle used for transportation. For this reason, or perhaps simply because they rather not spend money on upgrades, the latter group of computer users are always looking for ways to push the limits of their system beyond it's standard specifications.

    One of the most common and fundamental methods of increasing system performance lies in the CPU performance. Since the speed at which processes can be carried out depends on the clock cycle of the CPU, by overclocking (increasing the frequency) considerable speed can be gained. Recently overclocking has become more popular mainly because of the value line-up of AMD and Intel products that can be overclocked quite easily and have quite a bit of potential. However, since the users are stepping over the manufacturer's recommended settings, excessive heat is one the major obstacles to overcome. If this little fact is not respected, the extra generated heat can cause major system instabilities, shorter processor life, and in some extreme cases, complete burn out of the processor.

So before deciding to overclock, experienced and hardcore overclockers first think about cooling solutions because the heatsink and fan that can keep the CPU cool at it's default frequency might not be able to dissipate the extra heat after overclocking.  Furthermore, using proper cooling is indispensable even if the processor is not overclocked because this ensures a longer life of such a precious investment.