Overclocking

[Jetset]

Is it possibly to permanetly damage any of my hardware or can I just undo what i just did without any problem? Like with my ram, if it is as fast as it will go and I push it, will it die?

[el]

well you can kill the chip but your ram and other stuff should not be damaged. start slowly and test out the system stability for a while before going to the next level! don't just crank it up and see what happens. some people like to burn in the cpu by doing some tasks for a couple of days before you really push the computer! good luck adn always have a good post after a no post.

[Rob Cork]

It is possible to damage your hardware through overclocking, yes. Hence the popularity of cpu keychains :)

However, it is just as simple to kill somthing through poor cooling, handling or maintainence. Also, if you're talking about just reducing a component's MTBF (Mean Time Before Failure = average lifespan), ocing will do that almost for certain, but when the MTBF is 5 years and the technology will be obsolete in 2, is it really a problem? As I repeatedly point out to people, I have been running my duron at 2.3V (default voltage 1.5 I think) for about 6 months now, and it's still going strong. I'm just about to replace it (hopefully) with a tbird, so although I've reduced it's lifespan, it hasn't actually affected me.

Just be careful - your hardware will generally let you know that it is unhappy by becoming unstable long before you reach the point of frying it. Chips that can run 1gig stably can normally POST at 1.05-1.1gigs, maybe more, and that doesn't kill them. Look after your comp, and it will be happy :)

[Jetset]

Thanks for your help

[Drax]

Yes, like the man said, be careful. Heat is the primary danger, and with serious overclocking comes serious heat. Heat that can cook an egg in seconds. Heat over which you could hang-glide indefinitely. Heat which cause the spontaneous combustion of your house! Heat which could kill your CPU!!