There's no way to get around it: An Overclocker's life, be it frugal or expensive, inventive or acquisitive, will always center around buying new parts. The following is intended as a Beginner's Guide to the selection and purchase of the parts we need to acquire to practice our art and keep our hobby alive and interesting.

Our first step must always be to select the right part. To the beginner having perhaps read an article or two, a review or three, this may seem an easy mark to hit. Not so. Systems are just that, an integral unit - a complete integration. This is simply not possible to achieve in a random manner.

Among all the parts that have to be assembled, perhaps one stands out as the defining element. It will serve as the master equation and determining feature of any system it inhabits. It will define for you the ram to buy, the video and sound cards from which to select. For this reason we call this part the motherboard.

Not all parts will work with the motherboard you select equally well. Parts that receive and deserve excellent reviews when tested on one motherboard simply won't run for beans upon another. Any advanced overclocker can give you a dozen examples.

So the first step in parts selection is deciding upon a motherboard and finding out which parts have an "affinity" with her. For this I recommend not reviews, but rather the Forum! Here you will find ample multitudes of experience, experimentation and cross-checking and referencing.

Spend time learning what the "Winning combinations" are. And remember; half way between your hardware and your software are the great arbiters of performance, the "Drivers". You can learn where to find them, how to install them, and which ones work best in your system, all in the Forum. An Overclocker without a forum is one who must perpetually reinvent the wheel!

For a beginner, an entire month spent in the Forum before spending a dime is NOT too long nor a waste of time. If you're just burning to begin, then consider going to the Forum and asking about commercial systems built by Overclockers for Overclockers who are in a hurry or who have limited time to spend in achieving their goals.

At first it might seem one pays a premium for such a machine. But if one won't or can't spend the time necessary to make a "good beginning", then I strongly recommend buying such a "hand made" and finely tuned system. You will save a fortune in mismatched parts.

Now that we've covered "What" to buy, let's look at "HOW" to buy. Our starting point is price. We want a good deal! But we don't want to be lured by price into being ripped off. Who's honest, who's competent?

First and I do mean only first, go here: www.pricewatch.com. The site is simplicity itself and a true credit to its creators. Here we may find both the lowest prices listed on the net as well as some of the most reputable and disreputable vendors in the business. How do we know one from the other?

Go Here: www.resellerratings.com. This is another forum of sorts - one dedicated to identifying vendors of real merit and well, all the rest. I recommend that you open two browser screens: One set to resellersratings and the second set to Pricewatch; start with the cheapest price you can find for the item you're seeking and then CHECK THE VENDOR OUT!

I look for a vendor with at least 15 respondents and an average of 6.0 on a scale of 7.0. In a pinch I will drop as low as 5.0 but then I want to see at least 30 respondents.

Overclocking can save you a bundled, but a single bad purchase can wipe out those savings in a flash as well as delay your next upgrade. This is a hobby that must show care in the little things - attention to detail and detailed attention. Where these are not forthcoming, you leave yourself wide open to chance.

The more complex a system is, the less likely chance is to favor the reckless. Half of all art is containing chance within the proper form. Here it may become fruitful and make its contribution. Untamed in this manner, it leads inevitably to disaster.

Email Dan