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» MEDIA (1) Enjoying some \"OC Juice\" south of the border...not advised

Intro

To some, overclocking is a superfluous and trivial. To others, it's a hobby. Some say it's an art and I'd say they're probably right. Still, to most of us out there, it's a necessity. It's in our human nature really. Humans, for the most part, like to bring out the best in things--to pursue excellence, to get the best "bang for the buck", which is essentially what overclocking is all about. The ancient Greeks came up with the cardinal virtues. Adam Smith expounded upon the "invisible hand" and the role of the free market in his book The Wealth of Nations. Victor Maslow put it at the top of his hierarchy of needs as "self-actualization". All these things inform us that overclocking, at its heart, is really nothing new, but rather a new expression of what it means to be fully human.

That being said, overclocking just like anything else worthwhile (i.e. becoming a virtuous person), takes practice and perseverence. For those reading this that are willing to make this investment, I encourage you to read on. For those of you who are not, I send you back to your insipid lives of mediocrity.

Step I: Start with quality hardware

A prerequisite to successful overclocking is quality hardware. A good PSU, motherboard (from Gigabyte of course), and RAM (from OCZ of course) are all necessary to do any sort of real overclocking.

Step II: the OC Juice!!!

To begin any overclocking endeavor, I have to begin by selecting a suitable "OC Juice". This usually takes the form of a malted wheat or barley beverage with some hops in it (refer to picture). I find one or two OC juices in my system really helps with the relaxation, mental dexterity, and "out-of-of-the-box" thinking necessary for a successful OC venture. For those of you who aren't of legal age, a caffeinated drink might do for a second-place substitute.

Regardless, selecting a good OC juice is important. You may want to keep in mind the possibility of needing to add it to your liquid cooling loop, should an emergency come up. With this in mind, certain beverages have better thermal properties than others. Dark (sometimes labeled dünkel) and amber ales are not very suitable. Pilsners and lighter beers are generally better, however, you should not be deceived by beverages that have the word 'Ice' or 'Frost' in them (i.e. Natural Ice, Bud Ice, Smirnoff Ice, or the Frost brewed liner tagline). This is solely a marketing ploy and will not necessarily lead to better thermal properties. Do not sacrifice bad taste for one of these marketing ploys. On the extreme of bad taste, though, I have found that Natural Light makes a decent coolant due to the fact that it shares many properties with common anti-freeze. I find wheat beers, such as Blue Moon, or Boulevard Wheat to be pretty good on all accounts.

**Note: in the picture you may discern the label "Negra Modelo" and mistakenly infer that this is an OC Juice of choice. First off, it's a dark beer. Also, if you look further you will see clues that indicate this photo was taken south of the border meaning equatorial ambient temperatures which are not suitable for overclocking.**

Step III: Find a cool environment

It's a no brainer, but you shouldn't be trying to overclock in a hot place. Heat = bad. Not only should the environment be cool temperature-wise, but you should also feel comfortable and relaxed in it, and it should inspire you to greatness. Maybe a poster of a team of kayakers approaching a waterfall with some inspirational saying below it would help out. It's all about you here.

Step IV: Crank up the voltage!!!

Here's where the OC begins. Crank up the voltage in your motherboard's bios to your max comfort level, given your hardware, OC conditions, cooling solution, and OC juice selection/consumption level. You will go about attaining the max clock speeds based on this voltage level.

Step V: Tweak clock speeds

Start experimenting with bus frequency and multiplier settings until your clock becomes unstable under torture testing with a program like Prime 95, then back them down to the last stable settings. Here, you may benefit from researching forums and reviews to find out what others have attained with similar hardware, voltage levels and cooling. This can be a point of reference.

Step VI: Tweak memory speeds

When finding max CPU clock, it's best to keep memory at lower speeds with loose timings. After you find your max CPU clock, then you can tweak memory speeds and tighten up the timings. It's best to isolate the OC variables and approach them one at a time. Again, keep testing to find out what works and what doesn't.

Step VII: Finalize testing and admire results

This is where the reward comes in. After you've achieved stability you're OC work is done. Admire your work and enjoy the added efficiency/bragging rights your work has entitled you to. This is also where you could crack open another OC juice in celebration.

Conclusion

So there you have it. While this is just a cursory guide, I hope it inspires you to learn more and push the envelope with your hardware and above all, over clock your way to being a better person.