Processors today are marketed solely by their clock speed. The laptop used to write this article… Processors today are marketed solely by their clock speed. The laptop used to write this article is an Intel Core 2 Duo running at 2.4 gigahertz. Simply put, the clock speed is the heartbeat of the computer. The rating of the processor in any given computer is not the end-all-be-all of that machine’s performance, though. Commonly, processors can perform at a higher clock rate. Higher clock rates do not always guarantee better performance, but they often help. ‘ ‘ ‘ Processor manufacturing is, surprisingly, a rather hit-or-miss endeavor. Out of a batch of processors, many have errors. Some are not capable of running reliably at the frequency, or clock speed, for which they were originally intended. Others may not work perfectly at their recommended clock speeds but could, for general use, be very reliable.’ ‘ ‘ Processors that are iffy are often sold as lower-end processors ‘mdash; such as the Intel Celeron ‘mdash; or are simply sold to run at a lower clock rate. All processors are sold to run at a clock speed that has been determined to be extremely reliable.’ ‘ Where does this leave you? It leaves you with some experimentation. Your machine could have its clock rate increased moderately, possibly squeezing out a little bit more performance, while not impacting its overall reliability. This practice, called overclocking, has become significantly easier as computer BIOs and motherboard technology have become more advanced. Overclocking can be accomplished without any practical hardware background. ‘ ‘ How is this feat of hacker engineering accomplished? As with most things in the computer world, it depends on your CPU and your CPU’s manufacturer. Some older motherboards require some jumper settings to be changed. In other words, you are required to open up your computer and rearrange some simple connections. A simple pair of tweezers can replace jumpers. Other motherboard manufacturers have written software to take care of the processor specifications and have integrated them with the computer’s BIOs, the piece of software that displays the manufacturer’s logo when you first turn your computer on. The software requires only that you boot into your BIOS ‘mdash; usually by pressing F2 when the computer is booting ‘mdash; and change some settings on the screen. You may need to take into account multipliers. Multipliers are a property of your processor and motherboard that dictates the ratio of the processor’s clock speed to the speed at which the rest of your processor’s Front Side Bus or FSB runs. The FSB handles communications between the processor and the rest of your motherboard’s circuitry. Many modern processors will not overclock successfully unless their multiplier settings are changed. Once again, depending on the motherboard, multiplier settings can be changed using jumpers on the motherboard itself or through software in the BIOs. The only major danger of simple overclocking is heat. As a processor increases its clock rate, it does more per secondand heats up. If a computer was designed to run a 1.0 gigahertz processor, its cooling system may be unable to handle the processor when it is overclocked to 1.2 gigahertz. If you have any concerns over cooling, add a fan to your computer or look into buying a larger heat sink to fit over the processor. Overclocking in general can give you some performance gains. If done right and in the right environment, a machine can be made to run significantly faster than originally intended. Additional information on overclocking can be found on the Internet. There are articles that will walk you through the exact steps necessary to overclock a computer successfully. If you are the user of a pre-built industry computer, such as a Dell or a Gateway, there may even be step-by-step tutorials for your exact computer and processor model. Just remember: Don’t push your computer too hard, and make sure your computer gets enough air.