Anyone overclock their computers?

I used to overclock a lot when I had the some high end tech for the time . But when that stuff started showing some age and overheating when running some high end games like MW2, I turned the settings down to normal did not notice much of a difference

I am not doing any overclocking right now for the cpu. I can give you advice on good cpu coolers that I was looking at. Ask someone else on the forum.
 
I overclocked the ram to 1600Mhz, which was easy. I am also good at overclocking the gpu, I can give you advice on overclocking the gpu, i've been doing it for years.  
 
It would help to know your cpu's clock core and what videocard your using, however i'm not sure if you can overclock a mac.  I'm good at overclocking a gpu, I know everything there is to know about overclocking it, I can give you advice.
 
Here is a result i'm very proud of, the gtx460 1gb sure overclocks very well. I even got my framerates for crysis benchmark to 54 frames averagely for only one gpu. I brought the power past a HD5850.
 

In general overclocking will not result in a huge gain in performance. Saying not to ask for specs makes this thread pointless, because each CPU/GPU combo responds differently to increased clock speeds.

I have an overclocked Core 2 Duo. It's stock 2.4GHz and running at 3.2GHz. This chip is CPU enouch for any game on the market, but until I upgraded my 8800GTS to a GTX 460 I wasn't able to play at a higher quality setting. Video cards will generally give very small gains in fps for very high overclocks. GPUs in my experience also tend to die faster with overclocking than.

Of couse, as with everything, your mileage may vary. And my advice is try overclocking, don't expect miracles, and upgrade your video card. You don't need a whole new rig, if you have a C2D just get a new video card.

Oh, also, my Core 2 Duo is running on the stock cooler with that overclock. You don't necessarily need a new cooler, just dust out the one you got.

Back when CPUs ran at 200Mhz and you could overclock an extra 33-66Mhz out of it, it was worth it. Nowadays with CPUs 3Ghz+ and getting only a few hundred extra Mhz out of an overclock, it just isn't worth the time. There's a big difference between 200Mhz and 266Mhz, but 3Ghz vs. 3.2 Ghz, not so much.

Most ppl overclocks a i7 to 4.0Ghz and don't you even for a second thing your dual core can compare in framerates since it reduces bottlenecking and is way more powerful. I know i've been comparing scores to my last amd dual core, i'm getting like double or triple more framerates for most benchmarks on my gtx 460. It's just weaker cpus in the past doesn't have alot of room to overclock.  
 
Of course the op should tell use what the cpu is, so we know exactly how much overclocking potential there is.

I only use Macs, and since they are pretty tightly packed in aluminum bodies, I don't think it'd be very good for them. I don't really see a reason to overclock either, I have an i7 processor and 8 gigabytes of RAM which is just fine for me.

Running my i7 920D0 at 3.6ghz
 
Any higher and my temps start to climb and the heat/performance really isn't worth it to me. Running real cool and more importantly rock solid atm.

I have an old ass AMD 5600+ stock at 2.8 but managed to get the fucker up to 3.2ghz stable with a 30 dollar aftermarket fan cooler which supports two fans and keeps it nice and cool. After lots of researching I found that this particular chip (Windsor) overclocks for shit, which is kind of a bummer since I have a ton of headroom on my ram.
 
It did give me a little boost in frames and on 3dmark 06(which is cpu hungry) I went from about 9000 all the way up to around 11500. It really comes down to you upgrading your GPU which will give you a nice sexy bump in framerate as I found overclocking my current GPU (GTX 260) doesn't really add much compared to stock speeds much in terms of performance.
 
Sure makes it run a little hotter though!
 
Bottom line, if you want to do a little overclock, you'll probably be able to get by on stock cooling, but if you want to go balls out crazy, then you are going to need help in the cooling department.
Overclocking is really not as scary as most people make it out to be, but not knowing what you're doing can cause a good amount of damage. Just check those temps and all will be well.

Err, if you have any kind of modern setup you can gain many fps from overclocking. But results will entirely depend on what you are using your computer for. Video editors and other software that encodes or processes large volumes of data will benefit greatly from a CPU overclock. Some games benefit a small amount from CPU overclocking, but the most direct is of course graphics card overclocking. If you have a mid range card you can always push it a little further than higher end ones, because they tend to be simply underclocked versions of more powerful chipsets. If you arent satisfied with your gaming performance, the place to start is overclocking. If you try your best and things dont get much better, then its either time for an upgrade or you need better cooling! 
 
I mean, with my setup, my graphics card is bottlenecked by my CPU at default clockspeed. Results vary widely with overclocking, experiment and see how far you can go. Unless you do something real stupid like set the voltage of something to 240v then you cant damage your computer from doing it. 
Oh yeah, and there arent really any automatic programs to overclock for you, because every computer has a different limit; the easiest program i know for manual configuration are MSI afterburner for your graphics card - but stick to your bios for CPU and ram overclocks as software for that stuff tends to be unstable as hell. 
 
EDIT: Turning into a long post  
@NoTicket said:

"In general overclocking will not result in a huge gain in performance. Saying not to ask for specs makes this thread pointless, because each CPU/GPU combo responds differently to increased clock speeds.I have an overclocked Core 2 Duo. It's stock 2.4GHz and running at 3.2GHz. This chip is CPU enouch for any game on the market, but until I upgraded my 8800GTS to a GTX 460 I wasn't able to play at a higher quality setting. Video cards will generally give very small gains in fps for very high overclocks. GPUs in my experience also tend to die faster with overclocking than.Of couse, as with everything, your mileage may vary. And my advice is try overclocking, don't expect miracles, and upgrade your video card. You don't need a whole new rig, if you have a C2D just get a new video card.Oh, also, my Core 2 Duo is running on the stock cooler with that overclock. You don't necessarily need a new cooler, just dust out the one you got. "

i overclock my GPU a little bit. there is a program from Nvidia/ Evga that i use from time to time. i don't notice anything.

The reason why ppl didn't get much results from overclocking their gpu is because their cpu, amd cpus are too weak and regardless you are bottlenecked. I mean it's like adding a turbokit to a crappy engine, that's why there isn't much results. I did that with my amd dual core and a gtx460, you hit a brickwall. Then when I went with the i7, i'm now getting enough extra frames out of overclocking. It's not about the Ghz, make sure it's not low of course, it's about the power of the cpu which reduces bottlenecking. If you don't have the power to begin with, how do you think your adding more framerates with a weaker cpu? That's all i'm saying, i've been there.

 Video cards dont die faster if you overclock them, volt modding them to acceptable levels wont shorten their life either.

i5 750 @ 3.2ghz (160BCLK - 1600Mhz DDR3)
 
and on occasion
 
i5 750 @ 4.2ghz (200BCLK - 2000Mhz DDR3)
 
People who tell you not to overclock because there's no benefit are speaking from their bumholes.

In modern consumer electronic devices, ICs rarely fail due to electromigration effects. This is because proper semiconductor design practices incorporate the effects of electromigration into the IC's layout. Nearly all IC design houses use automated EDA tools to check and correct electromigration problems at the transistor layout-level. When operated within the manufacturer's specified temperature and voltage range, a properly designed IC device is more likely to fail from other (environmental) causes, such as cumulative damage from gamma-ray bombardment.    

   

Overclocking can provide massive benefits depending on how its done but uh
 
It all comes with a price *gulp*
Do you smell the stench of burning circuit boards?!

    The manufacturers specified voltage range of any graphics card will be well within any kind of overvolting someone would want to do.

Currently OCing my Q9550 from 2.83ghz to 3.60ghz.

 I'm only a first year in CS-ENG. "

" @Praab_NZ said:

    The manufacturers specified voltage range of any graphics card will be well within any kind of overvolting someone would want to do.

Admittedly I've been retired since 2002 so I don't know if things have changed, but used to the product that failed to operate properly at higher speeds/voltage was simply downclocked/downvolted and sold as a lesser-tier item. i.e. TI 4400 dies would be the dies that failed to operate at TI 4600 speeds/voltage, and TI 4200 dies would be the ones that couldn't even achieve TI 4400 speeds. "

From my experience anything past 3.4Ghz on Intel CPUs and anything past 4Ghz on AMD CPUs is diminishing returns in games; you'll be using a lot more power and creating a lot more heat for only a minor performance difference, if that. Most games are GPU dependent anyway, so OCing your processor isn't very effective unless you play mainly RTS, or are handling 3 graphics cards or above. For your particular CPU however, it could use some OCing - anything under 2.9-3Ghz is a bit low for an AMD CPU. 
 
OCing GPUs is much more worthwhile, and you can do so with programs such as EVGA precision or MSI Afterburner. For your particular GPU however, I would say that there would be little benefit in OCing since improving performance on a weak (sorry, but it's the truth) GPU doesn't yield much.  
 
OCing memory has little to no effect in games. Adjusting the timings is much more rewarding, but again, most games are GPU dependent so if you get any performance increase with adjusting timings, it will usually be superfluous anyway. 
 
As to the overall "danger" of overclocking, the key is to read guides on how to do it and find working settings from some reputable sources. Then make very slight shifts and test for stability with programs like Furmark or Prime95, constantly watching over temperatures as you do so. Overclocking is rather easy once you know how to do it for your particular platform and board, but a little nerve-wracking the first couple times. One of the key things to keep in mind though regardless of what you're overclocking is that increased voltage results in an almost exponential increase in heat and power consumption as you go up beyond its default. It will be your primary source of heat, and thus instability, so be very careful in adjusting voltages.  
 
Note that overclocking any component will inevitably decrease its lifespan. Most PC components are rated to run for about ~10 years under normal use, heavily OCing a component could reduce it to 5, or even 3 depending on the overclock, the quality of the component, and how well it's cooled (most enthusiasts overclock anyway since they're always upgrading their machines and thus have no use for long component lifespans).  
 
 Edit: I just noticed your 300W power supply. I would actually recommend not OCing anything for your system, a 300W PSU from Gateway can't possibly have strong enough rails to do it. From the specs given this seems like an office PC, therefore its gaming abilities are naturally limited. 

Upgrading the cpu to a faster cpu might give you more benefit than overclocking your gpu, your framerates will increase when it stops bottlenecking your card so much.

I honestly don't think you will get more than a few framerates in the current state of your cpu.