New to Overclocking

[mikeny]

Im running a gaming system:

E6300 with stock fan
Gigabyte-DS3
Saphire x1900xtx
SB X-FI XM edition
x16 DL DVD-RW w/ Lightscribe
2x WD SATA II 3.0 g/s 250GB HD's
Aerocool ExtremEngine 3T (2 huge fans---1 in front, 1 exhaust on side)
2GB crosair xms2 edition ddr2-675 ( I have 4GB but one stick malfunctioned)

Im new to o/c. How much can I push my system and the main question, how in the world do I o/c? Is it easy? How can I monitor my system. Im guessing with my luck, my system will explode which would be bad. Is it worth it with a x1900xtx? I was thinking of going to Q6600 or Penryn (with penryn supported mobo) and a 8800GT

 

[cnumartyr]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/240001-29-howto-overclock-quads-duals-guide

I'd suggest reading that first.

Unless you are benchmarking or noticing a lack of FPS in games I wouldn't overclock the video card. I would only overclock the system if you want to do whatever you do with your computer a bit faster.

Also.. no rear exhaust? OCing isn't hard, just takes some knowledge.

 

[itotallybelieveyou]

Get a aftermarket fan to start with

 

[mikeny]

Thanx for the link, ill take a look at it. No I wasnt going to overclock my video card. I have it set to "unlock video card" anyway. This setting kind of lets my card determine if a little more is needed. I dont do FPS's so my card doesnt run hot anyway. Im mainly a strategy, role playing, simulation, tycoon gaming person with the itch to go back to MMORPG. Im going to get Simcities Society Thursday.
What I mean is, should I o/c my E6300? Will it give me a performance gain with my x1900xtx? I was checking out the E6850, Q6600 and Penryn. Part of me wants to build a monster machine lol.

 

[yamahazr]

get a branded power supply..try to push at 2.4ghz