Burnt CPU - Prognosis Negative
Various settings within your system's BIOS can be adjusted to overclock you CPU bus speed. This will allow you to run your processor faster than it was intended which can be an extremely dangerous thing to do.. The terrifying result can be an overheated processor that will eventually heat up and actually melt onto your board. The quick fix is to install a larger fan, but overclocking also voids your warranty and there's no quick fix for that.
Overclocking will make your cpu work much harder and the temperature will increase. Then your PC may overheat and become unstable which will cause system crashes. If your overclocked processor does work for a time, its days are probably numbered because electro migration (interconnect failure) will eventually destroy your cpu. Of course it may not happen at all - you may discard the CPU before failure occurs. Over clocking simply raises the odds against your CPU fulfilling its' lifetime duration at a faster pace than intended. Obviously a soon to be replaced computer is a prime candidate for excessive overclocking.
There's also a danger of fire along with the loss of one of the most expensive components in your PC. Not worth it for minimal speed gains in our opinion and that is why we will not attempt to show you how to overclock.
Overclock a New CPU?
Of course there is a sweet spot when overclocking makes sense. Usually processors in the lower range are produced with the same manufacturing process as the CPUs sold in the mid to high range. The higher rated CPUs are factory overclocked and tested, then sold for a premium. Many users will buy the cheaper processor and over clock it to nearly the same speeds of the premium CPUs. This is a great deal if and only if you are lucky enough to get a CPU that just missed the premium cut during initial factory testing. Sometimes, you will be stuck with a CPU that only over clocks slightly above its' rating. The BIOS of your motherboard is the control station for overclocking and many new PCs sold today offer enhanced versions just for the purpose of overclocking.
Today the risk of overclocking seems to be less due to the fact that today's faster processors are carefully designed to reduce overheating - overclockers are using more efficient cooling (larger fans or water cooling) - and with Multi core processing there is less strain on multiple cores compared to the single central core of yesteryear.
A Safer CPU Boost Solution
If you are like most of us, still waiting for PC prices to drop to a lower level, you should consider the addition of extra RAM. Many people do not realize the speed increases associated with extra RAM. It can do wonders for a slow system. Another excellent option is to optimize your PC with special software. This will safely add speed to your computing tasks through optimization. The speed increases will probably be better than any dangerous overclocking and will do so safely by reducing the main bottlenecks within your PC.