Is overclocking dangerous for your parts?

I would like to build a new computer. I listed the parts, but I was told that it would run better if I overclocked it. To be frank, I dont really know how. I know in general it will void any warranties, which isn't a real concern unless it is detremental to the parts. How risky is it? Would it be something that is easy to learn?



Motherboard: SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as…



Processor: Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as…



Video Card: 640M GeForce 8800GTS 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as…



RAM: 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as…



Hard Drive: 7200.9 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as…|||If you don't know what you are doing yeah....

but you don't really need to.|||I'm actually new to overclocking myself as I never have tried out that aspect of computers yet, although I've been looking into it for a new machine I am building.



From what I've learned, it's not too risky and usually won't cause any real damage. The main thing is watch out how much voltage you add to the parts as you bump everything up - too much and you can leave problems.



Other things like overheating may cause temporary problems, but from what I've read most modern parts have safety precautions for that and will shut down / slow down before things get too hot.



I will be watching this though as I'm interested. I have an intel 6600 that I ordered that I will be playing with.



Edit: And yes, other than changing voltage to the parts (which you will need as you bump up the bus, etc) you should keep an eye on the heating issue. Like I said, modern parts should shut down before they are fried, but as you overclock you will want to keep them from getting there. (processor should stay between 30-70 degrees celcius or so usually). A good case is often overlooked for cooling, and you can also invest in better fans and cpu coolers. There are plenty of motherboard monitors to download for free to keep track of all this info (temp, voltage, etc) and it is in the BIOS as well.|||Some people might overclock their systems but I really wouldn't it's basically like trying to push 140 mph on a car when it says it can only handle 120 mph it WILL make your parts wear out a lot faster and if you do that make sure you have a lot of fans inside it b/c it makes the computer reallly reallly hotter than normal thus risking burning up your PC.....not a good idea.|||Yes over clocking can hurt your parts. Overclocking is basically telling your processor to run faster than the factory settings allow it to, yes it will make your computer run faster but it also makes it a lot hotter and the cooler your system is the better it will run and the less damage it will do to your parts.

If you want to get more for less (more power to you) then yes you can overclock your computer and it will run faster but you are taking the risk that it could break it. If you decide to do it then you need to make sure your computer has an overly excessive cooling system - fans basically.|||overclocking can be good. but it canbe dangerous. i am buying a computer just like yours at the moment. same videocard and 2 gig of ram, slightly worse HDD and videocard though. what i'm going to do is overclock in a few years when i feel the parts are too outdated. that way if they break its no big deal, but if it works out well, i wont need to upgrade for a while longer! your videocard is overclockable as well, which is definitly a good thing.