There are two types of queries that crop up in the minds of individuals when they first hear about over clocking of hardware. The first category consists of questions that can be summed up in a single sentence – Will over clocking work? The second category consists of questions that can be summed up as – Is over clocking safe? It is important to know which category you belong to before proceeding.
Those in the latter category often end up asking whether they belong to the wrong category or not. Well, there is no such thing as the wrong set of question when you are dealing with overclocking. Sure, you have a defensive approach and would probably be better off not resorting to overclocking or other such activities.
You probably feel that computer manufacturers and hardware manufacturers should be left to tackle the technical changes and that ordinary individual should not mess with these issues. This does not mean that you should stay away from overclocking. This does not mean that overclocking is not the right thing for you. You just have to focus more on safety before you proceed.
On the other hand, those who focus on whether overclocking will work for them on not should be careful not to ignore safety. Just as being ultra defensive does not make sense, being over reckless can leave you with a scrambled hard disk that is not even worth its weight.
The important thing is to strike the right balance. Avoid ideological positions. You are not committing a crime by overclocking your software. On the other hand, do not pretend that it is the most natural thing to do. Overclocking your hardware is no different than hot rodding your car. Great if you do it right but can backfire spectacularly if you behave recklessly.
To understand the right way to proceed, it is important to know which category you belong to. If you are very defensive and conservative at heart, you need to take extra precautions throughout to ensure overclocking does not damage your hardware.