Beginner's guide to putting some extra zap into the CPU

Ever feel you needed a bit more speed from your processor? Would you like to squeeze a few hundred extra megahertz from your slow CPU? No matter how much you invest in buying a desktop, the sad fact is that within a few months, you will wish you had waited for something faster.

There are, three certainties in life - death, taxes and a slow computer.

The cost of additional fans, replacement power supplies, heat sinks and increasingly sophisticated thermoelectric modules, water or vodka-powered cooling systems can make the cost of a new PC seem a bargain.

But for the typical overclocker, it is not about saving money. For many, it is an end in itself.

If you want to play safe, the first source you should visit for overclocking information is the home page of your computer or motherboard maker. After all, they not only made the machine, they also write and update the drivers. Naturally, this tip does not apply to Intel's motherboard pages.

If you are new to the science of over-clocking, one good starting point is Overclockers.com (www