Hi all, could someone explain to me what exactly overclocking means ?

Im not sure if it tweaking your system (using regedit) means overclock or buy a new hardware

how can i overclock my videocard ?

Overclocking means setting your hardware to perform more then it was designed to do.

Some hardware have built in software for over clocking. And there are software to overclock certain hardware. But others may require you to fiddle with your hardware.

Depends on how old and what type of VGA card you are talking about to overclock it and whether it can take it.

The word "clock" refers to the clock of the electronics. The higher the clock speed usually means faster hardware. By rasing the speed of the clock (more clocks per second) means the hardware will work faster. However a higher clock rate also means more heat being developed. And heat kills electric components. And the hardware may not even be able to work properly with the higher clock speed.

The clock is measured in Hz (Hertz).

Overclocking is fun and perfectly safe as long as you don't get a significantly increase in heat development.

Regards,

Nimbus

On this subject, I disagree with overclocking its dangerous, it voids the warrenty to the hardware your overclocking and generates more heat, stress, and problems then its worth.  If taking your pentium 9 and overclocking it by 25 mghz is your idea of a worth while strain on hardware then you dont deserve the system, especially if your just a gamer. 

However whatis.com has a great diff of it...

"overclocking

Overclocking is resetting your computer so that the microprocessor runs faster than the manufacturer-specified speed (for example, setting an Intel 166 MHz (megahertz) microprocessor to run at 200 Mhz). Somewhat surprisingly, this is possible. However, it's more likely to work with an Intel microprocessor than with those of other manufacturers because, according to Tom's Hardware Guide, Intel labels the speed of its microprocessors more conservatively.

Factors that favor your ability to successfully "upgrade by resetting" include (in addition to having an Intel microprocessor): having a well-designed motherboard with a fast enough bus and having a fan or other cooling device that will keep your system cool enough.

The procedure for "overclocking" depends on your combination of factors. The first and most commonly applicable step is to reset your computer's bus speed. The microprocessor is often able to adjust successfully to a slightly higher bus speed. Resetting the bus speed may require resetting jumpers inside your computer. In newer systems with SoftMenu BIOS, the bus speed can be set through your system setup interface."

On this subject, I disagree with overclocking its dangerous, it voids the warrenty to the hardware your overclocking and generates more heat, stress, and problems then its worth.

[/QUOTE]

Not quite true. I've talked with a number of "hardcore" Oc'ers. Some of them have actually achieved som pretty impressive improvements that would cost much more money if they were to buy a nonOC'ed equivalent system. It's true that the extra heat developed isn't good - it kills the hardware. However "hardcore" Oc'ers invest in new and much better cooling systems and go for the "right" oc hardware. This may sound expensive.... and it is but sometimes it can still be done cheaper than by buying "original" faster hardware. However all this isn't something for newbies - you have to know loads of stuff about specific hardware. Be carefull though: P=U^2 / R so increasing the voltage means a heck of a lot of heat.

It doesn't nescessarily void the warranty. In most cases it's pretty much close to impossible to see if a cpu has been OC'ed.

I'm no "hardcore" oc'er. I've increased my 2000+ to run somewhere around a 2200+. Little faster fsb. The increase in heat is not noticeable on the cpu. It may be noticable on hardware such as the memory, but what the heck - I'm running with my case open all the time. I've even been called a wimp by other Oc'ers

Regards,

Nimbus

I have AMD ATLHON THUNDERBIRD microprocessor

is it a good microprocessor to overclock ?

Not really, the benefits would be slim to none.

Nimbus1951, I understand what you mean overclocking can be very useful but as you say these are "Hardcore oc's" and that means they poor thousands of dollars into the latest technology and water\liquid oxygen cooled systems.  If you can afford to deep-freeze your CPU then you should probably just upgrade.  Plus it does void the warrenty.