what is an overclocked pc?

Custom Computer systems are now one of the most sort after custom made items in the world. That’s kind of a strong statement to make but take this into consideration. Everybody nowadays uses a PC. Schools, Business’s, Home Users, The Government, Hospitals, Police Departments…everybody.

What defines a Custom Computer?

A Custom Computer is a system that has been specifically made for a purpose.

In the domestic market, the most popular of its kind is…a Gaming Computer, known in the scene as a (Gaming Rig) and this is what we’re going to concentrate on in this article.

In the business market, lots of business have budgets and physical space requirements, so often have batches of computers made to fit monetary budgets, or systems built with space saving in mind, as you’ll find a lot of business owners will agree on the same thing “Space, is a premium”

Another aspect of the business market, are the power workstation users. These are the kind of the businesses that use PCs in such a way, that require immense hardware power. 3D Modelling, Architects, CAD, Video Editing, Professional Photography Houses, Game Programmers use professional ‘workstations’ to fulfill their objectives.

What doesn’t define a machine as a Custom Computer?

A computer that has merely been purchased as is on a budget from a high street retailer or online e-tailor. You may find many retailers advertising their high end ‘Gaming Systems’ as custom articles, indeed they most likely are as you’ll be able to ring them up and specify what you would like. However, lower end pre-set items, are not custom.

Upgraded computers are not necessarily custom, as most upgrades are purely done to improve speed a bit to help the user. However, if you were to upgrade the PC for a common purpose, i.e you had an old PC used for internet browsing and you wanted to upgrade it so that it could play the latest games, then you would be indeed customising your PC. To be a true custom computer though, you’d have to change the case, include UV reactive cables, fans and a whole host of other options I’m going to talk about in a moment.

What does a Custom Computer comprise of?

As mentioned, we’re going to focus on Gaming Computers. Included is usually:

An Overclocked Dual or Quad-Core Processor from AMD or Intel.

Crossfire Graphics from ATi, or SLi Graphics from Nvidia (sometimes Overclocked too)

An OS (Operating System) Hard Drive, running on SATAII

A Storage Hard Drive, running on SATA II

Quite often, users RAID their hard drives, so that load times, or efficiency are improved. RAID is a complex subject and would need a whole article of it’s own to really go through the ins and outs.

Highly Clocked DDR2 Ram, with a low latency.

A Motherboard that has a BIOS that is easily tuneable but more important, stable under Overclocking procedures.

Usually, these days this kind of user has more than one OS installed. Typically today, they choose Vista and XP, some like to take it further and have Linux and even MAC OS! (Yes, you can install MAC OS on a standard PC these days)

Finally, a really really cool case. They tend to usually consist of an Acrylic window, with a custom design so that you can see inside. Many cables and fans inside custom computers are UV Reactive, so ‘Neon Tubes’ are used to create an amazing view inside the PC case.

Cooling: Air-Cooled is the conventional way of keeping the components inside the PC at a steady temperature, the trouble is, it’s not all that efficient when you have ‘Overclocked’ components, so ‘Liquid-Cooling’ is used in cases where the user wants ultimate performance and a quiet PC.

Can you build your own ‘Custom Computer’?

Yes, you can. The trouble is, is that you won’t get the same machine if you build it yourself, as one that you can buy from an experienced builder. I know for a fact that companies specialising in putting together Custom Computers will be at the forefront of technology, harnessing the latest technology, the latest information, with access to products, techniques, ideas that the common man, most definitely won’t have access to. So I would recommend, unless you are prepared to do LOTS of research or you are an expert yourself in which case you probably wouldn’t be reading this article anyway, you leave your new Custom Computer in the hands of experienced professionals.

Many thanks for reading.