Here's a short compilation of links to get you started on your overclocking adventure. Just remember that adding voltage to your parts, and running things faster -- will create more heat -- and heat is your enemy. Increased heat degrades performance, stability, and the life span of your parts. Remember that stock cooling sucks -- but it especially sucks for overclocking. Get acquainted with water cooling, or spend some money on a nice aftermarket heatsink/fan combo. And one last thing, overclocking generally voids the warranty on all involved parts. Can the manufacturer really know if it was an overclocking experiment gone awry, that fried your motherboard? Hard to tell, but don't say I didn't warn you.


CPU and Ram Overclocking

Prime95 - Stress Testing. Use Blend test for stability testing. 8 Hours is considered rock solid stable.
http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

SP2004 - Stress testing. Basically runs the Blend test from prime95.
http://sp2004.fre3.com/download.htm

Memtest86 - Outside Windows Stability Testing. Use tests #5 or #8. Finish 3-4 hours for stability.
http://www.memtest86.com/#download0

Memtest Windows - Windows based Ram Stability Test.
http://hcidesign.com/memtest/download.html

ClockGen - Windows based Overclocking for NVIDIA boards
http://www.cpuid.org/clockgen.php

CPUz - PC information (CPU, Ram, Mobo, etc.)
http://www.cpuid.org/cpuz.php

A64 Tweaker - (allows windows based ram setting changes) A64 ONLY.
http://www.short-media.com/download.php?d=455

MemSet - Ram setting utility - just don't try and change CAS in windows.
http://perso.orange.fr/Tweak-and-Soft/D ... MemSet.exe

Hardware Monitor - Monitors Voltage, fan speeds, and temperatures.
http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor

Core Temp - Monitors CPU's on die temperatures.
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

Realtemp - Intel CPU temp monitoring tool.
http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/

SysTool - Windows based overclocking & tweaking utility.
http://www.techpowerup.com/systool/

BIOS Optimization Guide - Wonder wtf that thing in BIOS does? Look it up.
http://techarp.com/show.aspx?fileID=18

Graphic Card Utilities

Riva Tuner - Graphics Overclocking Utility - Does soft modding to some cards.
http://www.guru3d.com/rivatuner/

ATI Tool - Graphics Overclocking Utility. Skip the USELESS auto OCing and Artifact scanner.
http://www.techpowerup.com/atitool/

RadLinker - Overclocking Utility for Radeons
http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=609

RTHDRIBL - Real Time High Dynamic Range Image-Based Lighting. Use this to stress test and to check for artifacts.
http://www.daionet.gr.jp/~masa/rthdribl/#Download

GPUZ - Like CPUZ, only for your video card.
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

Remember not to overdo the OC and don't sacrifice stability for speed!