well you must understand that you are the exception to the average person, you get good information on the known limits that work well and dont push your system more than that. the OP would do well with someone like you to help him but the reason i feel the way i do is that the vast majority of people dont have someone like you around to help them.

i live by the golden rule that given half a chance the average person will manage to screw something up most of the time and i give advice based on that premis.

as Diopos said most people dont even clean the dust out of their systems much less have the due diligence to monitor their systems properly.

with all due respect i still feel that overclocking and water cooling are two things that should only be done by experienced to advanced skill level persons.

i understand you have to learn at some point but unless you have one of those experienced to advanced skill level persons there to help you do it, then you are working without a net so to speak and if something goes wrong you wont know it until its too late.

im sure with proper precautions it could be done with little chance of something going wrong but i would feel very bad if someone ruined their computer trying to overclock it because i said they should give it a try.

Also understand that water cooling is an expensive proposition--more expensive than just buying faster equipment. Overclocking is a hobby like racing cars. You don't do it to save money, you do it because you love testing the limits of your hardware.

Since overclocking is an irrational thing, there is no way to talk about it rationally. You either love it and commit resources to doing it or you don't. If you fry something once in awhile or spend $300 making an upgrade that you could have bettered the speed for half of that, it is for the love of the hobby. No risk, no glory. Insane speed ahead!