The AGP port hangs directly on the front side bus, allowing a significantly higher speed for the calculation of images, when compared with the PCI bus.
As the need for speed seems insatiable among computer users, some today try to speed up their machines by operating their CPUs at higher speeds than suggested. This practice, known as overclocking, is controversial.
"In individual cases, performance speeds of 10 to 20 per cent higher have been achieved," says Spallek. But overclocking is hardly a cure-all for PCs that are too slow. "Overclocking can overheat the processor and caused a computer to wear out sooner than it otherwise would."
Intel agrees. "Our processors are conceived to run at certain specifications, and we only guarantee functionality under those conditions," says Intel's Anderka. Those who destabilize their systems or destroy their chips by overclocking them have no one to blame but themselves. "A faster computer also crashes faster, and overclocked processors are at the front of the line."
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