I assembled my current PC on Oct 30th 2006. That’s more than a year ago. I was looking at the possibility of upgrading my processor to a newer one, considering Intel just announced a new affordable CPU - the Core 2 E7200. However, reading through the article, I notice its specs were much lower than my CPU (2.55GHz, 3MB of cache, 1067MHz bus, VT disabled vs 2.8GHz, 4MB of cache, 1600MHz bus, VT enabled).

How is it possible that a CPU I bought more than a year ago outspec the one just announced? Furthermore, the current high end dual-core CPUs max out at the lower end of the 3GHz spectrum - not enough to warrant an upgrade. Typically, you need a close to a GHz of clockspeed to see noticeable performance difference, all else being equal. The answer is simple - I bought my current CPU with overclocking in mind. The official speed is a measly 1.86GHz, 1066MHz bus.

In other words, done properly, overclocking does stretch your ringgit by quite a bit. Of course, the initial investment might be slightly higher - getting a good PSU and CPU fan is a must but in the long run, you save an upgrade cycle.