So what exactly is overclocking and why would anybody want to do it? Overclocking is the art of pushing your system to the limits; squeezing every last bit of power and performance out of your components. Overclocking is an enthusiast hobby. A good comparative example would be a car enthusiast. Sure, you can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to own some of the fastest cars in the world, but why bother when you can take virtually any car, and make it just as fast with the right modifications for a fraction of the price?