Most people overclock out of thrift, and the satisfaction of pushing the hardware's limits. These people (myself included) are out to purchase the slower (and less expensive) hardware to yield better performance than their higher-priced equivalent. Example: Say I buy the AMD 3700+ San Diego core processor (2.2 GHz with 1MB cache multiplier locked at 11) at a price of $233. I get it home and I overclock it to 2.6 GHz, which is the equivalent of an AMD FX-55 San Diego (2.6 GHz 1MB Cache unlocked multiplier) at a price of $811... I just saved my self $578 Now let's get some better cooling, like water, peltier, or vapor chill and clock it to 2.8 GHz. That is the equivalent of an AMD FX-57 (2.8 1MB cache unlocked multiplier) at $1,011.