I am an overclocking junkie. Building cheap rigs that perform better than $2,000 PC’s is something I have long had an infatuation for. In fact, my desktop runs an Intel E6600 (2.4 gHz stock) at 3.6 gHz on air cooling. It really is a great little machine.

But for newbie overclockers, the most important thing you can do is get a great toolset for monitoring your system temps, voltages, clock speeds, and everything else.

There are several free applications that I run consistently - whether the PC is overclocked or not. Those are:

• Speedfan and HWMonitor - Both Speedfan and HWMonitor analyze all the temperatures in your machine. Those range from CPU temps to mainboard temps. You can also see case temps and hard drive temperatures as well. But the added bonus of Speedfan is that you can change your computer’s fan speeds at the drop a hat. And the one thing I like to monitor is how air runs through your rig. We all know heat rises - but is it doing that in your computer case?
• CPU-Z - CPU-Z is a great application the monitors clock speeds and voltages. It is also the standard application that you see screenshots taken of in the forums. If you say you built a 4.0 gHz box - you need an image of CPU-Z to prove it. In fact, if I wasn’t on my laptop, I would have included a screenshot of my 3.6 gHz machine with this post :0)
• PCWizard - PCWizard is a recent addition to my overclocking applications list. What PCWizard does is tell you what components you have in your machine. If you only have one computer and you built it from scratch - chances are you know pretty well what is in there. But when you have four computers at home and three more at the office - all hand built - you tend to forget what graphics card is in which setup. This application tells you without making you open up the box!

In an upcoming article, we are going to be looking at burn-in and load testing software. What these applications do is stress test your computer so that you know your overclocked PC is solid enough to stand up to Rainbow 6, BioShock and Crysis. If there is a faulty piece of equipment, or your voltage/speed settings aren’t right - then this software will error out.

Beware though - stress testing with free applications may get expensive (due to component replacement :0) )

Is there anything you rely on for your PC stats? Let us know what your favorite applications are..