More and more PCs are being sold pre-overclocked, and it's not hard to see why. Not only is it desirable to squeeze extra performance from your machine, but the job is now arguably easier. Cooling systems are more elaborate today, with cases featuring multiple fans to maintain a good airflow.

The latest processors also help, with the benefit of lower thermal envelopes than the previous generation.

An overclocked PC also has extra value on the shop shelf. The components are all specially chosen to deliver the best performance possible, tested and still under warranty, despite being pushed to speeds beyond what they were meant for.

Overclocking was once only the realm of hardware enthusiasts, but now giant IT companies such as Dell are selling overclocked high-end PCs. With a nod from such a big name, overclocked computers are going to be more than a passing trend.

The Infinity SLI 960 is a hardware enthusiast's dream. The Intel E6700 is running happily at 3.1GHz, enough power to push the two GeForce 8800 GTX cards as far as possible. This overclock from 2.66GHz is all the more impressive as it has been achieved with just standard air cooling.

Two hard drives in a RAID 0 stripe provide ample transfer rates to keep the CPU fed with data. With 2GB of DDR2 from OCZ in an Asus P5N32 SLI motherboard, one of the fastest around, there is almost nothing to complain about with this machine's specification.

Going with the flow

It's safe to assume that an overclocked PC will come armed with lots of fans, and Cyberpower doesn't disappoint. The processor fan is a monstrous Thermaltake Big Typhoon cooler, with a 120mm fan sitting atop a giant copper heatsink.

This blows air onto the four 120mm side fans which then push it outside the system. Three more 120mm case fans are installed in the front, back and side to improve airflow, in addition to an 80mm fan at the top and air vent at the bottom.

With all these fans blowing air, as well as those on the GPU and the two hard drives whirring away, this isn't the quietest PC around. However, the airflow is so good in the case that we disconnected the four fans on the side without any temperature problems, instantly reducing the decibel output.