A popular activity undertaken by many PC hobbyists is the process of overclocking.
This refers to running hardware above its standard and rated speed specifications in order
to increase performance. I don't think overclocking makes sense for most people.
Overclocking a PC inherently reduces the reliability of virtually every part of the
system. Since a PC is interconnected, and overclocking usually affects key components such
as the system processor and the motherboard, in some ways everything in the system is
involved. When overclocking involves running just the CPU at a higher speed, it has little
direct reliability effect on the storage subsystem. However, when overclocking
the system bus, reliability concerns with hard drives often come into play. Overclocking
the PCI bus upon which the IDE/ATA interface runs can cause IDE hard disks to behave
spuriously. Since most SCSI host adapters also run on the PCI bus, they can also behave
strangely if the PCI bus is run faster than its normal speed.
How a particular hard disk will react to overclocking is not easy to determine, and
like most overclocking activities, requires trial and error. It also depends on how far
you are pushing things, and especially, on the type of motherboard you are using and its
integrated hard disk controller. However while it is true that "your mileage may
vary", as the saying goes, it is also the case that some hard disk brands and models
take to overclocking more than others. Research on any of the hundreds of overclocking
sites, newsgroups and other resources can help you decide on a suitable drive if
overclocking is one of your priorities.
Next: Diagnostic Software
