What happens if I overclock a processor?

[Madhulika]

I was thinking that what will happen if I overclock the processor of my computer system. Actually I do not want the answer to this query in technical terms of FSB (Front Side Bus) and QPI (QuickPath Interconnect). I want to know the answer to this query in simple words of basic concepts. By overclocking the processor are we increasing the frequency, and in which manner the power and frequency related. I will be waiting for the related replies.

[Hockson]

Electricity is consumed when the CPU (Central Processing Unit) pulses. More pulsing of CPU means the consumption of more electricity. If you increase the voltage the more heat will be generated for each pulse. The increase in the frequency gives the faster performance. For getting the higher frequency you have to raise the voltage. That will affect the state change time of transistors. Higher the voltage amount the faster will be the state change.

[Viceman]

Power is linked to the consumption of voltage and increase in frequency. Overcloking the processor will increase the amount of heat produced and the power consumed by the CPU. If I define the power in simple formula then it will be like this
P = C.F.V^2
Where
P represents power
C represents capacitance
F represents the switching frequency
V represents the amount of voltage.
(.) represents the product or multiplication.
When you are overclocking the processor then it increases the frequency. For achieving the increase in the frequency there has to be increase in the voltage. And this results in the increase of heat and consumption of power.

[SUpER CoP]

I will try to explain you in the simple word possible.
Assume your central processing unit as analog water wheel. Now consider the spinning of wheel as the frequency, and the flow of water as the amount of voltage. Now if you want the wheel to spin faster than you has to increase the amount of water flow. So that the wheel can do the more work or can generate more power. Now if you supply more water than the capacity of the wheel than it will not do the more work but will be dangerous and can possible damage the wheel. So you have to maintain the balance between the two.

[JAMES_911]

According to me electricity is not pulsing, the states of switches. Normally the electricity flow through circuits and it is used to change the state of transistor. Now if we consider this Voltage and frequencies are not correlated to each other. Increasing the voltage means increasing the power draw in all the electronic circuits and increasing in the frequency also does the same. Voltage and frequency are independent variable in such situations. According to voltage is related to frequency for determining what the real world maintainable frequency is.