Which operating system is good for overclocking

I am having an old system and I wanted to know if overclocking the same will hamper it or boost its performance. I am very new to overclocking and I don’t have much idea about the same but I have heard that overclocking helps in boosting computer performance. Currently I am running windows xp and I want to know if I will have to update it to windows 7 for overclocking the system?? My friends say that xp is not good for overclocking is it really so? If yes then which operating system is good for overclocking?? Is there anyone who can help me out with these queries??

I don’t think that, Overclocking is not concerned with the operating system you are using but it depends on the components that you are using like video card, processor and power supply. As far as harm is concerned, too much overclocking will definitely harm your computer but when done smartly, it will help in boosting the performance of your system. You can carry out overclocking on system running on windows xp, windows 7 as well as until they have the components that can be overclocked. Just let me know the components of your computer so that I can have a better idea of the same and will help you with the possible solution overclocking it.

You can use the below software’s for the overclocking purpose, they are the best ones:

• CPUZ and GPUZ
• AMD Overdrive
• Intel Desktop Control Center
• Motherboard tools
• MemSet and CPU-Tweaker
• SetFSB
• Official graphics overclocking
• Riva Tuner

My system specifications are as followed:
Intel Core 2 quad 2.4 gghz
2 gig ram
onboard video and sound
basic dvd burner
500 gig hd
I don’t have much idea about the software’s mentioned so can you explain me how I have to use them?? Further help regarding the same will be highly appreciated.

If you are very new to overclocking then go through the below threads, you will get a better idea regarding it.
Tips to overclock GPU
Tips to overclock for games
Tips for a slight overclock (ram + fan)
How to overclock RAM and CPU separately?
Just check them out and see if you are getting help from them, if you have any issues with the same then let me know I will surely try to help you with it.

In that case you can try overclocking your Intel Core 2 quad 2.4 gghz, there are a no of softwares for monitoring the cores and temperature while overclocking the same in short you will have to increase the bus speed and CPU speed of the processor over the stock. You can do that from bios as well as using third party tools. Make sure that you are increasing increase the CPU speed by 2 MHZ at a time and checking the temp accordingly. You will have to increase the cpu voltage as well and using a good cooler and psu to void overheating. There are a no of guides that will give you brief description of overcloking. You can follow them to be at the safer side, you can overclock your cpu till your system is staying stable. If you go beyond that then you will run in to several issues and might damage the cpu as well.

It is not necessary that you have to CPU speed by 2 MHZ and so but it depends on your processor and the cooling system that you might be having. You can overclock your amd/intel processor from BIOS, overclocking from BIOS is the safest way, I won’t suggest you to use any third part tools for that. For entering the bios you have to press (DEL,F2,F1 or F10) for entering the bios setup utility. After entering the bios you should check out for below settings.

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You can start changing CPU Frequency (mhz) by 5, save the changes, reboot the system and check out if the system is stable. If there are any errors or failure messages then enter the bios again and decrease it by 1 or 2 mhz. max to max overclock your CPU for 0.3 – 0.5 GHZ and not more than that. Once you are done with the same then you can test out the system with PRIME95 to make sure that there are no instabilities. PRIME95 is a tool that will run your system at full speed and will let you know if there is any instability. Other than this you should also make sure that the temperature of your CPU is under 70°C, if it is exceeding then stop overclocking. just give it a try and let me know if you are able to overclock your system successfully or not.