Should I Over Clock?

Here are my basic specs.

Mobo: ASUS P5N32-E SLI
RAM: Crucial Balistix 2 x 1GB DDR2 800
CPU: Intel Q6600 @ 3.00 (Stock cooling)
GPU: EVGA 8800GTS
PSU: OCZ Game Extreme 700 Wat.
Case: Antec 900
OS: Vista Home Premeum 64-bit

I have never overclocked before so I dont really know what to expect. Some people have said that this is a solid build waiting to be OC'ed. What are the dangers of over clocking? whats the chance of killing something? Would you OC this?

If Guild Wars is all you play then most definitely not. That machine is already ridiculously overpowered for GW, overclocking would not help. Its probably fine even for GW2 :P If you are playing new graphics intensive games (Crysis anyone?) then you could think about it.
The benefits of overclocking are slightly better performance - maximum maybe 20% extra. The downside is shorter component lifespan and if you mess it up really badly, permanently frying your CPU/graphics card. But that's pretty hard to do, most things are easily recoverable from.
Also, OCed components generate more heat and require more power - so make sure you have good cooling before OCing anything, especially the CPU.

DONT EVEN TRY

you dont know what you are doing

you void warranties in most cases

you would never see any difference.

that is mass overkill already

Yeah if you haven't OC'ed yet with old hardware, don't try it on your new rig...what temps do you have in there?

Stock speed for the Q6600 is 2.4 GHz. If your CPU is 3 GHz then it is already overclocked.

Lets see, you have a Quad core CPU, a 8800GTS and 2GB of decent RAM? So I have to ask why do you feel the need to start willy waving, with a rig that is by no where near top-end, by asking if you should overclock?

Here's a question, did you build this system yourself? I'm guessing you didn't and don't even have the slightest idea what OC'ing means apart from using BIOS to 'up' some settings.

lol I did build this myself. I just looked at what would fit in what and a little common sense and I have a fully working comp. This was my first time building a PC. Crysis is the reason I want to OC, but it sounds like I wont need to. Allthough I would like to have max or near max settings.

Oh and about the CPU. I got moxed up. Im using a E6850 @ stock 3.0 ghz.

Thx for your opinions

... can I have a screenshot of your system? I am having trobule believing you!

its pretty believable..though i would also like to see the inside...wanna see his wiring job if this was his first time:P

What do you want a SS of? How do I get to it?

Overclocking is slowing becoming less effective as the actual headroom available is lower and lower in modern CPU's percentage wise.
Take the first OCs long ago when it was still crystal based and 100% overclocks were possible(this is ancient legacy hardware btw)
I don't recommend overclocking to anyone however I do it to every system I have ever owned(and probably ever will just cuz I can). Mild OC'n is easy and its heat that kills solid state hardware...not OCn it. The catch 22 comes when you get to the point where you need to actually raise voltages to get more performance out. As long as your cooling solution is a good one your PC's lifespan will not be impinged whatsoever.
I still have a Socket A Athlon mobile Barton running at 2.7 Ghz that is well over 6 years old.....the fan on it though is a Vantech Tornado and well....its about as quiet as a vacuum cleaner....
If this is your first foray into overclocking then the answer is a loud and resounding NO YOU FOOL!!! Go buy a cheap POS used computer and abuse it, break it, make your learning errors and then, only then, would I recommend doing anything to your main gaming PC.
Careful though, you may get hooked and start doing odd things like modding your graphics cards bios or soldering varistats or rheostats(variable resistors) to allow voltage options that are ...obscene.
Again, if you are new then don't do it. Just don't. Do it to an old pc for shits and giggles only until you KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
Keep in mind it does automatically void any warranties and you really need a solid cooling solution before you even consider it seriously. Not to sound like a pompous prick but attempting it without a solid knowledge base/background is flat out stupidity.
just my 2c.

An answer to your rhetorical question: If I built that pc for a friend then no, I would not OC it. If it's mine then absolutely. It would spend its first few weeks of life running Memtest a ton, then another couple weeks of massive tweaking and Prime95 torture testing. Oh and one last thing....I don't ever touch anything by Microsoft until it has at least one Service pack released.....just my own experience.

I say don't bother. Even for Crysis, I have trouble believing you'll have any troubles at all. The demo is out, and I can run it surprisingly well with an old AMD 64 3400+, 7800GS, and 2GB of RAM, without making it look completely horrible. You may be able to squeeze out a few more FPS by overclocking, but why bother if you're already over 40-60fps?

If you absolutely must overclock, read as much about it online as you possibly can before you even consider trying it. Know what temperatures your system runs at with stock settings until you can recite the numbers in your sleep. Make sure your CPU and GPU have really good quality coolers on them. When you actually go to overclock, go in very slow increments and check stability at each stop.

Crysis will chew up and take a shit on any PC you throw at it right now; it's just a fact for this generation's hardware. Years down the line, there will be hardware capable of maxing it to the extreme.

There's no problem with OCing on your first build (everyone has to start somewhere) - but do your homework. The main issue with OCing isn't even decreasing the life of your parts (although this is a definite possibility if you're not careful), but that your system won't be 100% stable. Stress-testing is fairly reliable, but I've done builds where a solid week of stressing returned no errors, yet I get random BSODs in actual usage until I turn down some clocks.

If Crysis is the reason you want to OC, I think you're going to be disappointed - Crysis currently destroys pretty much any system with the settings turned up. OCing your system will likely be wholly insufficient unless you're playing at low res.

Based on that alone, no. You'll likely damage your rig.

Overclocking is basically not worth the effort unless you just happen to be interested in it. If you're not interested in it as a hobby and/or know very little about the hardware of your computer, don't bother.
Overclocking often results in an unstable system. Sometimes the instability doesn't show up for a while, so you think it's something else. Any time an overclocked system acts up, the first thing to do (to troubleshoot) is to set it back to it's default state.
The extra cooling sytems and/or fans that are used to cool an overclocked system often cost more than simply buying a faster cpu/gpu in the first place.