Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Isn’t overclocking risky? Can’t you damage your PC?
A: The components in our PCs are chosen because we know the repeatable and reliable amount of safe overclocking they can offer. Some individual components could be pushed farther than others, but we only overclock to a point which we know is safe and effective.

Q: Doesn’t overclocking reduce the lifespan of components?
A: Technically yes, but it doesn’t matter. All PC components experience electromigration - the gradual deterioration of the conducting material as electricity passes through it. Overclocking does speed this process up, but not significantly. You’re looking at reducing the lifespan of the components from roughly 10 years to 7. Since the functional lifespan of any PC is usually no more than five years, the overclocking we do wouldn’t be an issue even for a non-gaming PC. We guarantee our machines for three years because that’s about how long it takes for a gaming PC’s components to become obsolete, with or without overclocking.

Q: Duo processor or quad processor - which is better for gaming?
A: We are moving into the quad world - slowly. Only a few games do any better on quad right now. That will change, but it’s not clear when. Choose the quad-core if you want to rock out on upcoming games which can really take advantage of four cores, when and if they arrive. Pick the dual-core if you want pure speed. The QX9650 offers both, at a greater cost

Q: Should I buy a Killer NIC with my Überclok PC?
A: It depends on what games you're playing. The Killer NIC can help eliminate lag (stuttery performance) on some network games under some circumstances. Feel free to call us at (877) 211-4235 to discuss whether your situation might warrant the use of a Killer NIC.

Q: Should I buy an XtremeGamer sound card with my Überclok PC?
A: Probably yes. Some games layer a lot of sounds simultaneously, like Bioshock. You'll miss out on the richness of the environment without a dedicated sound card in games like that. Also, if you get surround sound speakers or headphones, we definitely recommend it. You’ll be able to tell in what direction other game elements are from the sounds they make, and you’ll hear little details you’d otherwise miss. If you’re sticking with a basic set of speakers or headphones, or mostly play MMORPGs or RTS games which typically aren't as demanding for sound, the RealTek on-board sound will do just fine.

Q: RAID 0 or not?
A: Many gamers have heard that having two 10k rpm drives in a RAID 0 configuration will speed up gaming performance and load times. How much? Not a lot. We wouldn’t do it on our personal PCs, since it doubles your chances of catastrophic data loss. That said, if you want it, we’re happy to give it to you. RAID 0 does speed up load times a bit

Q: Why no liquid cooling?
A: Liquid cooling is very sexy, and does in fact allow one to reach higher overclocked speeds than the air cooling solutions we use in our PCs. However, liquid cooling is not as maintenance-free as air cooling, and it carries with it more inherent risks, such as damage from condensation and leakage. In developing our current products, we found that the Antec 900 case in combination with the Thermalright Ultima-90 CPU cooler was so good at cooling our PCs that a liquid solution was unnecessary, and did not make business sense. Future advancements may change our minds.

Q: Should I buy a PC with 4GB or even 8GB of memory?
A: Memory is quite affordable these days, and many motherboards (including the ones we use) support 8GB. The trouble is, a 64-bit operating system is necessary to enable the use of all that memory. This is particularly true in a gaming PC, where video RAM occupies a significant portion of the equation. In 32-bit Windows, only 4GB of "memory space" can be used at once, and that includes the on-board memory from the video card (or cards.) So after you subtract whatever the operating system and video cards are using from the 4GB maximum total, the remainder is all your applications (games) have access to - regardless of how much physical memory you install. So, the only way to effectively use 4GB of memory is to run a 64-bit OS. Which brings us to our next question:

Q: Should I choose a 64-bit operating system?
A: If you are willing to live with occasional driver issues and you want 4GB of memory or more - go for it. Most of the kinks for Vista 64-bit have been worked out now, and it won't be too long before you start to see more games which will perorm better with 4GB of memory than 2. Also Vista loooooves memory, and will be a bit snappier with 4GB to work with. XP 64-bit is another story - it works well, but there will always be more driver incompatability issues for XP-64 than Vista-64.

Q: Should I choose Windows XP or Vista?
A: With Überclok, you can choose both! Right now, PC gaming is in an in-between state when it comes to Windows. For gamers though, "XP vs. Vista" is really about "DirectX 9 vs. DirectX 10". (DirectX is Microsoft's rendering technology for gaming - nearly all games depend upon it.) .

With its 1.7 patch release, Company of Heroes became the first commercial DirectX 10-capable game. This meant it was now a hybrid game, looking for the player to choose which version of DirectX to use. Reactions to CoH in DirectX 10 mode were lukewarm. Performance took a hit partly because the game wasn't written for DX10 from the ground-up, and partly because DX10 is a significantly more complex technology than its predecessor. Tech-heads were forgiving because they were impressed with the extra features DX10 can offer a game (better lighting, particle effects, more grass, etc.) "Bottom-line" gamers were not so impressed because the frame rates dropped.

As time marches on, more and more games will be written specifically for DX10, and in a year or two, it may feel pretty out of place to be running XP. We currently split the hard drives on our personal PCs into half, and switch between XP and Vista at will - it might be worth the extra money for you to drive on both sides of the street. If you just want one OS, and you care about performance more than anything else, go with XP. If you want to explore DX10, you'll need Vista.

Q: What version of Vista should I choose?
A: Pass up Home Basic - our PCs have no trouble with the Aero interface, so why miss out on one of Vista's most attractive features? Home Premium has Media Center, DVD Maker, and the HD version of Movie Maker, so it has more multimedia features. Business comes with the full Backup & Restore software, Fax & Scan, and Remote Desktop. Choose Ultimate if you want all those features. The official comparison chart is at:

Microsoft Vista Comparison Chart