The Cheapskate's Guide to Supercharging Your PC
Overclock your CPU, upgrade your graphics, and swap out your motherboard to give your PC a boost.
Kirk Steers, PC World
Stay Cool
High-performance systems usually have high-performance cooling. The stock CPU fan that shipped with your PC probably doesn't provide the cooling power that overclocking requires. Fan-based CPU coolers cost less than $30 online, but I recommend spending a bit more for one from a top-flight vendor such as Thermaltake or Zalman. In fact, Zalman's $50 CNPS9500 cooler turned my noisy and red-hot overclocked Pentium D box into a cool, purring kitty cat.
Many gamers and power users opt for superefficient liquid-based PC cooling systems--smaller versions of the radiator that keeps your car from overheating. The devices include a simple pump, tubing, a radiator, and a "heat block" that draws heat from the CPU. One I recommend is Thermaltake's $100 BigWater SE.
If the thought of water coursing just millimeters from your PC's expensive circuitry makes you nervous, avoid the worry and install Vigor Gaming's $130 Monsoon II Lite cooler. The waterless Monsoon II provides excellent cooling by combining a fan with a powerful Peltier cooler; the device is easy to install, and it takes up less space inside your case than many high-powered CPU cooling fans do.
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