Overclocking help

I'm thinking about overclocking my CPU, but I'm completely new to this. I know I can totally destroy my computer doing this, so I have a few questions:

1. I have a P4 3ghz processor. It's using an air-cooled fan system to keep it cool. How much can I realistically overclock it?

2. How safe is it to overclock this days? I found in the BIOS that I can just adjust the mhz setting (it's currently set to 200, can go as high as 243). The mobo also has a temperature reading so that if it gets too hot, the computer shuts off automatically. It's set to off by default, but should I keep it on?

I attached a pdf of the mobo manual for more info. Thanks again guys!
 

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This must be a different system to the one you "recently aquired". :)

A 3.0Ghz P4 should be fast enough for any OS task... but perhaps your contemplating overclocking because you are trying to get higher framerates in your favorite PC games? Well, regardless of your motive, heat will be the limiting factor in your quest, which is why your fan will let you down big time. Presumably, your P4 is a Prescott, which means your fan will be working hard to cool down merely your default clock temps. I don't have any recent figures of P4 Prescott OC results on air, as I do not follow that information with zest. If you want an accurately estimated figure, you can ask others from PC hardware/ enthusiasts sites, though they will probably prompt you for an endless list of specs and configurations before they help :D.

Overclocking is said to be safe, so long as you don't go wild with voltage settings. The system will either start, or it won't. Though if your running as close to the highest clock possible on your system, it may not be stable.. resulting in crashes when you run processing intensive programs.

If you are just looking for OS performance increases, you can always tweak your OS.
 
realistically you could probably get it upto about 3.45 Ghz if you set the FSB to 233... it probably won't run to stable up there though, set it up there if it boots check the temperature if its around 50C in idle like that I'd say just leave it alone and put the FSB back at its proper 200 or you could go out and get some better cooling (better paste and heat sink/fan). The pay off your gonna get with this better speed is minor though... but as long as the temp isn't high I don't see this minor change really causing many bugs while running your OS.
 
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