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Chip fabrication produces large wafers containing hundreds if not thousands of individual chips. These wafers are sliced to separate individual dies, which are then tested to determine which of the manufacturer's offered speed grades they can reach. Some chips are capable of higher speeds than others, and they're sorted accordingly. This process is referred to as binning.

There's considerably less demand for faster chips than for slower ones, though. The Core 2 Extreme QX9650 may be the fastest CPU Intel can produce, but with street prices hovering around $1200, it costs quite a bit more than most folks are willing to spend on a CPU. The Core 2 Quad Q6600, which sells for less than $300, is in much higher demand because it fits within the budget of a greater number of consumers. And demand for low-end chips is even greater still.

Chipmakers often find themselves in a position where the vast majority of the chips they produce are capable of running at higher clock speeds, since all chips of a particular vintage are produced in the same basic way. So chipmakers end up designating faster chips as lower speed grades in order to satisfy market demand. This practice is of particular interest to overclockers because it results in inexpensive chips with "free" overclocking headroom that's easy to exploit. That's the magic of binning: it's often quite generous. A great many of the CPUs sold these days, especially the low-end and mid-range models, come with some built-in headroom.

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Originally posted by ferguj1:

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Here is a pretty good explanation to your question of why it is possible to overclock your processor.

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Chip fabrication produces large wafers containing hundreds if not thousands of individual chips. These wafers are sliced to separate individual dies, which are then tested to determine which of the manufacturer's offered speed grades they can reach. Some chips are capable of higher speeds than others, and they're sorted accordingly. This process is referred to as binning.

There's considerably less demand for faster chips than for slower ones, though. The Core 2 Extreme QX9650 may be the fastest CPU Intel can produce, but with street prices hovering around $1200, it costs quite a bit more than most folks are willing to spend on a CPU. The Core 2 Quad Q6600, which sells for less than $300, is in much higher demand because it fits within the budget of a greater number of consumers. And demand for low-end chips is even greater still.

Chipmakers often find themselves in a position where the vast majority of the chips they produce are capable of running at higher clock speeds, since all chips of a particular vintage are produced in the same basic way. So chipmakers end up designating faster chips as lower speed grades in order to satisfy market demand. This practice is of particular interest to overclockers because it results in inexpensive chips with "free" overclocking headroom that's easy to exploit. That's the magic of binning: it's often quite generous. A great many of the CPUs sold these days, especially the low-end and mid-range models, come with some built-in headroom.

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Oh try the Intel Burn Test as well. It's a good FAST way to check you system for stability and your cooling abilities as well. :D

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My EGO means nothing to anyone here and actually doesn't mean much to me.

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I just want you to get what you need and that machine running like a high dollar puter should.

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BTW: How those TYG02's work out? Or have you used any yet?

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They're 100% TY and work like a charm!! I think every disc I've used is a 95 and has less than 1000 PIF's. :D

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