An overclocker by the name of TiN has claimed the world record for the fastest-running processor - a whopping 8.19GHz, using a £25 Intel Celeron D 347 chip cooled with liquid nitrogen.

While the days of chasing big numbers in consumer PCs are long gone - multicore chips are now the done thing - a substantial community has built up around working on older chips to make them go as fast as they possibly can.

To accomplish the dizzying 8.19GHz heights, TiN first heated the Celeron processor to more than 200 degrees to get rid of the integrated heat spreader. Then he stuck it into a modified DFI Lanparty UT P35-T2R motherboard, and drenched it in liquid nitrogen. The chip managed 8199.5MHz before conking out. That beat the previous record by a tiny 16.8MHz.

The chip wasn't exactly stable - it wouldn't run at that speed day and night, just long enough to get a screenshot of the monitoring program (hit the images tab above). Still, it's an interesting example of an e-sport that could actually give useful results to motherboard and CPU manufacturers.

Via: hexus.net

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