Overclockers push Intel's Devils Canyon processor to 5.5 GHz

Intel’s newest Core i7 processor, code-named Devils Canyon, runs at 4 gigahertz under standard conditions. But overclockers at the Computex trade show in Taiwan have pushed the chip to a new world record speed of 5.5 gigahertz.

Overclocking means that you run a microprocessor for a PC at a faster speed than specified. That runs the risk of melting down the chip and ruining the computer, but it also gives people like gamers the maximum performance out of their machines. Using air and liquid cooling, the competitors in Taiwan pushed all four cores, or computing brains, on the Devils Canyon chip to more than 5.5 gigahertz.