AMD Sets New World Record in Overclocking

Somewhere in the desert outside Las Vegas during this year's CES, several of the top overclockers from around the world gathered in a geodesic dome that glowed green underneath the fullest moon of the year. They were there to set a new world record in overclocking. The CPU was AMD’s Phenom II X4 and the method for cooling being used was liquid helium. That’s right – not nitrogen, but helium. As the night progressed, the CPU's temperature dropped down into the negative 200’s, even getting down as low as negative 240 C at one point. And the CPU was screaming at 6.3 GHz. After a few cold reboots and some driver issues were worked through, they finally achieved their goal: a benchmark score of 45,474 3DMarks. 

If you followed my CES trip through social media, you probably saw my Twitter about this a few nights ago or caught the news and photos on FriendFeed in real time. If not, you can check out some of the photos here on flickr. You can also check out the photos and commentary here on FriendFeed.

Here's some video recorded inside the dome: