Originally posted by: xSkyDrAx
does it shorten the lifespan of your cpu and video card? and if so, usually by how much?
CPU's usually last 10-20 + years. I have no idea about current GPU's/video cards, but I'd guess at least 10 years. Under most normal overclocking situations the component should still last double digit years. The only worry is when you push the part way beyond it's spec'ed voltages, ie running a P4 at over 1.7V, an AMD Athlon Tbred over ~1.75V, DDR memory at over 2.9V, etc. You can still get huge overclocks out of most parts, just keep the voltage within ~15% of the stock voltage as a general rule of thumb.
The other factor in decreasing electronics' life is heat - keep your parts cool. This means keeping the CPU under, say 55C (pulling a number out of my arse on this one, but you get the picture - dont let it get
too hot).