system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: what does it mean to overclock a CPU?

what does it mean to overclock a CPU and what are the pro's and con's?
gpt
Overclocking means making your CPU to work faster by increasing the default clockrate (GHz). Increasing the clockrate makes the CPU less stable (might crash without reason) and more hot (requires better cooling).

If you find the sweet-spot (stable, not too hot, maximum GHz) you're gaining tens of percents of performance increase for free.

It's a lot easier than you think. Basic overclocking is basically just typing a higher number in the CPU settings (BIOS).

I would compare it to tuning your car engine to make it faster. When you're going faster, you need better brakes and stuff. If you make your Fiat Punto go 500km/h, it will became unstable without modifications.