Overclocking my 9850 BE

[FIRSTcoder]

I'm new to over clocking, and I cannot afford to fry any parts (I'm 16, and have too many events going on after school to have time for a job), so I wanted some advice on what to do to keep my parts safe.

I don't know what info you'll need to give a good answer, so here is my system:
Case: Antec three-hundred (with two 120mm front fans added)
Motherboard: MSI K9A2 Platinum (V1)
CPU: AMD 9850 BE Phenom (2.5GHz when stock)
CPU heat sink: Cooler Master Hyper 212
RAM: 4GB (2x2GB sticks) Patriot Viper 1066MHz, 5-5-5-15 timings
GPU: MSI 4870 512mb factory OC (I have the fan set to 35%, and I'll be adding a second 4870 around Christmas)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB
PSU: Corsair 750W

I've already over clocked my CPU a good bit, getting it stable at 3GHz (200MHz FSB, 15x multiplier, voltage at 1.288V). I was able to run Prime95 on it for over 6 hours, without seeing a single error. I had HW Monitor Pro running the entire time of the test, and the average temp for it seems to be 31-33C idle, 53-54C under 100% load (The highest recorded temp for it was 55C, but that seemed to just be a brief peak).

Based on the info I've said, how fast should I be able to get my CPU? What is the highest safe 100% load temp for it? How high voltage can I safely put it to? Is my current configuration safe, or should I back anything down? Is there any other advice you can give me?

One other thing that I was wondering is how over clocking actually damages a part. Is it just a heat issue, or can the CPU be damaged, even if the temperature is kept at safe levels?

Thanks in advance for any advice that you can give!

 

[AsAnAtheist]

Well you can certainly add more voltage to it, however I would not overclock it. If you must over clock it dont do it much more (perhaps another 100-200 mhz due to the temperatures and voltage limit). Those 200 mhz will however probably cost you 1.3v (the maximum voltage limit the manufacturer (AMD) provides). This will definitely boost you to 55c~ And puts you at maximum voltage, so you might need to expect the CPU to show abnormalities with temperature.

A safe temperature I would say is 51c or lower UNDER FULL LOAD (Prime95), specially on the last generation Phenoms which can't handle as much voltage or as high temperatures as the Phenom II. The maximum temperature limit given by the manufacturer (AMD) is 61c.

While it should continue to work over 61c, and 1.3v it is NOT recommend to do so. I am sure there is a slight chance of toasting your CPU, and perhaps other components. I like to stay below the max temperatures given by AMD, because I am sure they have tested hundreds of chips and probably started a few fires due to temperatures being over 61c.