How do I overclock a Intel Core 2 Duo E4300?

Clarifications

Is there a third party application I could download? I really am in the dark here.

first the Why? Why do you / would you want to do that? Is there a specific program that will only run at that speed?
second, It will depend on Which processor is it? That makes a difference on the 'How' it might be done, or if it should be done.
There will be some trade offs, one being increased heat being produced by the over-clocking. Do you plan on increasing the cooling?
third, those claims of over-clocking from 1.8Ghz to over 3-Ghz sound a bit far fetched to me. That's almost half again as much speed. I believe if that processor can be run at 3+Ghz with-out damage the mfg would not have set it at 1.8Ghz. If you got a good deal on the computer, I can't see advising you to burn it up. Just my 2? cents. -d
edited- I had miss-read the question, and to add:
I sugest teh first place to look is here: http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/asmo-na/eng/203838.htm

But many motherboardsdo not support overclocking.
Other than that, why is it needed. Also, I wouldnt suggest overclocking by much, and I would suggest an extra cooling fan and/or alternate cooling system.
For overclocking look to ater market motherboards, look at ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, etc. for your processor. Check the settings for overclocking for the board. Most that I have done (its been a while) were done by jumpers, but since I think that many are controlled in the BIOS now.

I've tried the software available for overclocking and it creates more of a hindrence than a blessing.The cpu usage goes through the roof.To do it in the bios you need to increase the megaherts (if the option is available).You also need to invest in a new cooling unit for the processor.In some dells overclocking is not available.

You should never think about overclocking only from a CPU perspective.

Overclocking normally involves going into the BIOS and changing the voltage/bus speed of the CPU socket.

But you don't get something for nothing.

The possible negative affects are:
Instability of the CPU.
Increase in the heat generated by the CPU leading to other components overheating and failing.
Worst case, frying the CPU.

You can try to overcome these by making sure you have 1)excellent cooling - good case fans and CPU fans, 2) good PSU - running the CPU at a higher setting increases the draw on a PSU and increases the systems susceptability to problems due to PSU fluctuations.

I suspect that anyone taking a 1.8 ghz and running it at twice its rated speed is a) lucky and b) is using liguid cooling, which is expensive.

You have to ask yourself why you want this. You certainly don't need it for surfing the net or doing office tasks. If you are a gamer, you are better off investing in a better video card and more ram, that will make a bigger impact than the CPU - at least until Vista DX10 games come out.

Dell is not a system I would chose to overclock. The cases typically don't have great airflow or great PSUs.

James

Just about every component on your PC is set at a certain clock rate(speed). Overclocking is basically increasing this speed. When you up the speed too much, it will cause that component to become unstable. The goal of overclocking is to raise the speed as much as possible while staying stable.

If your interested in overclocking I would highly recomend this ebook that I used to overclock my pc: http://jyee1337.11CPU22.hop.clickbank.net

That tells you everything that you would need to know about overclocking your cpu including cooling, bios options, what to do if you can't overclock with your motherboard, and also some tips on speeding up windows.