What kind of fun can I have with an EE degree?

[Confused]

Would I be able to buy current computer hardware and mod the hell out of it? I.e. overclocking through the BIOS, but if that ain't enough would I be able to tweak the hardware to make it run even faster? Without going insane (no liquid nitrogen!)

What other kinds of tinkering can I do with the hardware as a hobbyist? Would I be able to design my own modchip for an Xbox 360? How about replacing my xbox 360's GPU with a more powerful one? (I read the PS3's GPU power is equivalent to a Geforce 7800GTX, not sure about the 360) That would be awesome if I could do that.

 

[ranger]

You remind of a friend that majored in computer engineering for the sole purposes of learning how to build custom computers and overclocking his machine. Poor sap didn't know that this can be done by a 14 year old. He isn't doing well in his course work and is disappointed that there isn't a course called "Modding and Overclocking"

Designing ICs is a entirely different story and is on a Masters level.

 

[waht]

Would I be able to buy current computer hardware and mod the hell out of it? I.e. overclocking through the BIOS, but if that ain't enough would I be able to tweak the hardware to make it run even faster? Without going insane (no liquid nitrogen!)

The only mods you can do is on a software level. Any hand-on tampering with the mother board will most like result in damaging it.

What other kinds of tinkering can I do with the hardware as a hobbyist? Would I be able to design my own modchip for an Xbox 360? How about replacing my xbox 360's GPU with a more powerful one? (I read the PS3's GPU power is equivalent to a Geforce 7800GTX, not sure about the 360) That would be awesome if I could do that.

No way. There are teams of dozens of engineers that design microprocessors. Even more, build prototypes and test them.