I just recently got my new computer up and running.  It was my first build and first OC.  I had a friend helping me who's done it before so it went pretty smooth.  I'm using an Intel Q6600 with the G0 stepping and a Zalman CNPS9700 CPU cooler.  I was able to OC to 3.0 GHz pretty easily.  When I stress tested it (2 instances of Orthos with small FFT's) it was stable, but core temps were 62 C, 59 C, 52 C, and 52 C from Coretemp.  I'm just wondering if there's something I can do to bring them down more, and why two of my cores are so much cooler than the others.  I'd like to OC it more if I can, but I guess if this is as far as I can go on air it's still pretty good.

Did you forget to apply thermal compound? Did you forget to manually set vcore and take it off auto, which tend to run at higher voltage? (no offense )
I get 58/58/56/56 at 3.6ghz on Q6600. Is the cooler fan side mounted or top down? Side mounted is better, as you can aim it towards the case's rare exhaust fan and push the hot air out. Top down fan circulate the hot air in the case until it can be pulled out by case fans.

I used the thermal compound.  The fan is mounted so that it draws air from the bottom of the case and exhausts it out the top of the case.  I'm using an Antec 900 case with the large top-mounted exhaust fan, so I thought that would be better than aiming it towards the back.  Maybe I'll try changing vcore and see if that'll help.

jhbwolverine, although Cores 0 & 1 normally differ a few degrees from Cores 2 & 3 due to factory DTS calibrations, your 10c deviation between highest and lowest Cores are twice what is typical. You may want to inspect your processor's Integrated Heat Spreader for flatness, as well as the CPU cooler's Heat Sinc. A combination of imperfections can result in an area of minimal contact above a particular Core, which can result in uneven temperatures.
 
The following temperature Scale for the Q6600 G0 is from the Core 2 Quad and Duo Temperature Guide - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ture-guide
 
 
Section 6: Scale
 
... as Tcase Max will be exceeded before Tjunction Max is reached, Tcase Max is always the limiting thermal specification.
 
Scale 2: Quad
Q6x00: Tcase Max 71c, Stepping G0
 
-Tcase/Tjunction-
--70--/--75--75--75--75-- Hot
--65--/--70--70--70--70-- Warm
--60--/--65--65--65--65-- Safe
--25--/--30--30--30--30-- Cool
 
 
Hope this helps,
 
Comp

With my Q6600 and Zalman i notice a 10-15C diff in Tcase and Tjunc.  Mine loads at 40C Tcase and 55 Tjunc.  You may want to use AS5 and/or check to see if you HS is on all the way.  Also check your case's airflow to make sure your not trapping hot air in your system.

Sound advice : Tcase to Tjunction Delta shows performance of your cooler. The higher the better.  
 
My TRUE maintains a delta of 16 under load and sometimes 17.
 
Its never under 16, so when its 15 or 14, I know its not seated right. (As a demonstration for its usefulness.)
 
And its always been TRUE to its word, hahaha!!
 
--Lupi. (Just a little.)

Oh, and a degree point of delta for my TRUE appears to be about 4 c or so in core temps. So thats also a way to tell, hehe.
 

 
--Lupi

what VID is your Q6600?i got the same cooler as you with a high VID 1.3V Q6600.i achieve 3.4ghz with 1.45 vcore and full load at 71C.so your temp is safe.no need to worry about it.

 
Lupi, the point concerning your Tcase to Tjunction Delta is Calibration. Either Tcase is too low, or Tjunction is too high, or both, which is most likely.
 
Perhaps you might like to read the following Intel 5 page paper, which I consider to be the thermal "Holy Grail" regarding this very topic: Temperature measurement in the Intel Core Duo Processor - http://eda-publishing.imag.fr/spip/IMG/pdf/TMI23.pdf - I will refrain from explaining the significance of this information at this time.
 
Also, you might like to read all 31 pages of the following thread over at Xtreme Systems: Real Temp - http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=179044 - I consider this ongoing research to be the most revealing and provoctive work currently available, although the most relevant posts recur from just a small group of users with inside knowledge.
 
Lastly, if your CPU and Core temperatures are "canned" values from one of the popular utilities, have you tried following my Temp Guide to Calibrate your rig?
 
Comp

 
iluvgillgill, I have no idea which temperatures you're talking about; CPU or Cores? At what Ambient?
 
My Q6600 G0 VID is also 1.3. I achieve 3.6Ghz at 1.440 Vcore Load
with 10 minutes Prime95 Small FFT's.
 
BTF90 cooler
22c Ambient
62c CPU (Calibrated)
69c Core Average (Calibrated)
 
With all due respect to everyone, I'd once again like to say that it's very important to be specific when posting temperatures. This topic is confusing enough as it is, especially to n00bs who are just tuning in.
 
Temperatures are meaningless without posting specifics. It reduces the topic to a bowl of thermal fruit salad, and there's no way to make sense of apples and oranges in a blender.
 
Comp