hello all. ive read these forums for a long time, and now i have a question on a new build.  
 
ive got a G0 q6600 on a pk5-e mobo and i noticed in windows (vista 32bit) that cpu-z reports it running at like 1.7ghz when idle. it does go to 2.4 when under load, but id like it to stay at 2.4. any ideas whats up? i looked in the bios and i disabled speedstep but it still shows up as underclocked. any ideas?

Its just power saving thing.  I dont think it impacts performance when not idle, so just live with it is all I can say.

Yeap, this is a power saving feature, nothing to worry about, but if you really want to turn it off google search how to turn it off in the bios.

in the bios, find C1E/Speedstep, disable it and you will always run full bore.  
Q6600 steps from 9x266 to 6x266  or 2.4 to 1.6.  jumping the bus to 400x8 would result in a speedstep from 3.2 to 2.4, slowest you would run is 2.4 to save power and heat.

Guys, the OP has already disabled SpeedStep. Also, SpeedStep would take the CPU to 1.6, not 1.7. Weird...
 

You need to disable C1E and speedstep

What is the multiplier showing as in CPU-Z?  If the multiplier is showing up below standard, SpeedStep could still be on... if the bus is dropping then you have another problem.
 
-mcg

make sure your cpu is not overheating.... check your cpu heatsink cooler

alright so heres the deal. i mistyped my original post, it is at 1.6, sorry for the error. also, coretemp reports the hotest core is 37 degrees celcius at idle so i dont think overheating is an issue. (zalman 9500 cooler) i just cant seem to get it to stay at 2.4ghz. i figured it was some kind of power thing, but using a little extra power doesnt really bother me. any other ideas?

dude, it goes to 1.6 GHz when idle.  idle is when you aren't using it anyway.  that means making it run at 2.4 all the time isn't gonna help, it just gonna increase your power bill and heat your computer.

i realize that, its just when im overclocking it gets annoying to not have it report a constant speed. like in the bios it reports a lower multiplier which is annoying. i just want it to stop doing it so i can set an overclock, then ill probably renable it later. i just hate having to load up the cores in windows to have cpuz report what i just did. whatever though, ill just deal, its not really that big of and issue, just a minor annoyance. thank you everyone for the help.

i have the p5k-e, there is no speedstep, but there is C1E. disable that

My Q6600 is overclocked to 3.6 and drops to 2.4 when idle. I disabled Speedstep and C1E while overclocking just so I could check stability when idle and under load, but once I was happy I turned them back on and it runs very happily. Dropping to 2.4 simply helps reduce idle temperatures.

This works on my XP.

I disabled C1E but left EIST enabled. (edit: in the bios)

Once in windows, go into power options.  From there, if you choose always on, it should keep the CPU at full speed, even at idle.

Then when you want it to reduce speed you change the scheme to minimal power management.

Since I don't run vista, it prolly has the same type of power scheme, but labeled different.

You claim you have to forums for some quiet some time but yet dont know what speedstep is. Interesting

I do forum too, for some quiet, but I don't think it worth it..

The horrors of not prove reading my post. yikes

 
yup.. the horrors of not, certainly, prove reading your post..

the reason why i was confused was because i saw speedstep in my bios and disabled it, but the multiplier continued to drop to 6 when idle. i didnt realize the setting to disable was c1e.
 
as far as knowing what speedstep is, i know its a power saving feature, but once i disabled it (and not c1e) and the multiplier continued to drop to 6, i began to wonder what was up. when i said i figured my issue was some was some kind of power thing, what i meant was the power feature on the mobo (ai gear) that i temporarily tried. i though it could be having the same effect as speedstep somehow. if i really didnt know what speedstep was i would have googled it.