I have an Intel Core 2 q6600@3.0g paired with an EVGA Geforce 8800GT factory clocked at 650/1620 and 1900 running in a msi p31 neo2 mb(****) with 2g GSKILL ram. i am just wondering if my system is running how it should be. it seems like it should be faster in windows. it takes just as long to get into windows as my old amd sempron did. in 3dmark i got a 12293 the last time i ran it. COD4 i get 60-65fps steady all settings maxed 1600x1200. In colin mcrae dirt i get 35-40 all settings high at 1600x1200.

does this seem up to par or is it running a little slow?

Windows startup time is more a function of hard drive data transfer rate; responsiveness in Windows will also be improved by boosting the amount of RAM. I'd go for 3GB or 4GB total (all installed as pairs).

Sounds like your system is performing as it should.

Only way to get more, is to upgrade or add an additional graphics card, add more RAM, and or overclock your processor more.

Yep, Windows speed is normal. The 3dmark score also looks on par. My q6600@3.6ghz and 8800gts@780mhz gets 15.5k. So 12.3k looks about right.

ok good. i would OC it more but the MB is ****. i have to set the cpu voltage to 1.4 in order for it to be stable at 3.0g. if i try going any higher then 3.0 it wont even post. i havent tried upping the voltage anymore cuz im afraid to lol. what is the highest safe voltage for teh q6600?

The "recommended vcore" given by Intel for q6600 is up to 1.5v. You shouldn't exceed it. What motherboard chipset do you use?

its an intel p31 express. made by msi. but like i said, its a pos so thats probably why.

mm - remember that "stable" is usually taken to mean it'll run Orthos blend or similar stress test O/N without any errors. If you havn't tried that, it's a worthwhile test, as otherwise you may be getting errors during normal operation that will eventually corrupt your system (and other) files.