I've just finished building a system with a QX-9650 and I'm starting to mess with overclocking it.  I am very much a novice at overclocking.  First, here is the system:
 
  COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP
  GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4  
  PC Power & Cooling S75QB
  Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650
  G.SKILL 2 x 1GB DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel
 
and a picture;
 

 
Note I am using the [supposedly decent] stock cooler with the cpu.  It looks like some of the zalman models.
 
I'm currently running at 4ghz.  Here are some screenshots of the bios settings:
 

 

 

 
And finally, here it is running prime95 with cpu-z and core temp:
 

 
One thing to note is that i was running prime95 24.x not 25.6 so I don't think I was stressing the system fully.  
 
The system "seems" stable at these settings however, I don't completely understand what a good temp range is for this chip.  As you can see, I am hitting some temps in the 70's (not sustained).  Am I triggering some circuitry that shuts down the chip in these ranges?  Somewhere I read that 65c is the max for the 45mm chips.  Is that right?  
 
Also, my memory is set to auto but the settings look like they may be wrong.  The timing *should* be cl5-5-5-15.  Should I override the automatic settings [I assume yes].  What do I use for the "advanced timing control" values?
 
Anyone have any suggestion regarding my configuration?  Thanks  -- Bud

I would get a better CPU cooler for overvclocking
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heat [...] ELHEATSINK
 
I would change the System Memory Multiplier (SPD) from Auto to 2.66

That cooler failed toms cooler test they wrote a few months back, not did horribly.....failed. It didnt offer any better cooling then the stock cooler. I run a freezerpro 7 and oc'd my Quad to 3.2 gigs, my idle is 37 celcius and 47 underload, point being, that cooler is crap. Also outta curiosity what video card is that? it looks awfully small compared to my gts.

Set you voltage...not "auto".
Use a Thermalright HS.

blacksci, When you say "that cooler failed toms cooler test"  are you talking about the stock intel cooler that I have?  I used arctic silver and followed their instructions but never felt confident I seated the sink properly.  The little pins did seem to snap in place though.
 
The GPUs are evga 8600gt cards -- the system is not used for gaming -- only 2d applications.  
 
For memory settings, I found the manual on g.skill's web site:
 
http://www.gskill.us/144.pdf
 
Here's what they show for my motherboard:
 

 
Note that they use 3.20B for the system memory multiplier.  The "B" is for a 333 fsb.  If I OC with a 400 fsb, do I use "D" as suggested in the notes on the left side of the screen?

HDT-S1283 for the win

No your cpu cooler failed at adequately cooling a dual core cpu. Look in tomshardware under components. Anything intel sells stock, is just barely going to get the job done, and those coolers fall under that guidline, unfortunately intel refuses to make a great cooler, costs too much for there bottom line i guess.

Change your PCI-e from Auto to 100 before you fry your video!

Get Thermalright 120 extreme or IFX-14 that should keep it sufficiently cool

I completely agree with you guys about the cooler but to be fair he isn't exactly generating a lot of heat seeing as he hasn't altered the voltages! I am completely shocked that he managed to boot into windows!  
 
Before you do any proper overclocking, as in changing voltages, you MUST get a different cooler if you want to even stand a chance of getting to 4ghz. Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme.
 
The only reason the system appears stable is because you are only stressing 1 core with that version of Prime95! You need the latest version to stress all 4! I can tell you now that you will fail a stress test immediately if you don't up your voltages.
 
Also you would be receiving more help from other overclocking experts if you had posted this in the 'Overclocking' section of the forum.