i recently built a new system with a c2d e8400........CRUCIAL ballistix (x2)BL2KIT12864AA1065 1gb pc28500 1066mhz 5-5-5-15 240-pin ddr2 dimm........GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R........PNY Geforce 9600 GT 512mb pci express 2.0 ......when i use cpuid it shows me running 2 gigahertz....if the computer is doing something it jumps to 3 gigahertz...is this normal?...and is there a way (and does it make any difference) to make the system stay at the 3 gigahertz mark?....thanx in advance

If speedstep is on, yes it's normal. It's a power saving feature. You should disable it in bios if you want to overclock.

Or not.

I overclocked with it off and then tested it with it on. Works fine with my OC with it on. Why would I leave it off if it works. It saves power and generates less heat.

In some configurations, it cause stability problems when oced. The higher chance of it the higher you oc. Test with prime95 for at least an hour. If it pass, leave it on.

As for heat generation, it decreases idle heat, but not load heat. You still need a good cooler so it doesn't get too hot on high load. While cool idle temperature is still an advantage, max load heat is the important one.

Power savings is a non issue. For typical home usage, it comes down to a few dollars per year. Meaningless.

In order to reduce heat and power consumption SpeedStep reduces voltage to the microprocessor at rest ...

In my feable mind less voltage = greater longevity for the mircoprocessor

Those things last at least a decade even when highly oced. It'll be obsolete long before it burns out.

Of course, there is no harm in keeping it on if it runs stable. But test it, don't assume. If it fails, turn speedstep off.

u must uninstall dynamic energy saver for "add or remove programs"