Q6600 Problem, core always at 100%

I have a Q6600 Intel Quad Core @ 2.4ghz running on Windows Vista Ultimate x64. I have owned the processor for several months before the following problem occurred:

One day I powered my computer up and it took an extremely long time to boot up. When I got to the desktop (eventually) my multi-core monitor on the Vista sidebar claimed Core #3 (technically core # 2 since the first core is core #0) was running between 95%-100% constantly. I was unable to do basic functions such as listen to music without it stuttering and slowing down. After significant troubleshooting, the only solution I could come up with was to disable the core. However, my mother board does not support the deactivation of cores (ASUS 750i). I used a program called VistaBootPro which allowed me to disable both core 2 and 3. I effectively now have a Q6600 Dual Core @ 2.4ghz. The problem is not OS related as I have reformatted since the issue occurred.

I realize that the CPU may be damaged in some way, and I have considered trying to RMA, though I doubt Intel will allow that as the CPU did work out-of-the-box.

Any help is appreciated.

virus or spyware most likely

cpu sticking is very rare if not unheard of

spyware maxing a cpu is very common

I'm sorry I forgot to mention that the problem persisted over a reformat. Even on a fresh install of Vista it failed to run. Interestingly one time I tried to re-enable the cores, and they worked fine for several hours but then core # 2 sped up after some time. I will have to try to RMA the CPU thanks for the input, if anybody else has any ideas please let me know.

Very odd problem. Even if 1 core were at 100%, and the other 3 were open and free, I don't see how that would normally cause any stuttering or poor PC performance. Unless of course your board was feeding EVERYTHING to a single core only. Your other three cores should be able to handle everything else you throw at it (even simple stuff like Windows Media Player, etc).

I agree with bc4 though. Open Task Manager and see if there is a particular 'task' which is using up CPU time constantly, just to make sure there is not still a software related problem going on.

Otherwise, if nothing is showing as using CPU time, I'd try to RMA that processor for sure.

No fun man. Hope things get resolved for you quickly.