Hi eager101.....
that chip is screaming to be OCed......
, if you can get that QX to 3.6ghz you will certainly see a difference
in order to stop your CPU downclocking you need to enter the BIOS & disable...''C1E & EIST'' functions, once you sort out your OC they can be re enabled if you wish.... they will not affect your OC its just easier to work with when they're disabled.
there are a few ''stickies'' at the top of the OCing sections that will help you locate the needed settings to OC, as stated above take it easy, go up in 10-20mhz FSB jumps, always watching the temps.... keep pushing it without touching the voltages until it fails to post, then bump up the VCORE 1 notch at a time until it does, then continue to push up the FSB....when the chip, RAM & board start reaching their thresholds you'll need to employ other voltages, but you shouldnt need to worry about those until you pass 4ghz.
that chip is good for 4ghz 24/7, & it is a MONSTER CPU......
i believe the stock multi on that chip is x9, so for 3.6ghz you'll need to be able to get your FSB from 333mhz to 400mhz which should be a doddle....
don't touch the RAM settings until you get a stable clock on the CPU...
if your board has no ''C.P.R.'' (BIOS parameter recall) you'll also need to make sure you have access to the CMOS jumper on the board.... though im sure the 790i does..
have fun.....
SK