Vista Tutorial - Multiple cores, Multiple temps

i just bought an intel Q9400. left everything stock on this new build and the cores have different temps. Core #3&4 are equal and seems to be the average temp. core #1 is higher by 4 degrees! and Core #2 is lower by 2 degrees on average.

on cpu-z, the core speed keeps alternating from 1999.7 Mhz to 2666.3 Mhz.

any ideas what it could be?

improper heatsink contact?

defective processor?

anyone have had the same problems?

Different temps across the cores is normal. Core 1 is usually a few degrees hotter than the rest. (It does more work)

The alternating core speed in CPU-Z is just reporting the C1E/Speedstep feature. That too is normal. (When the PC is idle, or under low load it runs at a lower clockspeed with reduced voltage)

It's also common on the Q9XX series for some cores to have 'stuck' sensors that don't accurately report idle temps. As long as they show movement under load, it's not a problem.


Basically, everything sounds normal and as long as the temps themselves aren't too high, nothing is faulty

thanx smarteye. i was a bit worried. im still new to this stuff. this is only my second build. my first build had an AMD Phenom II x4 920 and the temps are equal all through out. even under load and idle as well. that's why i was a bit worried when that happened with the Q9400.

The Core 2 line of processors have 2 dual core processors on the same die. thats why 2 temps are the same and 2 are the same but different from the other two. like my q6600. it has 2 e6600's in it and 2 run at 40c and the other two at 38c. The Core i7 line of processors have all 4 cores on one die. so its a true quad core

Oh and Btw. never use speedstep or c1e with high fsb frequencies. they will make the processor crash on system startup due to decreased voltage, but not decreased frequencies.