Overclocked Quad-core becomes a Dual Core

sounds like the other two cores are disabled in the BIOS.

Yeah the bios shows it as disabled, but they're grey and non-selectable
so I can't enable them

anything on that?

you can't enable them... wow. I'd contact Asus.

Is it possible the other two cores are unstable and are being disabled?

If the cores are being disabled when it's overclocked to a certain point then I would say they're being disabled for a reason. Either it's not stable and you need to boost the vcore or it could be an issue with your power supply by some means since you're drawing more power when it's overclocked and it could be disabling two of the cores to be safe.

That could not be the problem at all, but it's just my take on the situation. I would really try increasing the vcore since I would imagine it's a stability issue.

Also, exactly what voltage do you have the CPU set to right now..?

to answer your question guys
I have it at 3.1ghz on auto voltage, which shows up at 1.4 volts in CPU-Z

just so you know one time I actually managed to boot with a 3.6GHZ quad core.. just once a long time ago when I put in a wrong setting

I would clear the CMOS and reset everything. It's worth a shot.

I Have cleared the CMOS, retried, and retried over and over again....
its just weird

I have found a couple of other people who have the same problem as me who have trouble getting the Q6600 past 3.1GHZ on different boards

but it just gets confusing... why? temps are low, I will give it 1.5V if it needs it, but it won't work? any ideas?

honestly that simply has to be a motherboard problem. Are you running the latest BIOS? I suggest contacting Asus support.

I have the latest bios, and could you point out a reason why it would be a motherboard problem though?
cuz I did manage to make it run stable at 3.4Ghz at one point, but then not again

is it possible my processor is a dud?

Gah.

Go into Device Manager, uninstall all the CPU cores, then reboot.

i highly doubt it's possible for an intel to disable its own cores. However, a motherboard can. You have nothing to lose by asking asus support.

okay, I hear you guys,
now, I've heard that Asus has terrible customer support

and also, I don't know how to contact them?
does anyone know what email, or phone number I can contact them at
(email preferably, don't speak foreign languages)