Someone here had posted about using a backing plate when mounting a waterblock for CPU. I took things apart today, and added the backplate I got with my Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme HS.

With new thermal paste with no "cure time", my temps have still dropped by 5 C. In addition, the temp variance between cores has been reduced by 2-3 C.

I am working on setting things up for "everyday" use right now. my system is running Prime 95 @3600 MHz (9 x 400 MHz FSB) with only 1.2750 vCore in BIOS. Smart Guardian is reporting it as 1.29 CPU.

It used to take 1.2825 vCore to do the same thing with my old DFI Lanparty UT P35-T2R, so I am pretty happy about that

So for whoever posted the backing plate idea (was it you C-N?), I thank you