All core 2 processors are quad-pumped. They access the memory controller 4 times per cycle. The listed FSB is the total frequency in which they access the cycle. IMO they only do this for marketing purposes. You find the actual speed of the CPU by multiplying the frequency of one access time by the multiplier. The RAM is also a marketing scheme. They double the access speed because it's DDR (Double Data Rate, meaning, in simple term, a two-way street). Systems run most stable at 1:1 FSB to RAM ratios, however it's not necessary to have this ratio. AMD's are different. They don't have the FSB limit, but they still have a limit. I believe it's much higher, I'm not quite sure of the figure. I want to say 1200MHz.