Windows 7: Unusually low WEI CPU score - Gaming problems

My friend was having gaming problems on his PC where he would play a game and get stutters every now and then on low resolutions and low graphics, sometimes unplayable stutters, it happened on Need for Speed Underground, Crysis and Call of Duty Modern Warfare and we could figure out a problem so I recommend we upgrade his Vista OS to Windows 7. I upgraded it yesterday but now when we run games the stutter is still there or even worse. I don't think this problem is from the graphics drivers as he has tried a few and now he is running the latest Nvidia firmware, 195 i think.

I think there is something really wrong with his CPU because we ran the WEI and everything was fine except for a CPU score of 1.9, his processor is an Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 at 2.4GHz. His old score on vista was not that low, I think it was in the high 4's or low 5's, I'm not too sure. We ran the assessment a few times and it still gave the same result, we weren't running any programs in the background while doing that. His graphic card is an Asus Geforce 8600GT and motherboard is an Asus P5KC.

I was thinking maybe his processor was a little damaged, that could throw his scores off and give him stutters during a game right? He hasn't tried overclocking at all. Maybe these two problems are unrelated, can anyone recommend some tests for me to try to see if I cant isolate the problem? I wasn't sure where to put this post, I hope its in the right place?

I would look at heat being the issue first. To me it sounds like the chip is getting too hot causing it to do strange things. Also make sure you have the latest firmware for your motherboard and all updated drivers for all hardware.

The CPU cooler is stock and I don't think it could cause problems since the PC hasn't blue screened ever that I've seen, but I will run prime95 and test the heat... There are no Win 7 drivers for the motherboard yet, its running from the vista ones I'm guessing?

You are right! I got him to run Realtemp and his CPU temperature reading was 79 degrees! I thought that was a glitch so I told him to check it in the bios and there it says that the CPU temp was 89 degrees! How could it be running this hot on stock with the PC never shutting down or rebooting? He has a stock Intel fan which he said is running at 2700 rpm while in the bios. How can we solve this problem? If a stock fan can only muster enough power to keep it at 79 degrees whats an aftermarket cooler gonna do... Do you think an incorrect application of thermal grease could be the suspect?

Just as a point of reference for you:

I have a Core 2 Duo E6600 completely stock. It runs at 2.4 also. My processor score on WEI is 5.8.

Do you know for a fact that the heatsink is properly mounted?? You shouldn't use much thermal paste. Look at the Arctic Silver site for instructions. Many people overdo it, but I wouldn't expect too much paste to cause a major difference in temps.

Blow all dust out of the case with an air hose. Remove CPU heat sink and reapply TIM. Make sure the CPU fan is running correctly and that there is enough case flow.

Besides the overheating problem, I must say that with your friends specs he will have a hard time running Crysis or CODMW unless you turn the resolution way down and also turn down the game settings. There is zero escape from this reality. I have both games and with your specs those two games will bog your system down to a crawl unless you turn down game settings and resolution to well below what your monitor can support.

Thanks all for the help. I told him to check that the CPU fan was on right and that all cables were plugged in and it seems his processor fan had one pin out so it wasn't on properly, he plugged it in and now his PC is working perfect, his WEI is 5.5 and his games run without a stutter. Thanks