the temptation to make a 3 page essay style response
pointint out various errors in your post
on a technical level of course
but i'll just make it quaint:
2 sub topics (mayb 3, depends how compelled I am)
A) Higher temperatures do not increase CPU performance, they just allow the CPU to run stable at lower vcore, which is only beneficial for overclocking, which you won't be doing on a gateway
B) a fan controller is the best option for controlling a fan, and the best software style fan control is not speed fan, it's VL System's Zephyrus, which is a very expensive (Compared to normal fan controllers) hardware fan controller, that interfaces to the PC via USB, and allows software control of the fans
C) the benefit of lower temperatures has to do with vCore, which is what controls vHigh and vLow, which equates to Logic High (a value of 1) and Logic Low (a value of 0) in the CPU, the vCore is the ammount of voltage used to represent a Logic High (or a 1)
the more volts the more stable, because you cannot actually change the architecture (i'm not drawing you a picture, so don't ask for one, but it's easier explained with a graph)
consider an AthlonXP-M, which has a vCore of 1.35v
meaning any gate with 1.35V or higher is Logic High
now if your OC'ing that chip (if you can find a mobo that will run 1.35V....1.45-1.50 is about the lowest a mobo will go) the internal workings are "moving" faster
so it might not hit 1.35v
so you raise the vCore to something like 1.5
and in it's attempt to hit 1.5, it achives 1.35
the AXP-M is an excellent chip for OC'ing, the Pentium M would be if it's architecture wasn't strained for 2GHZ stable (it's Pentium III based, and contrary to what your going to tell me, Pentium III is superior to Pentium 4, Pentium 4 wins because it runs SO MUCH FASTER that it just beats the P-III, but MHZ for MHZ, the Pentium III is about 20% better (a 1.4 Pentium III can whip a 1.8GHZ+ Pentium 4 with ease...if that breaks it down easier)
SO
lowered temperatures are not going to make the CPU faster
only give an advantage in OC'ing
as lower temperatures allow more stable operation (which means lower vCore, as it's not having to try and run as high) and lower vCore for same GHZ, means it can go farther
for example
on AIR cooling with an AXP-M the best you can hope for is around 2.6GHZ
which is done at around 2.0vCore
at -10C it will do 3GHZ @ 1.9-2.1vCore
unstable in some benchmarks
at -20C and below 3.1GHZ and beyond is possible at under 2.3vCore, FULLY STABLE
and believe me
a 3.1GHZ AthlonXP would give even the best Pentium IV's a run for their money (consider, a $95 CPU competing with the $700+ 3.8GHZ, it wouldn't win, but it could sit at the table)
3.1GHZ AthlonXP Barton is roughly a 3.5 or 3.6 Pentium IV
roughly
Gateway's BIOS settings are to keep the noise down
and cooling a Prescott to sub 50C isn't hard
you just use a better HSF
believe me
the hardware in that Gateway is not the best
I tried to not say this first time out, as it would really be raining on your parade
but you seem to be asking for it, so i'm gonna
YOUR GATEWAY IS NOT A GOOD GAMING PC!
reasons why:
A) it's an OEM built PC which means very little can be done to tweak performance
B) it's using a Pentium 4, which is horribly slow in gaming (which can be attributed to it's weakling of an FPU)
good morning, good afternoon and goodnight
i'm out