The dynamic scaling curve is rather steep. Mind you it's hard/almost impossible to get a processor to ramp up in usage in a gradual curve.

Cool'n'Quiet is a feature that also must be supported by the motherboard. The ASUS 8KV sample I have has it in BIOS as enable/disable. You also have to download software. The software isn't so much a GUI but a "patch" of sorts to the OS.

The Gigabyte 939 pin board I just got doesn't have the Cool'n'Quiet feature and has remained with CPU thermal throttling. It will prove to be a mistake on their part.

There are some users all over the web who have posted problems with Cool'n'Quiet but it's because the feature is in its early adoption phase. Motherboard manufacturers haven't got it quite right yet. I don't think it's a question of software conflicts but more likely BIOS buggering up by motherboard makers.

And as far as an impact on performance? Zilch. Response time was pretty instantaneous between the lesser voltage/clock speed and then needing to be "full on". I noticed absolutely no hesitation or even measured any hesitation. The CPU usage graphs show that.