Idle temperature 41'c, after reboot 30'c , what's wrong

[Kam Lai]

I have a Soltek Qbic 3401M, fresh installed WINXP pro, reboot, no
program running, idle cpu temperature 30/32'c. After using IE,
WORD/EXCEL, WINMX,
let it idle again, 40/42'c, if reboot: cpu back down to 30/32'c again,
what gives?

Already scanned for spyware/virus.

P4 2.6C,OCZ 256x2 dual channel,80G maxtor,ATI 9200SE, Lite-on 451s
DVD+-RW

Any help is appreciated!

 

[purplehaz]

That's perfectly normal. When you put a load on the cpu(use it) it heats up.
When you stop using it, it cools down. Check your heat sink and processor
fan to make sure its working, just in case.
Those temps are fine.

 

[Kam Lai]

The problem is that it will stay idle at 40'c indefinitely, but if I reboot,
the temp drop to 30'c within 10 minutes.
In other words, the reboot 'cleared' up something and reset the idle
temperature to 30'c.

 

[Steve Nielsen]

Have you looked in Task Manager for processes using CPU %?

Steve

 

[CS]

The problem is that it will stay idle at 40'c indefinitely, but if I reboot,
the temp drop to 30'c within 10 minutes.
In other words, the reboot 'cleared' up something and reset the idle
temperature to 30'c.

That may be related to the temperature sensors on the motherboard.
You shouldn't have to reboot the machine to drop the temperature.
Pay close attention to the operation of your fans. It's possible the
fan speeds are variable controlled by temperature and one or more is
not working correctly. Rebooting jars them to full speed again and
within 10 minutes the temperature goes down.

Pay close attention to the CPU fan and case fan. Usually the power
supply fan remains at a constant speed.