CPU Temperature fluctuations, mmm...

[twalc6]

Hey! I'm new to these forums, but I've got a lot of questions to ask about my gaming rig...

My (2-year old) AMD 64 3000+ 2.0GHz CPU with a Copper Zalman CPU Fan/Heatsink has been having some strange temperature fluctuations in the past few months; according to BIOS and CoreCenter, the temperature is usually ~45 degrees idle and ~60 at full load with a 30 degree system temperature... However, after cleaning the heatsink yesterday, it dropped back down to about 24 degrees with a 22 degree system temperature. Now, this morning when I turned the computer on, the temperature shot back up again to the same temperature as before - any ideas on the cause? It worries and annoys me sometimes, as the temperature drops down so low randomly - Help!

I appreciate your time and effort.

 

[ShackledPhoenix]

May have been a misread. they do that from time to time. I wouldn't worry unless it jumps above normal.

 

[SYL\X/3K]

cleaning the heatsink and the fan is one thing but have u replaced the thermal paste on the heatsink/cpu?

 

[lancec2c30]

did you remove the heatsink from the cpu when you cleaned it? if so you need to clean of the old paste and put some fresh on.

 

[twalc6]

Aight.... Now I'm confused.

So I cleaned and reapplied thermal paste yesterday, and it seemed to work wonders - the temperature read ~22-27 degrees for about a day. Same situation though - now, I can't get it below 47 at idle, and it's kinda worrying - which reading do you think is right?

 

[SYL\X/3K]

22-27c on idle because 47 doesnt sound right, ur sensors might of gone wrong. mine runs around 30c on idle , but 47? doesnt make sense! How much RPM is ur cpu fan running at? and check if ur heatsink is in good contact with the Cpu