CPU temp seems odd, is it being measured properly?

[Adidasfan1994]

My 6600k cpu temp seems to be about 20 degree c at idle and only goes up to about 40 degrees c when I open a ton of tabs play videos and have wow running in background? Just want to make sure it is being sensed properly. Do these sound like normal temps for a cpu that just isn't being stressed hard enough?

 

[Dunlop0078]

Is your ambient room temp near or above 20c (68F)? If its warmer its wrong, its impossible for the cpu to be colder than ambient temp. 40c sounds about right for a light-moderate load.

 

[Adidasfan1994]

Is your ambient room temp near or above 20c (68F)? If its warmer its wrong, its impossible for the cpu to be colder than ambient temp. 40c sounds about right for a light-moderate load.

Ambient temp is about 71 degress F, so sounds right, so what part senses the temp? Does the cpu have it's own sensor? Just concerned about head sink gap, heat sink hasn't gotten warm yet.

 

[CompuTronix]

Adidasfan1994,

Core temperatures at idle will always be at least 2 to 3C above ambient, even with the best cooling.

Standard Ambient temperature is 22C, which is normal room temperature. Ambient temperature is a reference value for Intel’s Thermal Specifications. Knowing your Ambient temperature is important because Ambient directly affects all computer temperatures. Use a trusted analog, digital or IR thermometer to measure Ambient temperature.

Here's the temperature conversions and a short scale:

Cx9/5+32=F ... or ... F-32/9x5=C ... or a change of 1C = a change of 1.8F

30.0C = 86.0F Hot
29.0C = 84.2F
28.0C = 82.4F
27.0C = 80.6F
26.0C = 78.8F Warm
25.0C = 77.0F
24.0C = 75.2F
23.0C = 73.4F
22.0C = 71.6F Norm ... or ... 22.2C = 72.0F
21.0C = 69.8F
20.0C = 68.0F
19.0C = 66.2F
18.0C = 64.4F Cool

When you power up your rig from a cold start, all components are at Ambient, so temperatures can only go up. With conventional air or liquid cooling, no temperatures can be less than or equal to Ambient.

As Ambient temperature increases, thermal headroom and overclocking potential decreases.

Here's the normal operating range for Core temperature:

80C Hot (100% Load)
75C Warm
70C Warm (Heavy Load)
60C Norm
50C Norm (Medium Load)
40C Norm
30C Cool (Idle)
25C Cool

Core temperatures in the mid 70's are safe, so just keep it under 80.

You might want to read this Sticky: Intel Temperature Guide - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1800828/intel-temperature-guide.html

CT