Funny CPU temperatures

NoQuarter_

Reputable
Jul 4, 2015
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I got AMD FX 4170 on MSI 970a-g43 motherboard
while I was setting up cool&quiet I noticed something strange.
Idle temperature in CoreTemp reads like 12 degrees, about the same in HWinfo, but in bios idle says ~45. I used clickBios and it says the same o_O
my cool&quiet setting are:

cpu min fan speed 12.5%
cpu smart fan target 40'C

When I touch the cooler it doesn't seem any hot, like ~30'C, which kinda suits the fan speed of around 1500 on idle (read in HWinfo). Note that I have Titan cooler that goes 900-2800rpm, when I stress the cpu it goes to ~2400 with around 50'C in HWinfo and just above 60 in clickBios.

any ideas why do my idle temps look weird?
I'd expect 30'C idle...
 
Solution
In the BIOS the CPU isn't idle. Why don't you use AOD to check the thermal margins at full load? Idle temperature is meaningless, but full load thermal margins are important; the higher they are from 0°C, the better.
It still would be incorrect because the CPU can be idle in the OS, but that isn't possible while in the BIOS.