Hello all... I have finished building my new system and all has gone very well, however I have one "glitch". Core Temp v0.97 reports the following core temps at idle and stock speeds (not OC'ed)...
 
Core 0: 60°C
Core 1: 45°C
Core 2: 45°C
Core 3: 45°C
 
(Other temp utilities report a similar pattern...)
 
So...  
Should I worry about this?
Bad sensor on core 0?
Heatsink issue? (I would think a heatsink issue would report less consistent temps in the other 3 cores)
 
Any suggestions?
 
 
 
Other info...
The tcase is 21°C
CPU: XEON X3350
MoBo: GA-EX38-DS4
Cooler: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283  
...and lots and lots of case air flow (7+ case fans)...

It's possible your motherboard needs a BIOS update to properly recognize the processor.
 
Are you using the latest BIOS for your motherboard?

Yes... The BIOS started out at F2 and I updated it to F3 (latest released) and there was no difference...  
BTW - at times the core temp difference can be as high as 20°C... I know a few °'s is cosidered "normal", but 15° to 20°?

The HSF might simply not be seated properly. Try removing and reinstalling it.

Agree w/Zenthar.  A remote possibility, Have you verifed Core 0 is not being used by some single core program running core 0 at higher load than other cores.  How are the temps when all four cores are loaded, ie with prime 95.

Guys, from the Core 2 Quad and Duo Temperature Guide: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ture-guide
 
 
Section 5: Findings
 
(A) Tcase is acquired on the CPU Die from the CPU Case Thermal Diode as an analog level, which is converted to a digital value by the super I/O chip on the motherboard. The digital value is Calibrated in BIOS and displayed by temperature software. BIOS can affect the accuracy of Tcase.
 
(B) Tjunction is acquired within the Cores from Thermal Diodes as analog levels which are converted to digital values by the Digital Thermal Sensors (DTS) within each Core. The digital values are factory Calibrated and displayed by temperature software. BIOS does not affect the accuracy of Tjunction.
 
Also:
 
Section 15: Troubleshooting
 
Notice: A significant percentage of 45 nanometer processors are being reported with defective DTS sensors, which appear as unresponsive Core temperatures, particularly at lower Scale. Excessive Offsets between Cores of as much as 8c are also being reported. Sensors can be tested using Real Temp 2.24: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] ?p=2809778 Processors with defective sensors should be RMA`d. This applies to E8000, Q9000 and QX9000 series processors.  
 
 
Comp

It does not appear that the sensor is "stuck", it just reads (much) higher then the other cores.  
Real Temp 2.24 reports as follows (idle -> fullload)
Core 0: 47°C -> 59°C
Core 1: 31°C -> 43°C
Core 2: 31°C -> 43°C
Core 3: 31°C -> 43°C
 
I will try reseating the cooler, but assuming nothing changes, should I RMA the CPU?

If you don't want to live with a faulty sensor, then RMA your processor.

Hmmm... I'm a long way from TJMax and the case temp is cool (I don't think it even hit 30°C under full load). I guess my only problem would be the core hitting TJMax if I was trying for extreme overclocking.
What "other problems" could a faulty sensor cause?  

My first q9450 had all four sensors stuck at 55,53,45,45 or something similar, they would never move no matter what the load or rebooting, remounting, etc.
 
I RMA'ed it and the new one works perfectly.  So it's not uncommon for the sensors to be bad.  Same with the 8400s.

So I just downloaded Real Temp 2.60 and the vcores are all a lot lower than the ones showing in HWMonitor and CoreTemp. which program is right? lol im confused