I have an intel quad-core 2.4ghz cpu and the temps average out to 61C when i bootup my system.. they drop to 50 something sometimes... is this too high? i have the stock intel fan on it...

You could probably use better cooling either on the CPU or in the case itself if possible that does seem to be getting a little on the high side. Mine which I run at 3ghz at idle with the C1E enabled in the BIOS (you may want to check for the power saving being turned on in yours) is around 40°C on the hottest core, under 100% load on the cores low to mid 50s.

Check the BIOS settings for temperature management. Many boards have "Intel(R) Quiet Fan Technology (TM)", it makes for a quieter computer but a hotter processor. Your choice.

I have a quad core and it runs at 16 - 20 C when idle, but only when I disable this stupid new technology. Now, in order to achieve this low temperature, I actually disabled temperature control, which makes the fan run full speed all the time. This is also because there may be a problem with my BIOS or board, because when I put it on Legacy temperature management the fan turned completely off once in a while ... not good. It may have also been that the fan was not plugged in all the way into its socket (I fixed that issue recently).

I think I found the problem, I openned the case and pressed on each of the four pins on the cpu fan and one of them clicked when i pressed on it, I then booted up and ran sensors again and now I went from 60C to 39-40C range!! is that better?

thanks

I have to question this. The quoted temp range is below what most people set their room temperature to be. So either (1) you like it cold or (2) your computer is kept in an air conditioned computer room or (3) your sensor readouts are in error.

I question this because, unfortunately, (3) is a pretty common problem.

That is much better right around where it should be your heatsink was not making proper contact with the CPU.

Well, you're right, this particular room is cold , but those are the temperatures it reads. But, about 2 days ago the CPU fan somehow became unplugged, the temperature rose close to 90 C before I killed the power and plugged the fan back in.