Core temp showing CPU at 30 - 50% but Task Manager Shows 8%

I a couple of odd behaviors from my core i5 750 on ASUS P7P55D Pro.

Core 2 is often running about 10 - 20% higher than all the others according to Core Temp even at idle. According to Windows Task Manager the CPU is only running at minimal % and no programs are showing as dominate (all under 1% usage).

Is this normal? Do I have something funny running in the background?

I've run Microsoft Security Essentials and also Malwarebytes and nothing shows up.

I notice Core Temp is not always accurate on my laptop. I'd try another app like CPUID to compare.

How is performance is the question to ask.

You can go over it using these Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7

Here's another example.

According to Core Temp now Core 3 is cranking away at 60% when the machine is at idle. Task manager says nothing is using any CPU.

Today (after shutting down for the night) the cores are running normally at idle. No one core is running at a high %.

I'm just wondering if this is a sign of something I should be worried about. Should I be searching my computer harder for viruses or malware?

Hello? Did you even see my post above?

Hello. Thank you for your reply.

Yes, I did see your post above. Speedfan also gives CPU usage, as does Windows Task Manager. They are consistent with CoreTemp.

Looking at CoreTemp showing a core running at 18% but seeing all tasks showing 0% makes me worried that I have something hidden that is infecting my system.

I will take some time to go through some of the options you linked me to. Thank you for those.

Run SFC /SCANNOW Command first