CPU Temperature Spike

Hi,

I realize the subject line may not make sense in this forum, but I'm getting desperate.

About a month ago, my CPU (AMD AthlonXP 3200+) temp spiked 30°f for no apparent reason. I've thoroughly ruled out cooling (I have 5 fans), dirt (all incoming air is filtered and unimpeded), and application\running processes. I have the same 29 processes running since first installing Windows XP (SP1).

I've run 3 different SpyWare scans, 2 Anti-Virus scans and CWS: All came up clean. (As an aside, the AMD tech said that the W95\98 solitaire game is a resource hog and can cause the temp to spike )(seriously).

However, even after all that, the temp will still spike 30°f to 40°f. So I'm thinking that there might be something going on I'm just not getting.

I've run a HJT scan and was told not to post it until requested to do so.

Any help trying to figure this out will be greatly appreciated.

TIA,
[rancidpeanutbutter]