do programs like speedswitchxp hurt the CPU?

[dsigma6]

i was just wondering if having the cpu constantly switching frequency takes a toll on it, or if this is perfectly safe to do. i dont see why it should be running at 2 or even 1.2ghz all the time, when i can have it idling at under 100mhz.

since ive installed speedswitchxp, my cpu has reached the same highs, but now gets down into the upper 30s at idle, which it never did before.

[smids]

Won't harm it at all. Speedstep technology does this constantly, applying a higher clock to the CPU under load and dropping back to the base frequency when idle. And the actual speed does fluctuate during normal usage - usually about 5mhz each way.

Changing frequencies doesn't harm the processor - heat and voltage out of spec can though .