TheMobRules wrote on 2020-08-16, 02:18:
I used one of those thermometers with a flat sensor wedged between the processor cartridge and the heatsink and then also measured the temp on the heatsink alone. I was interested in the heat transfer between the metal part of the cartridge and the heatsink since that is what mattered in this case. Now, I don't know how precise it is, it's not professional equipment by any means but my objective was to determine if there were noticeable differences in how "warm" the heatsink gets, not absolute temperatures or measurements of the CPU die.
Did you measure the time it takes to heat the heatsink from room temperature and operating "stable" temperature? Because there are multiple parameters to watch for (that is, the whole temperature curve), not just some temperature at some random point of time.
I had this aluminium foil (I don't think it's graphite) on my Deschutes P2 as well and several socket 370 heatsinks too, but in practice I've found it not so good for heat transfer. Before removing the foil, you could do a very simple test yourself - disconnect the fan and power up the PC and measure how quickly the external heatsink becomes uncomfortably hot for your hand to touch. Then, remove the foil and instead apply thermal paste, but not just at the place where the foil was, but either at the whole surface or at least in multiple large spots, then repeat the test. This is subjective but very effective test - the difference in heat transfer is so big that you'll notice difference without using a thermometer.
I think this aluminium foil was used not much as a replacement for thermal pad, but as a softer surface to avoid damaging CPU's die, before manufacturers started to use integrated heat spreader (IHS) somewhere around P3/Tualatin time.