Quote Originally Posted by Uncle Jimbo View Post
Correct - the 'I' you are measuring may or may not be going to the CPU, and likewise you don't know what 'E' actually gets supplied internally, but there is no question about the heat load.

Here's a good write-up on heatsink characterization by some guys who actually know what they are doing:
http://www.frostytech.com/testmethod_mk2.cfm
So you measure temp at the base of heatsink? So that means the better your heatskink is at dissipating the heat, the lower the temp at the base of the heatsink should be, correct? So how does heat translate into the PIE formula? Power is still a function of current and voltage so how would lowering the temp of the heatsink affect power draw?