Lapping

[tofumonster]

I've got a Thermaltake i1 (yeah i know...not that great) and i was wondering if i ONLY lapped the Heatsink Fan would that make any significant difference. I don't really want to lap my C2D E6400 because i don't want to damage it accidentally in the process. So would lapping the HSF make any sense?

background: I'm not overclocking i'm just going for super cool temps. i've got pretty good airflow in my case (p180b) with 4 fans total (all on med).

 

[jeffw2767602]

its nearly impossible to damage a cpu while lapping unless you use way too much water...but yes lapping the heatsink should give you a little better temps.

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: tofumonster
if i ONLY lapped the Heatsink Fan would that make any significant difference.

If you lap the base of the heat sink, it may improve cooling if the base is not flat and you make it flat.
If the base is already flat and you make it worse (that is possible), it will get worse.

Being flat is what matters not being shiny.

 

[tofumonster]

ok. thanks for the replies...but continuing..

How could i tell if my HSF's contact surface is flat or not? is it real obvious like i could see it with my bare eye? or do i need to test it?



Furthermore... could someone lead me to a general lapping tutorial?

Or...

Would it just be easier to buy a AC Freezer Pro 7 for better temps?

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: tofumonster

How could i tell if my HSF's contact surface is flat or not?

http://www.ocforums.com/showth...highlight=lapping+grid
Make sure to read post 17 at least.

 

[bradley]

The less gaps needing to be filled between either the cpu or heatsink the more heat can be efficiently transferred. So yeah, even just lapping the heatsink alone will be beneficial.

 

[Nickel020]

While CPUs are rarely flat, heatsinks are usually much worse.
Just get some sandpaper, 240, 600, 1000 at least two sheets of each (some people get 400 and 800 as well, or finer paper than 1000, but I don't think its necessary). Tape a sheet onto a flat surface like a mirror or something starting with the 240. Wet the sandpaper and sand down the heatsink, till it looks the same everywhere, then use a higher sandpaper. Try to make sure to apply equal pressure and maybe use an 8 shape for sanding.
Sanding with the 240 paper is crucial, since it's here where you're making the surface flat, the others are just to make the surface less "rough".