Bleeble Posted July 9, 2007 Posted July 9, 2007 Well, I finally did it. I bought the stuff months ago and have been thinking about it since I built my computer in October and I finally got the motivation to lap my IHS. It ended up being a pain in the neck since I have to take off my chipset heatsink to get my waterblock off. And in order to get my chipset HS off, I have to move the video card and take out the mobo. My computer was unplugged for about 6 hours. Actual lapping time was probably 3 hours, but that includes my IHS, chipset HS, and a pseudo-lap on my WB. There was a small dent/hole right in the center of my WB so I went over it with 1000 grit sandpaper for awhile. It ruined my mirror finish, but oh well. I'll lap both my CPU and GPU waterblocks when I get some more MCT-5 (and some motivation ). For the chipset HS, I used 400, 600, and 800 grit sandpaper. It's a reflective finish, but not what I'd call "mirror." For the CPU IHS, I went a bit farther than most people would have. You might think I'm crazy or obsessive, but here's the list of sandpaper I used (all wetsanding): 400 600 800 1000 40 micron 25 micron 20 micron 15 micron 10 micron Sanded off all the nickel and flattened it with 400 then switched to 600 and so on. I rotated 90 degrees between grits and sanded until the scratches from the previous grit were gone. By the end, I had a mirror finish. Seriously, I could look across the room and watch TV in it. A quick bath in some alcohol to clean off the metal particles and I was done. Unfortunately, I didn't have a bowl like most other people. It wasn't flat, but the center and edges started to show copper around the same time. So yeah, I just lost my warranty. I also learned the difference between quality and cheap sandpaper today. The 400 and 600 were from Lowe's or Home Depot and wore down to nothing very quickly. But the rest of the sandpaper was from easypckits.com (premium kit) and felt the exact same before and after lapping. Anywho, you probably want to see results. Temps via CoreTemp using Orthos for load (Small FFTs, priority 8). Before: 45C-70C, ambient 29 After: 41C-66C, ambient 28 Not bad. I probably screwed up my waterblock and made it worse though. I figure another degree or two after the AS5 burns in. *I don't have the USB cord for the camera I used, I'll post picks tomorrow* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kash Posted July 9, 2007 Posted July 9, 2007 That's really impressive. You did a really good job :thumbs-up: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeble Posted July 12, 2007 Posted July 12, 2007 Ok, I'm a day late, but here are the pics. Sorry in advance for the shoddy camera work. dang! It's not a bowl! The center is higher than the edges! There goes my warranty... :angry2: Looks like things took a step backwards at this point, doesn't it? That's because I switched from cheap 800 grit (which wore down to nothing) to high quality 1000 grit. I had always wondered why my temps seemed so high for WC before. While I was doing this I had my computer on its side and noticed that only one of the three filters on the bottom of my case had dust in it. I got so caught up in lapping and getting everything back together that I forgot to investigate it until yesterday. Apparently the foam gasket I was using between the case and fans got squeezed into the blades of two of the three fans I have on the radiator. Well, after removing the useless gasket, my idle temps are down to 34C (ambient 24). I'm testing load temps right now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeble Posted July 12, 2007 Posted July 12, 2007 After about 45 minutes of Orthos, my load temp is 58C. before: 45C-70C, ambient 29 after: 34C-58C, ambient 24 Even if you ignore the change in ambient, that's a 6-7 degree drop before the AS5 burns in. Let's just ignore the fact that it's partially because of my own mistakes Maybe I should have made a better title... nobody likes my thread Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKillSteal Posted July 12, 2007 Posted July 12, 2007 Good lord that is an amazing lapping job! It's a mirror now. That's also a pretty nice drop in temps there. Congrats Bleeble. See if you can push that e6600 of yours a little farther now Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M3NF Posted July 12, 2007 Posted July 12, 2007 Nice finsh there, i pained to lap mine last week, but then decided to start on a water cool setup first, and then while rebuilding lap then. Its sure made a diffence in temp thou, can't wait till i get my one now start even more so, i still running a non lapped e6700 clocked at 3.2g temps are around 40 ideal to load of 63. I not even got at5 on mine just the cheap compond that came with the freezer pro 7, so i can't wait for the lap and water cool, with the nice at5 on mine, i might get close to you then as well. Great pics thou, tis good to see how each step looks after it. How did you lap yours thou, rotate at 90 degree each time, or at 180 and then 90 on new paper ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeble Posted July 12, 2007 Posted July 12, 2007 How did you lap yours thou, rotate at 90 degree each time, or at 180 and then 90 on new paper ? Use one grit, rotate 90 degrees for the next grit, repeat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M3NF Posted July 12, 2007 Posted July 12, 2007 Nice turned out well, i read a few posts on lapping not sure what way i try myself, i think the drawing with a pen is a good way to see how level it is, then maybe the figures of eight for sanding, as it tends to do the edges more, thou thats not really needed to much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeble Posted July 12, 2007 Posted July 12, 2007 Nice turned out well, i read a few posts on lapping not sure what way i try myself, i think the drawing with a pen is a good way to see how level it is, then maybe the figures of eight for sanding, as it tends to do the edges more, thou thats not really needed to much. I went with straight forward-and-backward motion while sanding. I thought about circles and whatnot, but I didn't want to risk putting uneven pressure and rounding the top. When you have your computer apart for your WC system, that'd be a perfect time to lap the CPU. The D-TEK Fuzion probably won't need it though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
road-runner Posted July 12, 2007 Posted July 12, 2007 Great lap job. So two fans were not working? Looks like you cpu was opposite of a spoon also... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeble Posted July 12, 2007 Posted July 12, 2007 Great lap job. So two fans were not working? Looks like you cpu was opposite of a spoon also... Yeah, I always wondered why my temps were so high and why it didn't feel like there was any air coming through the radiator. I thought about checking so many times but I guess I'm just lazy. Even though my IHS wasn't concave, I still got a good drop in temps. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
road-runner Posted July 12, 2007 Posted July 12, 2007 Yeah, I always wondered why my temps were so high and why it didn't feel like there was any air coming through the radiator. I thought about checking so many times but I guess I'm just lazy. Even though my IHS wasn't concave, I still got a good drop in temps. I bet getting those fans running helped the most but of course the lapping had to help some... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now