Jan 6 2007, 09:28 PM, updated 19y ago
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The story is like this, I bought myself a Thermalright XP-90 and I have lapped the heatsink and I got about 2°C off. But I didn't do it properly cos was quite new to lapping and also I didn't have the proper equipment (instead of a flat glass, I used a square tile to put on). So well, they say lapping a heatsink could get you about 5°C off but thats just the best case scenario...
I used Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste and well, I think it has reached its 'optimal' 200 hours of sinking in cos I find a further 2°C off...
Right now, I need ur opinion. Should I re-lap my heatsink? or just leave it be? Consider all the Pros & Cons
- Further lapping might only shave off 1~2°C or none at all!
- Have to wait another 200 hours for the TIM to 'sink-in'
- Arctic Silver 5 is expensive to re-apply!
- Might damage my CPU cos take in and take out...
I need your advice for those who are familiar with heatsink lapping.
*edit*
Btw, my current temperatures of my rig (as can be seen in my signature) is about
Idle - 40°C
Load - 48°C
Yea, my system is kinda hot. But thats cos its the good ol' socket 754
I used Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste and well, I think it has reached its 'optimal' 200 hours of sinking in cos I find a further 2°C off...
Right now, I need ur opinion. Should I re-lap my heatsink? or just leave it be? Consider all the Pros & Cons
- Further lapping might only shave off 1~2°C or none at all!
- Have to wait another 200 hours for the TIM to 'sink-in'
- Arctic Silver 5 is expensive to re-apply!
- Might damage my CPU cos take in and take out...
I need your advice for those who are familiar with heatsink lapping.
*edit*
Btw, my current temperatures of my rig (as can be seen in my signature) is about
Idle - 40°C
Load - 48°C
Yea, my system is kinda hot. But thats cos its the good ol' socket 754
Updated
Thank you guys for your feedback. I have decided to lap my heatsink after all. The votes came pretty even and actually it was cablesguy who eventually talked me into lapping the heatsink
So this is how it looks like when I unplugged the heatsink. Sorry the image is blur cos I was using my phone's camera cos I forgot the charge the battery of my digicam
Yes I know, some of you might say that I have applied the thermal paste wrongly (I applied the whole square instead of putting one dot in the middle then let it spread).
A very dusty Thermalright XP-90. But I use the fan in a 'suck out' position which actually accumulates less dust than the normal 'blow in' position.... (don't think serong okay!
)
One thing I made a difference this time is that, instead of just using tissue paper to wipe the thermal paste off, I used alcohol (I can't afford Arctic Clean
). Yes it is very crucial the wipe using alcohol cos after I wipe it clean with tissue, I used alcohol and the tissue still became 'black'.AND...........
*drum rolls*
YEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..... its done!! Lapped using:
600 > 800 > 1000 > 1500 > 2000 > 1500 grit.... Oops yes I went back to 1500 after 2000. I think its the quality of the sandpaper I bought. The 2000 grit one gave me worse results than 1500. It seems that I can only achieve the 'mirror shine' with 1500 grit.
Nice.... nice..... very nice
Also very nice... hehe...
and last but not least.... the Heatsink Lapper... or Lappist... argh... anything...
As for the temperatures.... hohoho... I'm sure everyone is very curious how it is doing. All I can say is, I'm getting the same temperatures as before I lapped. Which is GREAT news
Cos when the Arctic Silver 5 needs time to 'sink-in' so yea... 200 hours from now I will post my results...*Extras*
Here are some tips from me when lapping your heatsink:
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1) Altho the tutorial said let the weight of the heatsink carry the workload, I suggest using your strength to push it onto the sandpaper. I could not get a mirror shine without the pressure.
2) Doesn't mean you have to work all the way to 2000 grit. I worked from 600 > 800 > 1000 > 1500 > 2000 > 1500. Yes, I worked backwards on the last one cos it seems that the 2000 grit one gave me worse results.
3) Please use only glass to lap on. The flatter the surface, the better the results.
4) If you have money, go for 3M sandpaper. Unlike me, buy those cheap 'cap ayam' sandpaper from hardware store...
5) Don't lift up the heatsink half way to see your progress. This makes the contact point different and when you place it back on the sandpaper, it will be back to square one.
2) Doesn't mean you have to work all the way to 2000 grit. I worked from 600 > 800 > 1000 > 1500 > 2000 > 1500. Yes, I worked backwards on the last one cos it seems that the 2000 grit one gave me worse results.
3) Please use only glass to lap on. The flatter the surface, the better the results.
4) If you have money, go for 3M sandpaper. Unlike me, buy those cheap 'cap ayam' sandpaper from hardware store...
5) Don't lift up the heatsink half way to see your progress. This makes the contact point different and when you place it back on the sandpaper, it will be back to square one.
This post has been edited by J-Slade: Jan 9 2007, 03:15 AM
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