from now on, all lapping dicussions go here

how does that happen bro?Did you lapped em properly?

Hello all. Newb to these forums. Recently made a couple posts over at TomsHardware forums about my lapping/cooling experience with the Xigmatek s1283.

I'll just copy and paste here for anyone that's ineterested.

Please note: The approach i take may be considered harcore, but it takes just as much time to lap a cooler the way i do it as it does by all the guides I ever read

You can find the original here at the following link http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/248759-2...ek-s1283-lapped , or just read it here on this thread.

1st post

I searched the web pretty extensively and didn't find much on this cooler and lapping it, except for 1 post with a pic, and another here about the Heatpipes being thin.

Well i took the plunge and lapped my cooler. Thought I would share some results.

After lapping the cooler, my idle temps dropped another 2c, and load temps (Orthos for 3 hrs) dropped another 4c. This is with AS5 applied.
This is on an e8400 at 3.8Ghz

Idle is 37c
Load is 48c

I went in steps with these polising and wet/dry sandpapers:
1500
2000
3600
6000
8000
12000

The 3600 and above are from a plastic modeling kit, used to buff the paint job.

Here's some pics: (sry can't seem to get them to post in this thread)
Before Lapping

http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=538157
http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=538158


After lapping
http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=538159
http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=538160

So there ya go. Not sure if anyone's really interested in the fact that these can be lapped pretty well, but if you were, now you know what type of results you can have.

/D

2nd post - Responses

the associate - Glad to hear your happy with the cooler. I was considering the True Black cooler (had great success with their products before) but I'm glad I got the Xigmatek. Even after deciding to lap it, I figured it out that if i were to sand through the heatpipes, i could order another one and still be less out of pocket.

Nils and iluvgillgill - Yes they do make 12,000 grit, and even higher, up to 20,000 in some polishing kits, and down to 4micron if your really a freak. I have a kit here that I use for plastic models (I like the paint job to look like glass :wahoo: ) I'll link the kit at the end of this post, and explain what I do.

skittle - Sorry but the cooler is installed in it's final position now. I've done all my temp testing as well as orientation testing for temps. Rest assured though, it's flat and shiny

Just as a note for anyone who's interested, I found that the cooler works best for me with my setup in a horizontal position. The layout of my MB and the way that the cpu sits in it's socket puts the cores in a horizontal position. I was curious if mounting the cooler with the center heatpipe directly accross the cores (E8400) would make a difference... It did, although it was only 1c at idle and 1-2c at load. I did this before I lapped the cooler, and did not check to see if the difference was still there after lapping, but I would assume that my first test would hold true.

From most posts that I have read about Quad Cores though, the orientation doesn't seem to make a difference, since you are now cooling 4 cores that are oriented in a different fashion.

slim - I did not use any type of polishing liquid. Plain old tap water has always worked best. Another thing to think about with polishing liquid is that we don't exactly know what each type of chemical is that is used in the polish itself.. Will it be absorbed into the metals (copper and/or aluminum) ???

So to stay on the safe side, I recommend nothing but water. I'm not sure what others use, but water is a good lubricant, and we know that it won't cause any adverse affects.


The Kit - Hobbico makes it, it's called "Hobbico Micro-Mesh Model Polishing Kit. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFHZ0

The grits are one of each micro-mesh sheets, 3200, 3600, 4000, 6000, 8000, and 12000 grit
Each sheet measures 3" x 4"

These sheets are extremely soft, pliable, and hold water very well. (You won't need to tape them down when you get to the stage where you will use them).

Better yet, I have my same set for 12+ years now. The new kits come with a Sanding block (no no), a flanel cloth (are we cold) and a liquid abrasive...ABRASIVE... As the word implies, it's an abrasive. We're not looking to scuff the surface, we're looking to create a mirror finish.

All this for less than $20US! you'll enjoy years of fun with your new polishing kit...Take it on vacation, out to dinner, over to your friends house, you'll be the envy of everyone on the blue bus!

ok, back on topic...

REMEMBER - Your doing this at your own risk and expense, so be careful not to over do it with the 1500 and 2000 grit wet/dry papers. Take your time

If you've never lapped a cooler before, I suggest a search on the web for a lapping guide that you understand best


This is the part of the process that removes the most material, so work smart!!

I start off as usual with 1500 grit and then 2000 grit until I have a cloudy mirror finish. I move the cooler back and forth in a striaght line for a few minutes at a time, and then turn the cooler approx 30 degrees, so that I'm not sanding the same exact grooves and possibly creating a valley in the surface.

This will be also be the longest part of the process. Once you move to the 3600 and above grit, it will only take a few minutes with each


I then move to the 3600, 6000, 8000 and finally 12,000 grit sheets. This is where I change my method a little. I no longer go back and forth with the cooler, I instead using a clockwise/counter-clockwise pattern. It won't take much time at all with each one, and you'll also notice that as you move up in grit, the time will become shorter.

I skip over the 3200 and 4000 grit. why? I'm not really sure, just didn't see the need to only jump up 400grit inbetween.

Once I have the surface a mirror finish, I clean it well with Isopropyl Alcohol and let it dry overnight (again, I'm just a freak like that, the alcohol will dry pretty fast).

For applying the AS5, I found that this was the best method - http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?opti...=1&limitstart=5

Read down to his last method, thats the one I found to work the best, although i needed nowhere near the amount of TIM that he used.


Enjoy,
/D

This post has been edited by Daimyo68: Sep 3 2008, 11:49 AM

@Daimyo68

WoW!!.. really great work there... and about the 3600,6000,8000,12000 grit sandpaper where can i get them?... need em to polish my car's foglight cuz its getting yellowish and clouded... my d-tek fuzion v2 already mirror finish no need lap d...

Thanks for the comment!

As for your headlights... heh I'm in the automotive business. Kits that we get for healights go up to 2000 grit, and then a sealer when done. I'll look to see what the sealer is tomorrow when i open up.

As for the "Polishing Kit", it's a Plastic Model Polishing/finishing kit: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFHZ0

The newer kits come with a polisher/abrasive, and a sanding block. I got my kit several years ago when they didn't come with that stuff.

/D

@Daimyo68

what a good job.... i once lap my xigmatek with 1000, 1500, 2000 grit is nothing near your mirror like finish.... a very good job bro

i really didnt know there is sandpaper above 3000 grit....

This post has been edited by ham_revilo: Sep 3 2008, 02:16 PM

This is madness!!

superbly good lapping

never seen anything like this before

for the processor IHS, i can only do dry sanding right?i doubt somebody would want to wash their processors

Correct, you would not use any lubrication at all. Here's a link to a site that explains the general procedure:
http://forums.pureoverclock.com/showthread.php?t=874

Make sure your grounded!!!

I'm tempted to do this myself. It will definately make a couple degrees difference, maybe more under load. A local supplier has the e8400 for about 150US now, so it's not a huge loss, although it would still be a loss and a lesson learned.

I was recently crawling the web and seen a cpu taken all the way down to the cores. The guy did a great job, took him about 6 hours if i remember correctly. There were also other mods that needed to be done after his work because of the amount of material removed from the cpu. Clearances and heights changed.

If I can find the post again, I'll link it.

/D

EDIT - Here's the link. make sure to scroll down to see how much material was taken off. it's a whole lot

Guess it would have been good to include the link
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=576831

This post has been edited by Daimyo68: Sep 13 2008, 10:52 AM

that percuma 1 u use wat sandpapers bro?

This post has been edited by UltramanToron: Sep 13 2008, 08:19 AM

wow.... thats 1 hell of a lapping... so shiny ermmzz just wanna know... how much would the sand papers cost to do all that and in what quantity i should get to achieve that shinyness

thanks for sharing bro... it really reveal the cores and it looks damn good

@Daimyo68

OMG....*speechless*

i dont know how proper i lapped.. but,true is kinda big.. so,in the process of lapping,the hsf keep senget2.. mean its not stick to the ground,always wan fall.. any solution?

btw Daimyo68,is that mirror? im speechless!

This post has been edited by xhacker: Sep 20 2008, 02:23 AM

eh, been out in the field for a couple weeks...

Glock88 - about $30 US for all the sandpapers. Go back up a couple posts to my original and I explain how I lap a heatsink.

ham_revilo - That guy in the link is has some serious patience. most cpu's don't survive when people take 'em down that far.

xhacker - thanks for the compliment. I did manage a mirror finish

hehe nothing to do yesterday.....
lapping a copper base p4 cooler that found at my store room.
only use 1000 grit + brasso


This post has been edited by Kian2391: Oct 22 2008, 03:16 PM

WTAsk u guys out there, who uses hyper 212? did u guys lap it n is there any significant improvement?

i think i'm gonna do it when i change my mobo n proc soon, hope u guys can help me here.

thx in advance

wanna know something, will the nickel coating come off if i lap my heatsink? currently using cm z600

I have a question here. Can I lap my heatsink all over again with 600, 800, 1500, 2500 grit sandpaper even after I lapped it with 1500 and 2500 grit?

Dunno about yours, but my V8's coating came off after i lapped it, but only at the edges.

This post has been edited by EasternBadge: Jan 4 2009, 12:39 PM

just lapped my cm z600....

results are as follow:

stress test before lapping



before lap



after 800 and 1000 grit



after 1500 grit



after 2000 grit



stress test after lapping



after THREE LONG hours of lapping, this is wat i got:

1. warranty void for my heatsink, guess i can throw away the receipt now
2. back pain
3. dirty hands
4. 2c in temperature drop during linx

man, i gotta say, its so worth it.... wat more the thermal paste hasnt been cured 100% yet

i might consider lapping my proc too

This post has been edited by iBenQ: Jan 6 2009, 05:51 AM