best way to measure cpu and heatsink flatness (without a specific instrument that is)

J

Jason

Limp Gawd
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Feb 20, 2003
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i'm gearing up to put together a build with a xeon x3440 and a cooler master hyper 212+. i've been reading up on lapping, and it seems that many people are reporting marginal gains. couple this with the fact that i'm only planning on some mild overclocking, and i thought it would be best to measure my cpu and heatsink for flatness before i bother to lap.

the question is, how do you go about measuring for flatness? any tried and true methods with common household items?
 
Something like this?

attachment.php


Here you have three TR heatsinks lapped: Copper, TRUE Black and HR-01 Plus.
 
what is that, though? looks like a micrometer perhaps? i don't have one of those. i was hoping maybe a razorblade or something to that effect would suffice.
 
That is just a flat ruler... something that is supposed to be super flat (like a razor) can suffice.
 
one other question!

i haven't taken an especially close look at my hyper 212+, but if i recall correctly, there are some gaps between the surface of the heatsink itself and the heatpipes. would it be better to just fill those gaps with thermal paste and allow the paste to make for even contact, rather than bother with lapping? i'm thinking that even if i lap, i'm going to have to apply quite a bit of paste in those gaps/channels around the heatpipes.
 
Jason said:
one other question!

i haven't taken an especially close look at my hyper 212+, but if i recall correctly, there are some gaps between the surface of the heatsink itself and the heatpipes. would it be better to just fill those gaps with thermal paste and allow the paste to make for even contact, rather than bother with lapping? i'm thinking that even if i lap, i'm going to have to apply quite a bit of paste in those gaps/channels around the heatpipes.
Click to expand...
Those gaps have nothing to do with lapping. They are simply a byproduct of the way HDT heatsinks are designed. You don't really need to fill them up, since all that matters is that you have full paste coverage of the heatpipes (since that is how the heat is actually transferred to the fins). Follow this guide to apply the paste: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.p...ask=view&id=170&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=5
 
big time thanks for that link, Zero82z. that is exactly the kind of guide i need!
 
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