Lapping C2D and Tuniq 120

Kinyin

n00b
Joined
Dec 31, 2006
Messages
42
I've found plenty of guides out there and I think I have the idea down pretty well on how to accomplish it.

My question is how hard would it be for someone who is new to lapping to accomplish both sets safely?

Needless to say I have a bad enough case of OCD when it comes to computers that I will be more than careful... Just wanted to get some opinions, maybe some people that lapped their CPUs already and can tell me just how careful I need to be?
 
With todays advanced thermal compounds, lapping wont even yield you much more performance, if any.

I'd just pass on it.
 
With todays advanced thermal compounds, lapping wont even yield you much more performance, if any.

I'd just pass on it.

Your kidding right? I lost 4c by lapping my CPU and heatsink. :p . You are correct in saying that the thermal compounds today are far better then the past, however the IHS on the C2D are also coming up iether convex, or concave, and it would require to much AS5 to make that difference up, hence it will hinder performance (temps) Much better to take some sand paper and make it PERFECT.
 
Well obviously it also depends on the condition of the headsink before lapping.
 
It IS as easy as it seems and you have the right attitude, just be carefull with the cpu and clean it well with alchohol including the contact points on the backside that you might have touched. Make sure you are not carrying a static charge by touching the case of the computer or some other grounded metal occasionally if you dont finish the job at one sitting.

One thing I do on occasion after the initial lapping, as a final touch, is to lap the HS and CPU together, you have to make sure you orientate them the same way they will be assembled and with a little polishing or buffing compound between the parts, lap them against each other and look for changes in the surface reflection to show up any areas that are not mating/touching. My unproved theory is that this will tend to "mate" the two surfaces better than lapping each independently against a susposedly flat third surface. /shrug too much time on my hands.


edit: Oh and coffee filters make an excellent cleaning cloths as they are lint free, cheap, and easy to find.
 
It IS as easy as it seems and you have the right attitude, just be carefull with the cpu and clean it well with alchohol including the contact points on the backside that you might have touched. Make sure you are not carrying a static charge by touching the case of the computer or some other grounded metal occasionally if you dont finish the job at one sitting.

One thing I do on occasion after the initial lapping, as a final touch, is to lap the HS and CPU together, you have to make sure you orientate them the same way they will be assembled and with a little polishing or buffing compound between the parts, lap them against each other and look for changes in the surface reflection to show up any areas that are not mating/touching. My unproved theory is that this will tend to "mate" the two surfaces better than lapping each independently against a susposedly flat third surface. /shrug too much time on my hands.


edit: Oh and coffee filters make an excellent cleaning cloths as they are lint free, cheap, and easy to find.


Damn good idea about the coffee filters;)
 
It IS as easy as it seems and you have the right attitude, just be carefull with the cpu and clean it well with alchohol including the contact points on the backside that you might have touched. Make sure you are not carrying a static charge by touching the case of the computer or some other grounded metal occasionally if you dont finish the job at one sitting.

One thing I do on occasion after the initial lapping, as a final touch, is to lap the HS and CPU together, you have to make sure you orientate them the same way they will be assembled and with a little polishing or buffing compound between the parts, lap them against each other and look for changes in the surface reflection to show up any areas that are not mating/touching. My unproved theory is that this will tend to "mate" the two surfaces better than lapping each independently against a susposedly flat third surface. /shrug too much time on my hands.


edit: Oh and coffee filters make an excellent cleaning cloths as they are lint free, cheap, and easy to find.

Much appreciated it. I will be going all out on safety and will be rinsing the sandpaper a couple times every minute along with static guards, etc.

Thanks everyone.
 
my ihs was extremely concaved so it helped me a lot. take it slow if you wanna be safe.. you will see how concaved they are within a few minutes
 
if you lapp only the heatsink does that help a little? then the cpu even more?, or should you lap both if your going to lap the heatsink anyway? I would rather not mess with the chip incase i want to resell it on ebay or somthing in the future
 
no reason to worry when doing this. It is really simple, and VERY effective. I use the black plastic cover that the CPU comes shipped with when I lap my CPU's. After about 3-4 minutes with 600 grit sand paper, you will see how NOT FLAT your IHS really is. When your all done, you will see a 100% copper face that you can see your self in:D
**EDIT** also make note of all your CPU stepping codes on the face of the chip, as you will sand them off. Comes in handy if you go to sell your CPU later.
 
my ihs was extremely concaved so it helped me a lot. take it slow if you wanna be safe.. you will see how concaved they are within a few minutes

Not necessarily, when lapping, the drag on the sand paper actually wears the outside of the object being lapped faster than the center. This would make the object appear concaved, when really all you are doing is making it more convex.

If you really want to see the flatness of a heatsink or a IHS, get some precision machined flat bars and put it against the heatsink or IHS and look at the subsequent crack between them in the light.
 
Back
Top