Lapping Silver Blocks: Should I lap this?

S

SelRahc

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Messages
389
Hi all,

Ok so I got my silver watercooling blocks in, and what I want to know is 2 fold.
First, should I lap this block?

silvercpu.jpg

silvercpu2.jpg

silvercpu3.jpg

Tried to capture the reflection quality as best as I could....

The finnish isn't bad, but mill marks are visible. Though it feels smooth I'm sure it could become a mirror with an hour and some effort.

My next question is, if I lap this, would it be any different from lapping a copper heatsink? I do not want to mess up my block by doing it incorrectly. I have been looking over this guide:

http://www.bigbruin.com/html/lapping-guide.htm

Would I do the exact same thing for a silver block? With the shine that is on it now, would I still start at 400 grit? Is this even a good guide?

I just don't want to hurt my new goodies :)
 
I haven't tried out the silver blocks personally, but when I got my TDX block for my P4 it was already machine lapped to a 1200grit finish and looked quite nice. I went ahead with the procedure anyways though....and ended up doing 400-600-800-1000-1500 grit, and it WAS worth it.

The similarity between us are that both blocks came looking quite nice, and unless for some bassackwards reason the silver blocks are any different, I'd say go ahead with it....
 
hmmm you should try and find some '3 micron diamond grit polishing paste' and a fabric polishing disc thatd do the job :p
 
Silver is softer than copper yes? I'm just worried it wouldn't have the same effect on a silver block as it does on a copper one..... I'd hate to gouge the block or something.

I've never lapped anything before yet.
 
SelRahc said:
Silver is softer than copper yes? I'm just worried it wouldn't have the same effect on a silver block as it does on a copper one..... I'd hate to gouge the block or something.

I've never lapped anything before yet.
Click to expand...

Hmm, and those things sure aren't cheap for the mediocre gains they show over copper variants (talking about TDX blocks here) so maybe you'd feel comfortable finding a person or two who HAS lapped theirs.
 
DaMiEn said:
hmmm you should try and find some '3 micron diamond grit polishing paste' and a fabric polishing disc thatd do the job :p
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Yes. I do that to my block, and they go from a reflecting half-circle pattern (from ACs machine lapping) to a mirror. Then I take them to the lab and bounce a laser off of them, to find uneven parts and polish them down.
 
first of all, if you're goign to 'reflect' stuff reflect something with straight lines on it, like a piece of graph paper. You'll be able to see if there are any non-flat areas on your block...

Also: unless that block is made out of pure silver, lapping it will just take you down to copper (if the said block is silver plated... i'm not sure).
 
diredesire said:
Also: unless that block is made out of pure silver, lapping it will just take you down to copper (if the said block is silver plated... i'm not sure).
Click to expand...

Another good point that I seemed to have missed.....I'm not sure if any of these silver blocks out today are actually pure silver, or just silver plated.....unless it's pure I wouldn't lap it to any extent, if at all.
 
those Aqua Computer blocks are 100% (well, 99.9%) pure sterling silver, as are the Silver Editions of Cathars creations. About the other stuff, I don't know.
 
centvalny said:
Imo that silver block will perform really good, even w/o lapping it.
Click to expand...

All I know is that DangerDen has silver versions of their TDX blocks on the market, and I've never seen them outperform the copper version by more then 2C or so....and for the large price difference between them I really don't see it as beign worth it.

Hopefully others on the market are either cheaper, or show more performance gain, because I really haven't looked. ;)
 
Little Grabbi said:
those Aqua Computer blocks are 100% (well, 99.9%) pure sterling silver, as are the Silver Editions of Cathars creations. About the other stuff, I don't know.
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Cathar's blocks are .999 silver, as are Dangerden's silver TDX.

The Aqua blocks are sterling, which is only 92.5% silver. Depending on just what the other 7.5% is, sterling is at best barely better than copper and possibly worse.
 
Well when I lap I mark up the whole base of a heatsink (or waterblock in your case) with a marker. Then I lap with a lower grit (like 600 if it already has a pretty good finish) on a flat surface, like a piece of glass until I see no more marker which proves its flat. then I mark with marker again at 800grit and do what I said previously. Then I go to 1000 then 1500. GL
 
sabrewolf732 said:
Well when I lap I mark up the whole base of a heatsink (or waterblock in your case) with a marker. Then I lap with a lower grit (like 600 if it already has a pretty good finish) on a flat surface, like a piece of glass until I see no more marker which proves its flat. then I mark with marker again at 800grit and do what I said previously. Then I go to 1000 then 1500. GL
Click to expand...

Hmm, I never bothered marking the bottom of the block but it turned out fairly well regardless.....maybe I'll give that a shot next time though. ;)
 
cornelious0_0 said:
Hmm, I never bothered marking the bottom of the block but it turned out fairly well regardless.....maybe I'll give that a shot next time though. ;)
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yea I never heard of it either and didnt ever do it, but theyn I read about it. Just basicallly tells you whne you can stop lapping or if you need to keep goin.
 
Is silver > copper? Who cares. I didn't buy it for the performance gain lol... it's bling. Plus it's the first of it's kind. Maybe they didn't get their shine down yet.... who knows. I just know i think it can be better.

It's not plated, I do know that. I'd be alittle upset if I started lapping and get down to copper.

I don't have a laser to make things perfect.... lol. I just want a better finish on it. Will the copper lapping guides work and give the same results on silver?
 
SelRahc said:
Is silver > copper? Who cares. I didn't buy it for the performance gain lol... it's bling. Plus it's the first of it's kind. Maybe they didn't get their shine down yet.... who knows. I just know i think it can be better.

It's not plated, I do know that. I'd be alittle upset if I started lapping and get down to copper.

I don't have a laser to make things perfect.... lol. I just want a better finish on it. Will the copper lapping guides work and give the same results on silver?
Click to expand...

lapping should help you a few c, and yes copper <silver and yes a copper guide should work but if you fuck up your $150 block dont blame me :D
 
sabrewolf732 said:
Well when I lap I mark up the whole base of a heatsink (or waterblock in your case) with a marker. Then I lap with a lower grit (like 600 if it already has a pretty good finish) on a flat surface, like a piece of glass until I see no more marker which proves its flat. then I mark with marker again at 800grit and do what I said previously. Then I go to 1000 then 1500. GL
Click to expand...


All this proves is that you sanded the whole surface, not that it's flat. Using a piece of glass is a good call. However, glass is not always completely flat- especially something like window glass that has sagged after years of service. Just be careful what you consider a flat surface.
 
It doesnt look like you need to start with 400. It seems like you would just be getting rid of more material than needed. I say start with something around 1000 and go up from there, it looks pretty smooth already.
 
sabrewolf732 said:
lapping should help you a few c, and yes copper <silver and yes a copper guide should work but if you fuck up your $150 block dont blame me :D
Click to expand...

I agree with all of the above......but I still don't understand spending so much more on the block for a LITTLE extra bling and next to no performance gain....I dunno, I just look at it in the sense that I could find so many other ways to spend and/or blow that kind of extra cash on my comp then on a silver block. :p

Just me though, it is still nice. :)
 
Ok, so I decided to give it a shot and see what would happen. I have never lapped anything before so I was alittle worried to say the least. Here is the result:

silvercpu_after.jpg

silvercpu_after2.jpg


It's dark or I'd post more pics. Needless to say I'm REAL pleased with how it came out. Not perfectly mirrorized, but close enough to make me happy :) Just so you know, the block isnt wavy. Its the notebook.... it's been around the block a few times hehe. Just wanted something to reflect off of.

What do you think?
 
SelRahc said:
Ok, so I decided to give it a shot and see what would happen. I have never lapped anything before so I was alittle worried to say the least. Here is the result:



It's dark or I'd post more pics. Needless to say I'm REAL pleased with how it came out. Not perfectly mirrorized, but close enough to make me happy :) Just so you know, the block isnt wavy. Its the notebook.... it's been around the block a few times hehe. Just wanted something to reflect off of.

What do you think?
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<pics taken out to save space>
The first time i read your response i read it as "needless to say i'm REAL pissed with..."
II was thinking "wtf... it looks pretty good.."

Prop it up against some graph paper and look at the reflection, check the edges... chances are the edges are a little more sanded than the center, but that's OK for a block
 
Wow dude, that's a nice lap job. Good to hear you could indeed lap the silver, as I'm probably getting a silver TDX in a while. That's a real, real nice mirror finish you've got going :)
 
cornelious0_0 said:
Another good point that I seemed to have missed.....I'm not sure if any of these silver blocks out today are actually pure silver, or just silver plated.....unless it's pure I wouldn't lap it to any extent, if at all.
Click to expand...



My S-TDX is pure :) I love the damn thing !!


joecuddles said:
Wow dude, that's a nice lap job. Good to hear you could indeed lap the silver, as I'm probably getting a silver TDX in a while. That's a real, real nice mirror finish you've got going :)
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I bought my S-TDX the first week it was available and I must say I could not be happier :)
 
It's about a full degree cooler than the copper counterpart, which could mean the difference between 638 and 640 on my GPU, or 2680 and 2700 on my CPU, so I think I'll be going with it ;)

Just curious, what grit did you use to sand with? Standard 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 style? Or did you start with 1000 or 1500?
 
joecuddles said:
It's about a full degree cooler than the copper counterpart, which could mean the difference between 638 and 640 on my GPU, or 2680 and 2700 on my CPU, so I think I'll be going with it ;)
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I suppose, it's just that since I have limited funds, I have a hard time justifying the extra cost for an extra 2MHz on the GPU or w/e else....but the truth is that I'd be doing the same thing right along side ya if I had the dough. ;)
 
cornelious0_0 said:
I suppose, it's just that since I have limited funds, I have a hard time justifying the extra cost for an extra 2MHz on the GPU or w/e else....but the truth is that I'd be doing the same thing right along side ya if I had the dough. ;)
Click to expand...

The S-TDX is total bling. Do you see how sexy that thing is? The silver really makes it uber and shines through.. mmmmm......
 
cornelious0_0 said:
I suppose, it's just that since I have limited funds, I have a hard time justifying the extra cost for an extra 2MHz on the GPU or w/e else....but the truth is that I'd be doing the same thing right along side ya if I had the dough. ;)
Click to expand...


Gotta love fundage :D :p

stdxinside.jpg
 
joecuddles said:
Just curious, what grit did you use to sand with? Standard 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 style? Or did you start with 1000 or 1500?
Click to expand...

I went 600 -> 800 -> 1000 -> 2000 Didn't have any inbetween 1k and 2k hehe.
 
Also: The back of wet/dry sandpaper polishes up blocks reeeeealll nice... i hear its ~10000 grit, but i dunno...
 
diredesire said:
Also: The back of wet/dry sandpaper polishes up blocks reeeeealll nice... i hear its ~10000 grit, but i dunno...
Click to expand...



there isnt any grit on the back tho...so more or less it would be similar to finishing up on a piece of notebook paper no?
 
Visable-assassin said:
there isnt any grit on the back tho...so more or less it would be similar to finishing up on a piece of notebook paper no?
Click to expand...
Something like that, when it's wet it has a very slight texture, in my experience it polishes/finishes up reeeeal nice :)
 
diredesire said:
Something like that, when it's wet it has a very slight texture, in my experience it polishes/finishes up reeeeal nice :)
Click to expand...


Ill have to give that a shot sometime....interesting tho :)
 
zer0signal667 said:
All this proves is that you sanded the whole surface, not that it's flat. Using a piece of glass is a good call. However, glass is not always completely flat- especially something like window glass that has sagged after years of service. Just be careful what you consider a flat surface.
Click to expand...

hmm, all common sense tells me that it would make it flat. Maybe my common sense is wrong, and I do remember reading it somewhere.
 
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