Ultima-90I lapped by CrazyPC

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nav

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Just in-case someone else is interested in seeing CrazyPC's lapping work, I snapped a couple pictures of the Ultima-90I I had CrazyPC lap for me. I haven't owned a Thermalright heatsink since the Socket-A days, so I took notice of the warnings of the bases frequently being concave or convex out of the box. Since it's hard to tell from these photos: the base is very flat throughout the center area; I don't have any way of numerically testing the flatness, but I'm satisfied.

There is something lacking cosmetically, but nothing I'm going to whine about too much.

Out of the package, wrapped in plastic and bit dirty:

Unwrapped, still dirty:

Cleaned up with some alcohol (this shot was seemingly impossible with flash, but I'm still too amateurish with my camera to improve it much; I did not want to touch up the shot at all on my computer besides cropping and scaling):

I don't have a motherboard or CPU for this heatsink yet (next month some time I'll have the money I hope) and obviously I can't do a before and after comparison of any kind. For what it's worth: delivery was quick and the price was as good as I could hope with the lapping surcharge (better than doing the work myself :D). Hopefully one of you finds this useful :).
 
colinstu said:
Someone drop to the box in a puddle?
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Nope, the box was in excellent and dry condition. I too though it was wet at first (sealed in by the plastic wrap), but it was merely dirty. The remaining spots seem to be left over nickel plating, since they won't scrub off with alcohol despite my best efforts.
 
Not to make you feel bad but to me that heatsink looks terrible. I would have thought for the lapping surcharge you have to pay they could have atleast cleaned it up after they lapped it. You also said you cleaned it with alcohol. I would be quite unhappy if that stuff did not come off especially after you payed extra for it.
 
Balex99 said:
Not to make you feel bad but to me that heatsink looks terrible. I would have thought for the lapping surcharge you have to pay they could have atleast cleaned it up after they lapped it. You also said you cleaned it with alcohol. I would be quite unhappy if that stuff did not come off especially after you payed extra for it.
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exactly what I was thinking.

I'd be kinda PO'd and get them on the phone asap.
 
That's simply some oxidization on the copper, which is normal to get after a lap job. Simply rub it against some fine wet&dry for a bit and it should clean right up.
 
MisterSparkle said:
That's simply some oxidization on the copper, which is normal to get after a lap job. Simply rub it against some fine wet&dry for a bit and it should clean right up.
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I have a bit of 600 grit wet sand paper left over from my last painting project, think that'd do the trick? (It's too bad I've ended up doing a bit of the work myself if I do that, oh well, heh.)
 
nav said:
I have a bit of 600 grit wet sand paper left over from my last painting project, think that'd do the trick? (It's too bad I've ended up doing a bit of the work myself if I do that, oh well, heh.)
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I think 600 might be too coarse, if you haven't mounted it yet can you post some up close pictures of it?
 
Roliath said:
I think 600 might be too coarse, if you haven't mounted it yet can you post some up close pictures of it?
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Sure, give me a minute or two. (How I wish I had a tripod...)
colinstu said:
how much did you pay for them to do that?
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$19. I am a bit disappointed in the appearance (hence the "cosmetics" line in my first post), but I'm fairly sure it won't affect performance even if I leave it as-is. I planned on posting pictures even if it was immaculate (I mean that with utter honesty).
 
600 would prob be fine, just wet it first. If you can find higher, 800 would be nice :)

"but I'm fairly sure it won't affect performance even if I leave it as-is"

Yeah, it'd be fine left as is as well.
 
Let's go see some temps afterwards! Have you tried that heatsink before you shipped it off?
 
colinstu said:
Let's go see some temps afterwards! Have you tried that heatsink before you shipped it off?
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It never touched my hands before they lapped it, it's straight from CrazyPC. I'm hoping to stick it on top of a Q6600 (my first Intel desktop CPU ever :p, I've been AMD since the K6) if all goes to plan. It'll still be a month or so before I can follow through though.

Here's the promised close ups (wow what a horrible job the alcohol did :eek:, I may have to find something less crappy):
 
I haven't lapped a heatsink in a few years, but never did one of my jobs turn out looking anything like that. Even the practice ones. I think it looks horrible and that close up is disgusting. I have no idea what they lapped it with or how, but in my non-expert opinion, I think they need to fire someone.

Just my $0.02,
- Joey
 
Wow. I would ask for a refund. It's not supposed to look like that. For $19 it should have a flat mirror finish.
 
Choder said:
Wow. I would ask for a refund. It's not supposed to look like that. For $19 it should have a flat mirror finish.
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A mirror finish is not as important as clean and flat, but for a professional lapping job, I would of very much expected a mirror finish. Like the days of PolarFlo waterblocks, which could double as a mirror.

- Joey
 
I sent CrazyPC an email just to see what they'll say. (I'm not trying to stir up any trouble, just sharing my experience with other likely customers...)
 
/\ A polishing agent could work. Just be sure to clean thoroughly afterwards with Acetone or Alcahol.
 
#1. Ensure the polishing agent can be used on copper and aluminum.

#2. Ensure you use Isopropyl alcohol. aka, rubbing alcohol. Anything 70%+ or better yet 90%+ works best.

#3. Afterwards, I also suggest using a substance such as this; http://www.easypckits.com/products/ac/

- It will clean the surface and using the second bottle, it will help protect the surface from oxidation, corrosion and other harmful "events".

- Joey
 
Thanks for the tips. I'll stop at the hardware store tomorrow and see what I can come up with before I try anything with sand paper. I will let you know (see, actually) how it goes.
 
I've heard anything over 2000+ is useless.

What's the deal with lapping recently? Yes there are benefits to it but I doubt this is a new technique.
 
colinstu said:
I've heard anything over 2000+ is useless.

What's the deal with lapping recently? Yes there are benefits to it but I doubt this is a new technique.
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It's not a new technique. It's been used by the manufacturing industry probably since it's very inception. But lapping is popular among the hardcore looking to squeeze every possible degree and MHz from their systems.

I tried my hand at lapping and was very successful. That was years ago, but I found it wasn't worth the effort or the chance you'll fubur your heatsink. I only found minimal differences.

- Joey
 
Sometimes heatsinks come out of the factory with their bases in horrible condition too. My TRUE120 couldn't handle my Q6600 at 50% load, so after an inspection of the heatsink, discovered it's base was concave by around 2mm. Took well over an hour to sand it down.
 
MisterSparkle said:
Sometimes heatsinks come out of the factory with their bases in horrible condition too. My TRUE120 couldn't handle my Q6600 at 50% load, so after an inspection of the heatsink, discovered it's base was concave by around 2mm. Took well over an hour to sand it down.
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You can use a micrometer (analog or digital) to examine the base of your heatsink, to determine it's condition. I have one that I used to help determine whether or not the entire base was of equal size.

Companies such as Thermalright are usually really good about that, so I doubt it was actually 2mm, that's a lot for a heatsink.

- Joey
 
PanzerKrieg13 said:
You can use a micrometer (analog or digital) to examine the base of your heatsink, to determine it's condition. I have one that I used to help determine whether or not the entire base was of equal size.

Companies such as Thermalright are usually really good about that, so I doubt it was actually 2mm, that's a lot for a heatsink.

- Joey
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Well, just over 1mm :p Still in pretty bad shape, I actually had to stop before it was fully flat. It had two even deeper areas in between the side and the middle of the base that I would've had to spend another hour to get out. However, I got the middle of it flat, which is what really matters.
 
MisterSparkle said:
Well, just over 1mm :p Still in pretty bad shape, I actually had to stop before it was fully flat. It had two even deeper areas in between the side and the middle of the base that I would've had to spend another hour to get out. However, I got the middle of it flat, which is what really matters.
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The middle is what makes contact with the processor, but you have to ensure the sides don't prevent flat contact between the heatsink and the processor as well.

As for time frame, the one thing I learned is take your time. Another reason I stopped lapping, I don't have the patience anymore. The time you take, the better the product. This is absolutely crucial. A lapping that took 1+ hour will work better than a 30 minute job.

- Joey
 
Mike at CrazyPC responded today saying that it does appear to be tarnish caused by moisture (either from condensation on its journey through UPS or otherwise) and recommended either 1000 grit sandpaper (their final sanding step) or a tarnish remover. I am going to try the latter solution and see what happens :).
 
Yup Brasso will prolly take that right off like I suggested. It looked like my old Watercooling Heatsink after it had been off for awhile.
 
Brasso is some pretty effective stuff :). It seems to have done a very good job in only a couple of minutes. I soaked the heatsink in an alcohol bath afterward and scrubbed lightly with a cotton swap to clean up any remnants, hopefully that was good enough.

 
nav said:
It never touched my hands before they lapped it, it's straight from CrazyPC. I'm hoping to stick it on top of a Q6600 (my first Intel desktop CPU ever :p, I've been AMD since the K6) if all goes to plan. It'll still be a month or so before I can follow through though.

Here's the promised close ups (wow what a horrible job the alcohol did :eek:, I may have to find something less crappy):
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I'm still a bit shocked you received it like that. I just received my TRUE120 the other day and the lapping job was very well done. Didn't have any residue due to lapping either. But I ended up lapping it a bit more with some higher grits since I was doing my cpu anyways..
 
Lapping the Ultima-90 is paradoxical to me. If you want TOP performance, the TRUE120 is a bit better. If you don't care about every last degree, then don't bother lapping.

That said, I love the Ultima- I have two, both unlapped. (One is a reserve for my next build.) The one that's assembled keeps my quad running under full load, with no fan- just case cooling. That's a passive Q6700, and it handled the B3 Q66 just as well, just added a few degrees. I don't care about getting under 30C (idle is about 32, FYI), but I love having a computer that's quieter than my external hard drive. :)
 
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