- Joined
- Jul 18, 2007
- Messages
- 812 (0.13/day)
- Location
- Almonte, Canada
| System Name | Sonny Boy |
|---|---|
| Processor | i5 11600K 4.9GHz @ 1.35 Vcore |
| Motherboard | AORUS Z590 Elite AX |
| Cooling | Deepcool Gammix 240mm AIO |
| Memory | 4 X 8GB Teamgroup DDR4 3200MHz |
| Video Card(s) | ASUS RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X |
| Storage | Adata Legend 1TB |
| Display(s) | Philips 27" 4K |
| Power Supply | Corsair 750W |
| Mouse | Razer Basilisk |
| Keyboard | Razer Huntsman V2 |
| Software | Windows 11 Pro |
I had to take my system apart to add a backplate for my Vendetta 2 heatsink so I thought I would take advantage of the opportuity and lap the processor and heatsink. I was in a hurry so I didn't take pictures but the process I followed is listed below.
I used a piece of polished granite as my sanding surface. When we got our granite counter tops for the kitchen they gave us a granite cutting board as a bonus. Never really used it for cutting anything but it is an awesome flat surface for lapping heatsinks
1) Taped some 220 grit to the granite surface and started with the processor. I marked an "X" on the surface with a permanent marker so I could observe where any bumps or valleys appear during sanding. As it turns out the IHS was only slightly raised in the center. It sanded remarkably evenly. I then gave the bottom of the Vendetta 2 a quick lap just to check flatness (I wanted to be careful with the exposed heatpipes... I hear they are thin walled). It looked pretty flat as well although the grind marks were a little rough for my taste. I did notice that the first application of the heatsink seemed to have put small dents into one heatpipe on adjacent corners of the CPU. Never did get those sanded out but they are at the very outside so I wasn't too bothered with them.
2) Changed to 400 grit and repeated on the CPU. Copper looking a little shinier. Again, just a quick lap on the heatsink.
3) Changed to 800 grit. Rinse and repeat....
4) Finished off with 1600 grit. I did not get it to a mirror finish but there were no obvious grooves or scratches at this point. Same with the Vendetta base. Very very smooth but not a mirror.
5) I ran a bead of MX2 along the center of the of aluminum partition between the center heatpipe and the two outside pipes. Smoothed that into the creases so that the TIM on the heatpipes would not ooze up into the crevice and not spread as desired.
6) Using a small plastic flexible tool I then spread a very very thin layer of MX2 along the whole surface of the heatpipes. I have seen other methods that involve one or two dollops on the base and allowing to spread from the center outwards but this seemed like I would guarantee good coverage.
7) Assembled the heatsink on the motherboard and tightened the 4 screws in a diagonal fashion a couple of turns at a time. Very tight fit and excellent compression from what I could see.
And after all of that I reassembled everything in the case and....
No difference from before the lapping
Folding ovenight my Core 0 and Core 1 hit 62C max and Core 2 and 3 hit 57C. This is a Q6600 G0 VID 1.2875 running at 400X9 at 1.44V load (LLC enabled).
So other than the opportunity to gaze upon some smooth copper goodness it seems I may have wasted my time. It may have been that I just had a really flat IHS and heatsink to start with so removing the nickel has minimal impact.
My wife just rolled her eyes when she saw me sanding my new CPU Hard to explain to non-techy types...
I used a piece of polished granite as my sanding surface. When we got our granite counter tops for the kitchen they gave us a granite cutting board as a bonus. Never really used it for cutting anything but it is an awesome flat surface for lapping heatsinks
1) Taped some 220 grit to the granite surface and started with the processor. I marked an "X" on the surface with a permanent marker so I could observe where any bumps or valleys appear during sanding. As it turns out the IHS was only slightly raised in the center. It sanded remarkably evenly. I then gave the bottom of the Vendetta 2 a quick lap just to check flatness (I wanted to be careful with the exposed heatpipes... I hear they are thin walled). It looked pretty flat as well although the grind marks were a little rough for my taste. I did notice that the first application of the heatsink seemed to have put small dents into one heatpipe on adjacent corners of the CPU. Never did get those sanded out but they are at the very outside so I wasn't too bothered with them.
2) Changed to 400 grit and repeated on the CPU. Copper looking a little shinier. Again, just a quick lap on the heatsink.
3) Changed to 800 grit. Rinse and repeat....
4) Finished off with 1600 grit. I did not get it to a mirror finish but there were no obvious grooves or scratches at this point. Same with the Vendetta base. Very very smooth but not a mirror.
5) I ran a bead of MX2 along the center of the of aluminum partition between the center heatpipe and the two outside pipes. Smoothed that into the creases so that the TIM on the heatpipes would not ooze up into the crevice and not spread as desired.
6) Using a small plastic flexible tool I then spread a very very thin layer of MX2 along the whole surface of the heatpipes. I have seen other methods that involve one or two dollops on the base and allowing to spread from the center outwards but this seemed like I would guarantee good coverage.
7) Assembled the heatsink on the motherboard and tightened the 4 screws in a diagonal fashion a couple of turns at a time. Very tight fit and excellent compression from what I could see.
And after all of that I reassembled everything in the case and....
No difference from before the lapping
Folding ovenight my Core 0 and Core 1 hit 62C max and Core 2 and 3 hit 57C. This is a Q6600 G0 VID 1.2875 running at 400X9 at 1.44V load (LLC enabled).
So other than the opportunity to gaze upon some smooth copper goodness it seems I may have wasted my time. It may have been that I just had a really flat IHS and heatsink to start with so removing the nickel has minimal impact.
My wife just rolled her eyes when she saw me sanding my new CPU
Hard to explain to non-techy types...
