CPU and Heatsink Lapping

[Kanaric]

http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=433

I've recently tried this and it works really well. I have a Pentium D 805 (2.66 ghz stock 533FSB) and have been running at a clock of 3.6ghz and its lowered my CPU temp of full load by almost 10 C. It was well worth it if your comp runs hot.

I've now been able to OC to 3.8 ghz without any problems with this with a Tuniq Tower so its WELL worth it if you OC or if you just simply want to run cooler.

The basic logic behind this is that the heatsinks and nickle plate on top of the processors are not flat surfaces so they do not contact properly more often than not. This evens it out and gives a more event contact.

Sometimes heatsinks can be EXTREMELY uneven and i've seen in a forum where a guy put a straight edge razor's blade on it to show that it can get ridicuously concave pretty much voiding the reason to buy an expensive heat sink so its something that definitely needs to be considered if you are building a computer.


This shows that after a while where the nickle plating gave way to the copper how uneven the surface is on a cpu. Its the same on a heatsink as well.

[spartan_phalanx]

I have done this with all my after-market heat-sinks and mosfet sinks on my motherboard but have never mustered the nerve to do it to my CPU chip. I didn't really keep track of temps either so I can't really compare a before and after to say just what results I achieved. Also be aware that this likely voids any warranty on either the CPU or heat-sink component.

I would say lapping the CPU itself should be left for the serious over-clockers and not the everyday pc user. Heat-sinks aren't as big of a deal as most are considerably less expensive than a new CPU if something were to go wrong.

A good rule of thumb when building and or over-clocking is to replace the stock thermal paste on all components that use it (CPU, NorthBridge, SouthBridge, mosfets, or even those that are on your graphics card if you dare). Lapping slightly eliminates the need for thermal paste, although some should always be used regardless.

[Freddie]

Lapping is a lot work, but a reduction by 10c is really good. I find using a good thermal paste along with a decent third party heatsink works just as well as lapping.