WHAT the Hell is "lapping"

[SPLEEN]

can anyone explain this to me. not sure if this is the right forum? Does it envolve sandpaper? clueless...

[Da Whip]

Lapping is taking all the surface imperfections off the bottom of the heatsink. This makes for better contact, thus better heat transfer.
Basically you start w/ 500 grit wet/dry emery paper on a flat surface (glass/sanding block) smooth out ridges and grooves.
go to 800 repeat and finish w/ 1000 grit or higher. I prefer to take off the fan and do the last 2 stages w/ water.
When finished it should be almost mirror like. Wipe clean w/ rubbing alcohol or nail polish. Attach fan and go.

[Sony]

Glad to help. Lapping I do belive is yes sanding the machining marks out of the bottom of a heatsink using very fine grit sand paper it helps the preformance of the heatsink I haven't done it to mine fearing ruining the heatsink bye oversanding since this is the first time I have ever built a computer.

[kat]

lapping involves making the bottom of your hs as flat and as smooth as posible. ;D

[FRANK]

There's a bit more to it than just "smoothing" it up. What you are also trying to achieve is a perfectly flat interface between the mating surfaces of the heat sink and the CPU core. If you were to take a straight edge to the surface of the heat sink you would find that, in many cases it's not straight and true. To remedy this you should sand the base as stated by Da Whip, In addition I would recommend that you place the sandpaper on a pane of glass, tape it down if necessary, pay attention that you don't tilt the heat sink, resulting in a heat sink with an angled bottom causing uneven pressure when attached to the motherboard. Follow the above procedures and use progressively finer paper, finishing with a polishing compound if needed to achieve a mirror-like finish. Use no waxes or other foreign material other than a quality thermal transfer paste between the heat sink and the CPU.

You should see a noticeable decrease in your temperatures after performing this procedure.

Good Luck!

After reviewing my post, I realized that Da Whip did mention the glass and truing the heat sink. Sorry about the redundancy.

As far as ruining the heat sink by removing too much material, it's possible but unlikely. You're removing material by the thousandth's of an inch. Just make sure that you keep the heat sink parallel to the sanding surface.

[kat]

FRANK


good job !!

[el]

lapping comes from the word Lapidary like polishing rocks and gems! I know that is not what you guys wanted to know. also try toothpaste it really works.