my alpha 8045

[Ozzman]

i think this sucker needs some lapping i can see the lines... i wish i was not in such a hurry to put the sucker in but now im to lazy to take it out.. and also how should i lap? i never done it.. i have a friend with one of those things that sands doors should i use that ;) jk naa is there a specail type i should use like paper or something??

also it seems mine runs cooler blowing into then out dont know why though sence others get better sucking out....

also i have a fan sucking air out RIGHT next to this do u think i should change this?? dumb question to most of u im sure... im idle at about 38 to 39c and about 42 tops underload now remeber this is with a 1.13 OCed to 1.333 at 1.80 vcore..

[ButcherUK]

Lapping you want wet&dry paper, it's usually black, available from auto parts stores. Wet the paper and place on glass. Move the heatsink in a side to side motion, do not apply pressure - you'll make it convex. Once you have lapped it so you can only see lines in one direction, rinse everything off well and get the next grade of paper (start low, work to high). Rotate the heatsink 90 degrees and lap till you can only see lines in one direction again. Repeat till you get to 1200 or so paper.

[Dissolved]

lapping should get u -2c maybe, and try getting some new ac3 :)

[RangerJoe]

if you could get a belt with fine enough paper, then you could do it like that, you would be sure to get a nice finish and a flat base though.....

[Aesik]

I have yet to see a belt sander that has a flat enough base to trust any lapping to. They usually run on rollers and don't actually have a flat enough surface anywhere for lapping.

[Hoot]

Do not, repeat Not use a belt sander to lap a heatsink. Others have tried and ruined their heatsink. It is a much more gentle process than that. If you do a Google search using key words of heatsink and lapping, there are over 3000 articles to choose from. Many have pictures! :D

Hoot

[Bender]

Once you have finished lapping the heatsink you will want a good polish to get that mirror finish. I highly reccomend mothers polish. I have tried others but nothing has been as good as the mothers.

[Yatta]

Originally posted by RangerJoe
if you could get a belt with fine enough paper, then you could do it like that, you would be sure to get a nice finish and a flat base though.....

don't use a belt it will go too fast and you can chip the core of your chip if the bottom isn't perfectly flat.

[muddocktor]

I don't use any polish on the base of my heatsinks after lapping them. Most have a wax base, which will embed in the microfissures left after lapping and hinder the thermal paste from doing it's job properly. Also, I've recently started finishing off my lapping jobs with 2000 grit wet-or-dry. I don't see the need to polish the base any further than that.

One other thing that I noticed with the Alpha 8045 a couple of days ago. I had it rigged up sucking air through the heatsink, and when I went to change some cables out on my T-bird rig, found that it was chock full of dust bunnies. My temps hadn't gone up appreciably though, so it was still doing a decent job of cooling. This was after being installed for around 2-3 months. I went back with my MC462 because it doesn't seem to collect as much dust as the 8045.

[Hoot]

Muddocktor is absolutely correct. You do not want to polish your lap job with any product that will clog the baseplate and inhibit your thermal grease from embedding in it. Besides, the temperature difference between a smooth, matte finished baseplate and one you can comb your hair in is neglegible. This is a case of diminishing returns. I have tried many different lapping techniques and paper selections. From my own experience, if you start with a sheet of 600 Wet-or-Dry. Rinse it regularly with water that has a drop or two of dish soap in it, while lapping. The 600 will eventually lose its edge and as it gets less abrasive, it produces a finer finish. By the time you are done, the finish on your baseplate will be more than adequate. No need to advance to 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 and Crocus Cloth, or Polish unless you want to carry it into the shower with you and shave using it. :D

Trust ol' Hoot on this. Keep it simple.

[klosters64a]

Most Alpha HS's are designed for the fan to draw air up through the HS. I found serious dust underneath my Alpha PEP-66 after six months of use. For this reason, I now install fans on Alpha's to blow air down through the HS.

I also saw no decrease in cooling performance with the clogged Alpha. Surprising.

Proper intake fan filtration will probably decrease the growth rate of the mat of fine dust that can partially block the bottom of the HS. Then again, the PEP-66 has very fine fins, not the pins of the PAL-8045.

[ken257]

If you want to try something that can improve your lapping results a little, but like Hoot sais it's splitting hairs. Use Artic Silver as the lube on your last sanding. Better to have the grease imbeaded in the poors rather then any kind of wax or residue left from a polishing compound.

Also on the collecting of dust, filters on the intakes and a litle positive case preasure works wonders. The beauty of the Alphas is that they work great sucking. What you can do is duct the hot air from your cpu right out of the case. Basicaly use the HSF as one of your exaust fans. This helps 2 things first it cuts down on noise by eliminating 1 fan and it also keep the heat from your cpu from increasing case temp.

[UserName]

if you turn that fan by the CPU around you will see a 3C drop

Sucks or blows either way thats good:D

But i'd take a good blow over a suck any day:D

[Ozzman]

my alpha runs better blowing into the heatsink then out... anyone know why/??? and i would love to turn that fan around that is RIGHT next to the alpha BUT it would be drawing air from the back of my PC and my power box gives off A LOT of heat to the read of the PC

i was thinking of buying one 120 mm fan at 60 cfm and moding my side panel to blow air in.. OR buying 2 92mm fans at 44 cfm and have those blowing in.. its the same cost.. what do u guys think is it better to have one 120 mm at 60 cfm or 2 92 mm at 44 cfm.. and what do u think the sound will be like with the 2 92mm fans??

ONE last thing.. will screwing the 2 92 mm on top of each other will that get more air in one area or is it just the same...?? because i want to air directly on my alpha sence my PCI and AGP dont really get hot enough for me to give them their own fan :D

EDIT: kick ass my 300th post.. **** i spend to much time here got to 300 in about a month and half LOL

[UserName]

try it

[Ozzman]

i turned the one next to my comp around to blow in and its the same temp but now its blowing air at room temp in where as the one under my HD is blowing cool air hmm...

[UserName]

now flip the HSF over