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Thermalright Cutting Corners on SLK-800?

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Decaf

Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Location
Monday
I read a bunch of reviews for the SLK-800 before buying. I thought I was getting the best HS out there. Well, maybe I did, but I have one big complaint. MY SLK-800 had a cr@ppy base. The review at overclockcafe.com said "no lapping needed", indeed the picture showed a real nice base. At modfactor.com they cited the "smooth and shiny base" and you can see from the picture that it was mirror smooth even showing a nice reflection of a coin.

Now what did I get? A base with a small spot that looked like some kind of corrosion and one that had rough, plainly visible machining lines-- not shiny, not mirrorlike at all; not even adequate. Just for hahas I mounted the sucker with AS3 on my xp1600 and got an idle of 40C (with a tt smart fan2). Not what I had expected with ambient temps around 60F.

Next I took it off and spent 45minutes lapping. First with 400 grit, then 600 grit, then 1500 grit resulting in a much improved surface and a somewhat mirrorlike sheen. Apply AS3 and pop it back in and now she idles at 31C.

So what just happened here? Did Thermalright have such a great design that their production ramped so much that they had to cut a few corners?

Or am I cynical enough to suggest that Thermalright sent out mirror polished bases to all the reviewers and decently polished bases to the first wave of consumers who spread the word and now they're selling them like hotcakes and can't be bothered to polish their bases. I don't know maybe it's just mine. Maybe if you're disappointed in the performance of your SLK-800 you should take a look at the base and perhaps lap it.
 
I've installed a few, and all were fairly mirror like, one we did lap for the heck of it. You may have just been unlucky. They might not check every HS for a mirror shine before they ship, so its possible for a few that are less them perfect to be out there
 
My SK-7 wasn't all that smooth, it had machining marks (noticeable swirls) on the base, I installed it that way and it was pretty good, I lapped and reinstalled last night and it dropped my temps 3 degrees... no big deal really, it's still a damn good HS.
 
I agree that you might have been hit with a little bad luck w/ your slk-800. My SK-7 came pretty mirror-like w/ no lapping needed.
 
My SK-7 wasn't all that smooth, it had machining marks (noticeable swirls) on the base, I installed it that way and it was pretty good, I lapped and reinstalled last night and it dropped my temps 3 degrees... no big deal really, it's still a damn good HS.

Exact same thing here, got an SK7. When I got it I checked base it was OK and I installed it and it was still a big improvement over the volcano 6cu+ but of course... being ever so tweaky I had to lap it to a mirror finish wish gave me a drop of about 4C which I thought was pretty friggin SWEET. But I also read the review and the NO NEED TO LAP thing was in my mind when I was first installing it.

So they probably sent some REALLY nicely finisshed ones to the reviews and have since cut a few minor corners... still a good heatsink.
 
Hey maxima88 considering we have a somewhat similar setup with the cpu, HD, board and HSF I see your running at 2.27 vcore and at 2ghz, what are your temps?

Right now stock voltage 1.75 gets me to 169fsb, I really have not pushed it much above 1.8v and I got to about 175fsb. My temps dont change at all though from my sigs fsb.

Temps are idle 35/25 load 40/26. I have 3 120's and 3 80 case fans.

Only thing I need is a better PS.. mines a 300W of a company I cant remember. Gonna get a sparkle 400w soon, that should help a lot.

After looking at how similar your setup is I am a bit intrigued to push mine a little harder once I get a better PS.
 
IR1 said:
Hey maxima88 considering we have a somewhat similar setup with the cpu, HD, board and HSF I see your running at 2.27 vcore and at 2ghz, what are your temps?

Temps are idle 35/25 load 40/26. I have 3 120's and 3 80 case fans.

After looking at how similar your setup is I am a bit intrigued to push mine a little harder once I get a better PS.

I kinda cheat on my o/c since I only o/c past 2ghz and bump up my vcore past 2.1v in the evenings when my wife and kids are asleep.
Why is that, you ask?
Well, I live in DE and it's winter here already w/ overnight temps in the high 20f and low30f range. I open the windows to my study room and let the cold winter air in until my room temp drops below 15c. That's when I can bump up vcore and get my max o/c working. At 2.27v, my cpu temp is 35c while surfing the net and 40-42c at full load.
I've actually had the room temp down to 5c a couple of times.
But I have to have a winter jacket on and wear gloves. LOL.

I normally have my pc running at 1858mhz (10.5x177) at 1.79v.
 
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Hmm ya I sometime open my window and put a house fan on the cill and let it blow cold air in. Im in California so it dont get all that cold. But I get my room to 15C, yet I havent tried busting out the over 1.85 vcore, little weary of that, I just test to see what kinda low temps I can achieve with the lower room temp.

ok thanks for giving me the info.
 
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