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need a lapping guide

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you dont need anything higher than 600 really, just make sure its imperial wetndry .. i love that stuff =p

and post pics!
 
Mr. Max,

I would go higher than 600 grit. It can readily be found at any auto parts store. I went 2000 grit.
 
theres no extra performance when you go higher, it actually made a slight decrease in performance due to the grooves being too small ... lol dont believe theres actually a thread somewhere in this forum .

i personally went to 2k but then resanded down to 1200.
 
how long should i sand for?
how will i know when its ready?
ps im not lapping cpu as i dont want to void warranty im just lapping the heatsink
 
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as you sand you will see the copper come through the cpu, which is fine. you may want to do a dye test to see how true the things you are lapping are, before, during and after the process. Make sure you sand evenly and carefully, and try to avoid sanding the corners down. You may see where it is off as you watch the way the copper appears as well. Took me an hour all together w/cleanup for cpu and hs combined.
 
Higher than 600 Grit is a waste of time and just for looks and a few quick pics. The basic idea is to go for flatness more than anything.

Personally, I sanded for around 7 hours and didn't hit the dies, I'm sure you'll be fine, I was nervous at first too. Another thing to be careful of is static buildup, but I didn't use any preventative measures and my chip was fine and probably still running to this day.
 
theres no extra performance when you go higher, it actually made a slight decrease in performance due to the grooves being too small ... lol dont believe theres actually a thread somewhere in this forum .

i personally went to 2k but then resanded down to 1200.

"The grooves being too small"? What is the logic in that? The idea is to get as thin a layer of thermal compound as possible between the heat sink base and the cpu face since even the best thermal paste provides resistance to heat transfer - and still get complete coverage and contact. Any size grooves add to the thickness of that layer and the deeper the grooves the thicker the layer of thermal pasted needed to fill them.
 
"The grooves being too small"? What is the logic in that? The idea is to get as thin a layer of thermal compound as possible between the heat sink base and the cpu face since even the best thermal paste provides resistance to heat transfer - and still get complete coverage and contact. Any size grooves add to the thickness of that layer and the deeper the grooves the thicker the layer of thermal pasted needed to fill them.

The reason that makes sense is because you want some minute grooves so that the particles of thermal paste fill them. This results in increased surface area and more effective cooling than simply squeezing the paste out the sides. That being said, after my review, I found that there really isn't much difference.
 
Use a razor blade edge to check flatness, a utility knife has great blades to use for this, about 2" long. Don't push hardly at all when sanding. Sand 5-10 times in one direction, rotate 90 deg, do it again, again, again. Put the sandpaper on a sheet of glass, very flat. Tape the sandaper to the glass, dribble a bit of water on the sandpaper, sand. Don't rush it. When the razor blade says it's flat, it's flat.
 
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