Lapping question

Steveiam

Steveiam

Steveiam

Associate
Joined
16 Feb 2008
Posts
8
Hi all first post on here please go easy on me lol. Just bought some new PC parts from ocuk :
Asus Maximus Formula
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-8000C5 1000MHz ReaperX
Asus GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB
Swiftech H20-220 Apex Ultra Watercooling Kit

I've not upgraded for a while and this is my first time using water cooling just got a couple of questions. I've seen the word "lapping" mentioned a lot now I know what it is and have done it many times at work with hydraulic pumps do I need to do it or is it something you do if you have high temps from the cpu?
Second question is a bit daft really do I use distilled or de-ironised water in the water cooling I have no idea. Many thanks for your help.
 
welcome!

And you've asked 2 questions that don't have right/wrong answers unfortunately.

Lapping is basically sanding the heatspreader on your cpu to make it flat, intel heatspreaders are often concave so sanding them down with wet/dry sandpaper can yield some good result in LOAD temps, doesn't make much difference to idle from what I've seen.

Normal thing is to start off with something like 400 grit and then with it slightly damp go backwards and forwards 10 times then turn 90 degrees and repeat. Keep doing that with a low grit until you see copper all over the heatspreader then go with higher grits to smooth it off.

If you're a massive ponce go up to 2500 grit and get a mirror finish then take a gratuitous reflection picture and post it up lol.

Most probably past 400 once you've made it flat the shine makes sod all difference to temps but we all do it :)

Second question, personally I only use de-i water, its non conductive to start with (becomes conductive again over time) and it pretty clean, I had de-i water and dye in both my loops for over a year with no algae.

Alternatively go with something like feser one, much brighter colours and much more conductive resistant so if you think you might be leaky thats what to go for.

Good luck!
 
dunno tbh, I expect its mainly to do with mass manufacture. The IHS is "good enough" for probably 95% of applications so it can stay as it is?

The process of making it flat for 5 degrees load temp difference is probably commercially silly especially when that 90% is destined to spend its life unclocked.

You only really see the difference when you're talking about high end hardware and high end cooling which neither go into your standard dell so why bother?
 
ayy its all about manufacturing costs and timings, would have to buy more machines to do it, take longer, and cost more so would make less profit or have to charge more.
so its just a quality against cost consideration
(just been learning about all that stuff in manufacturing optimisation in uni) :p
 
Many thanks for the help guys think I'll see what sort of temps I get first not sure how fast I need it I only play CS:S and COD 4 I've been playing them on a Abit N8 32X, Athlon 64 3700 ATI 850 XT 2 gig of Balistix's pc 5000 so hopefully I see a difference.:D
 
matt100 said:
If you're a massive ponce go up to 2500 grit and get a mirror finish then take a gratuitous reflection picture and post it up lol.
Click to expand...

OI! Who you calling a massive ponce?!

:D:cool:
S5300075.jpg


S5300078.jpg


S5300073.jpg
 
Only pointless if you are happy doing half a job.

The way I see it is like this: Considering both CPU's are flat, one is dull and covered in scratches, the other like mine. The dull one with scratches is far from flat. While it may appear flat to the naked eye there are still many crevices (scratches) which will need filling with thermal paste which is less conductive of heat than copper. Mine, while still having scratches/crevices will have a lot more copper in contact with the heatsink base compared to the dull one, therefore conducting more heat. Now the difference in temps is 'minimal' but the point is, the difference, no matter how small, is worth it imo, especially as you have already done most of the hard work in getting it partially lapped.

I guess it comes down to how anal you are about such things - like my grandaddy used to say, "If a jobs worth doing its worth doing well".
 
How flat are the watercooling blocks usually (I'm probably going to get the D-tek Fuzion)? I've seen pictures posted here of some hideously curved heatsink fans but as the waterblocks are more made for the extreme cooling market are the finishes much better?
 
FuZion blocks are deliberately bowed, and Apogee GTXs come with a fatter O-ring that will bow the block if you install it. This is deliberate though to increase the contact pressure in the center of the block and I would hazard a guess that it also aids with spreading the TIM outwards as you tighten the block up.

Also the latest Penryn based chips seem to come with a flat IHS now.
 
Probably by using 2000+ papers and metal polish. But like I've said before, as long as it's flat is all that matters. No reason to polish unless it's for a bigger Epeen.
 
bikes said:
Probably by using 2000+ papers and metal polish. But like I've said before, as long as it's flat is all that matters. No reason to polish unless it's for a bigger Epeen.
Click to expand...

I don't see why you have this attitude. I think w3bbo has done an excellent job. Some people like to be perfectionists, and there's no problem with that. If I was to lap my CPU, I'd want to go for an effect like that, just so I can be proud that it was done properly.
 
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