lapping true 120

i've been lapping for a wllie now guys but i have a question. Is it ok that there are areas of aliminium still visible even if the surface is flat?

thanks!
 
Hi

I am thinking about lapping my TRUE and was wondering how you got on mitch212k?

Just watched the video. Is it a good guide for lapping?

Do you use sand paper or wet and dry paper?
 
Kalpsn2000 said:
Hi

I am thinking about lapping my TRUE and was wondering how you got on mitch212k?

Just watched the video. Is it a good guide for lapping?

Do you use sand paper or wet and dry paper?
Click to expand...

Hi Kal.

I followed that video for lapping it yes, using the premium lapping kit. It took a few hours and I was using the stuff provided, I went 400, 600, 800 then onto the smallest grid, 10 micron I think. Finish is good but it does take a while :)

Google for "Premium lapping kit"

I didn't lap the cpu as it's finish was satisfactory imo ... cpu sits @ idle in the bios @ 32' with a push pull system on the true. only 38' under load.
 
Clairvoyant said:
whats you 8400 clocked to.
Click to expand...

In between 2 broken motherboards the most i was able to clock it was to 3.2 =P

Corrupted bios on a P35 diamond and unstable P5KC ... also wonder if the ram settings were wrong as i was getting blue screens but they were passing memtest individually. Also the hd i'm using atm is 50% bad sectors o.0 according to some program anyway
 
I lapped my TRUE as well out of sheer curiosity to see if it would make a difference.

I can't really tell to be sure as now my e8200 slightly clocks higher than before but that could be down to the new psu I installed as well.

Temps are difficult to guage really due to the weather alternating between rainy, humid or just plain hot.
 
Google for "Premium lapping kit"

Walk into your nearest hardware store and ask to see there selection of Wet'nDry sandpaper, they cost about 25p-40p a sheet and you may need two or three sheets total, 1x240 grit, 1x400 grit (and if you really must 1x800grit)

I rarely go above 400 grit myself and total turn-around is 15mins-30mins max, starting with the 240grit to get the bulk of the flattening done (gently and evenly) then some 400grit one-way-action and you have a real nice base.

Lapping is not rocket science but I remember I was a little apprehensive myself the first time, always a good idea to practice your nOOber lapping skills on something like a stock HSF, if you gonna make a mistake (which is possible) you may as well bOrk something less precious than your uBer premium heatsink.

All you need apart from those couple of sheets of sandpaper is a lick of gaffer tape and a flat surface (A4 sized sheet of glass works for me). By all means spend your money on a premade kit but its not the best money spent considering you already shelled out for the heatsink and maybe a fan too.

lappingvr5.jpg

Premium lapping kit 50p
 
Kalpsn2000: You have a bit of metal and you have some sandpaper, you need to have the confidence to take the heatsink to the sandpaper and slowly rub the base of the metal heatsink flat. It's amazingly easy and once you have done it you may wonder what all your apprehension was about! :D

I did watch the video, thinks its ok, the best tip the guy gives is about holding the sink as close to the bottom as possible, this will help avoid *rocking* the heatink as the force of mavity is lower.

The worst case scenario is that you will destroy your heatsink or at least produce such a wonky uneven base that the sink will not be making good contact with the CPU's IHS.

I always do about 20 pushes backwards and forwards (not like what that guy says) and then rotate the sink 90 degrees and then another 20 pushes backwards and forwards . The 240grit I start with has immense cutting power so I don't need to press that hard instead just let the motion do the work. The knack is to keep the base of the sink completely flat against the paper. If you don't pay attention one side of the base will be lapped more than the other side.

Once the base is flat I switch to 400grit and repeat the process except this time I don't rotate the sink 90 degrees instead I rotate it 180 degrees and push backwards and forwards really slowly. By lapping in the same direction to finish I find the finish is really nice, kinda looks like the finish you see on a stock heatsink except a bit finer.

Beyond 400grit is at your discretion, some people say it helps with the temps but I think its more a glamour job myself . . .these same people will always publish a photo of their finished sinks as smooth and shiny like a mirror refecting a random object! :o

If your really aweful with your hands start off with a cheaper heatsink or something you dont mind bOrking, you will get the hang of it quite quickly.

Last thing is wet vs dry, they both can work but I think wet is better to start, once u get the hang of it you will be able to lap dry.

Good luck! :)
 
Last edited:
Sorry to bump this ancient topic but I have a relevant question regarding lapping the TRUE 120.

I'm planning on trying this, I did not have any sand paper, so I went to the neighbours and got 3 types, but no numbers, they are labeled, fine, medium and coarse.

Will these do?


Thanks
Will.
 
Yes, but it's not that good a call. For the trip to the DIY store I'd stick with wet & dry paper, unsure what common-as-much sandpaper is like in terms of static, and you can't wash the metal dust off it, hang it to dry then reuse.

I'll add to the (admittedly old, good find) thread that lapping a TRUE took me 40 minutes on a lapping table. Processors take much less time.

The recommended (I was taught this, rather than chose this by trial and error/google) is to move it back and forth until finished with the grade, then rotate 90 degrees when going down a grade. You can then check when to move to the next grade when all the scratches are parallel (um, using the microscope everyone has).
 
mitch212k said:
In between 2 broken motherboards the most i was able to clock it was to 3.2 =P

Corrupted bios on a P35 diamond and unstable P5KC ... also wonder if the ram settings were wrong as i was getting blue screens but they were passing memtest individually. Also the hd i'm using atm is 50% bad sectors o.0 according to some program anyway
Click to expand...

3.2ghz is pretty awful even if it is lapped for an E8400! Yet it says in your sig 4ghz?
 
JonJ678 said:
Yes, but it's not that good a call. For the trip to the DIY store I'd stick with wet & dry paper, unsure what common-as-much sandpaper is like in terms of static, and you can't wash the metal dust off it, hang it to dry then reuse.

I'll add to the (admittedly old, good find) thread that lapping a TRUE took me 40 minutes on a lapping table. Processors take much less time.

The recommended (I was taught this, rather than chose this by trial and error/google) is to move it back and forth until finished with the grade, then rotate 90 degrees when going down a grade. You can then check when to move to the next grade when all the scratches are parallel (um, using the microscope everyone has).
Click to expand...

What would be wrong with using this sand paper? Why do I need to wash the mental dust off the sand paper? There is plenty of surface area on the sand paper I can just move to the side.
 
You want to reuse the sand paper, it will get completely covered in metal power, and not rub down at all effectively, the wet and dry, you wash off and carry on using, its much better, plus will give a smoother finish.
 
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