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Want to lap my CPU

Soldato
Joined
23 Oct 2009
Posts
3,997
Location
Derbyshire
Basically want to lap my Phenom X4 955 but i've no idea what to put it in so the pins don't get bent/dirty during the process. The videos i've seen all had Intel chips where they would basically cut a square out of bog roll and stick it round with tape. Is there any sort of containers that will fit my AMD?
 
I'm sorry, You wanna do what? Lap?

I'm not sure, but as far as I can tell, you somehow sand off (although possibly something with more force) the top of the CPU and the bottom of the heatsink (where the two touch) to make the surfaces smoother the increase the area of contact between the two and thus increasing amount of heat that transfers between the two, meaning more heat can be dissipated and thus temperatures reduced. Sounds like a great way to void your warranty and damage the CPU, but what do I know?
 
but is it really worth all that hassle and potential to kill the cpu? would not a better cooler be a better idea?
 
You're not sure what it is but you want to do it? I've done a few and sometimes results are great but most times 'meh'. Regarding your pin question, i just used a dead board's socket bolted to a piece of wood to keep it still and protect the pins, haven't done it in such a long time that the last cpu i did had pins and an Intel brand name lol.. Just get a better cooler.
 
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ok, use an old socket from another motherboard, get one cheap on that auction site.

secondly, here is a couple of tips, :D

buy a lapping kit from somewhere,

when you have finished the job remember that the cpu is now 2-3 mm less in height, and with AMD that means that your heatsink wont touch the CPU, as the bracket will hold it above it :D

many a chip has died, because of this last tip not being observed

good luck
 
I should be fine as it's not exactly rocket science to do but i'm worried I might get some metal shavings between the pins and shorting/blowing up the CPU/mobo. I've got the Antec Khuler and the CPU is out of warranty now anyway hence me doing it. Another reason is that I might not be upgrading for a while so i'm planning on getting a new case (Carbide 300R) and once i've taken everything apart, lap it and then re-build.
 
Do you really need to take of 2-3mm just to get it flat? What's the chip like at the moment, corrugated cardboard?
 
What about some of that foam that intergrated curcuits come in? I had a nixie clock for Xmas & the components with fragile pins are inserted into the foam, they're in there quite tightly & it'd give you something to hold when lapping while also protecting the pin side of the cpu from metal filings.

Just an idea.
 
With the chip upside down onto the (wet) sand paper you won't end up with anything on the pins. I've done it with no issues.

Have you checked whether your chip's heat spreader is flat or not with a straight edge or so? Also is your heatsink flat?
 
This ^ ^

Because you're only taking a miniscule amount of metal off the heatspreader there isn't an issue with getting metal/other contaminants between the pins :no:

The only thing you will need to ensure is that everything is dry before reinserting into the motherboard. Also make sure you do the lapping on something flat, preferably a piece of glass or the like :)
 
Do you really need to take of 2-3mm just to get it flat? What's the chip like at the moment, corrugated cardboard?

NO, a few thou of an inch at most.
Most heat-spreaders/heat-sinks if not all I would assume would be flat to a high degree of accuracy anyway with modern manufacturing techniques, I think you will find little to no performance gain for a lot of time and effort even if done correctly, also I would assume you are going to apply more thermal compound does this not defeat the object anyway? You have a good cooler just get some good quality TIM (IC Diamond works best for 'ME' don't want to start another debate on that subject:rolleyes:) there are plenty of threads to cover that.
 
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