How to lap (polish) a heatsink?

I will soon be putting together another box and figured this time I
would lap the heatsink to ensure it was silky smooth and level to mate
fully with the CPU. I had a link to an article that mentioned how to
lap the heatsink but can't find it right now. Anyone have a link to an
online article showing step-by-step how to lap the heatsink? I forgot
what grains were used for the sandpaper but the trick was to get a pane
of thick glass to give you a relatively flat surface (otherwise I was at
a quandry on how to make sure the lapping was flat).

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You can try this one, if you google heatsink polishing, a few come
up.http://members.tripod.com/scottshw/cpu-cooling1.html

"*Vanguard*" wrote in message
news:tcxyb.268607$275.961355@attbi_s53...
I will soon be putting together another box and figured this time I
would lap the heatsink to ensure it was silky smooth and level to mate
fully with the CPU. I had a link to an article that mentioned how to
lap the heatsink but can't find it right now. Anyone have a link to an
online article showing step-by-step how to lap the heatsink? I forgot
what grains were used for the sandpaper but the trick was to get a pane
of thick glass to give you a relatively flat surface (otherwise I was at
a quandry on how to make sure the lapping was flat).

--
__________________________________________________ __________
*** Post replies to newsgroup. E-mail is not accepted. ***
__________________________________________________ __________

http://members.tripod.com/scottshw/cpu-cooling1.html
"hu man" hu wrote in message
...
You can try this one, if you google heatsink polishing, a few come
up.http://members.tripod.com/scottshw/cpu-cooling1.html

"*Vanguard*" wrote in message
news:tcxyb.268607$275.961355@attbi_s53...
I will soon be putting together another box and figured this time I
would lap the heatsink to ensure it was silky smooth and level to mate
fully with the CPU. I had a link to an article that mentioned how to
lap the heatsink but can't find it right now. Anyone have a link to an
online article showing step-by-step how to lap the heatsink? I forgot
what grains were used for the sandpaper but the trick was to get a pane
of thick glass to give you a relatively flat surface (otherwise I was at
a quandry on how to make sure the lapping was flat).

--
__________________________________________________ __________
*** Post replies to newsgroup. E-mail is not accepted. ***
__________________________________________________ __________

hu man wrote:
You can try this one, if you google heatsink polishing, a few come
up.http://members.tripod.com/scottshw/cpu-cooling1.html


Thanks for the reply. I also did a Google search and read several more
articles.

I like the wet polishing technique and the reminder to use distilled
water to help prevent static buildup (when polishing the CPU's heat
pad). While lapping the heatsink should be easy, I'm leery of polishing
the CPU's heat pad. I don't believe it is too thick and I definitely
don't want to be trying to get a mirror finish only to find the guts
getting exposed. Anyone know how thick is the heat pad on the Athlon XP
(at its thinnest point)?

I'm thinking of getting the MSI KT600 Delta-LSR motherboard which has
their Corecell circuit to monitor various temps and allow changing the
fan speed. I'll put in an Athlong 2500+ Barton and overclock it (I've
seen some users get it up to a 3200+ equivalent by getting 166MHz FSB up
to 200FSB, and since the multiplier is the same for the 3200+ then
you've basically upped the 2500+ to a 3200+). The mobo handles DDR400
memory (which the KT400 did not although their KT400A did) and I'll also
be putting in DDR400 memory, so I'd like to get the FSB at 200MHz to
make full use of the memory speed and hopefully get the 2500+ boosted to
a 3200+. Hopefully the Thermaltake Silent Boost full copper heatsink
and 80mm fan (http://snurl.com/37sj) should suffice since it is rated
for up to the 3200+, plus hopefully it will be quieter than some coolers
that run at 40 to 50 dB, and hopefully the Corecell will find that the
CPU fan doesn't have to always be running at max spin. I'd like to
overclock but I would still like to keep it quiet. With the
overclocking, it could be the temp is always high resulting in the CPU
fan always having to run fast. But I figure lapping the heatsink will
still give it some edge in handling the overclocking. I figure to use
Artic Silver 5 for the heat paste. The heatsink ($35) and paste ($8) is
still way cheaper than the price differential from a XP 2500+ to an XP
3200+ ($230).

I'm just not sure about lapping the CPU's heat pad, though, since
removing a tad too much and the new CPU is scrap.

On Mon, 01 Dec 2003 20:40:57 GMT, "*Vanguard*"
wrote:

hu man wrote:
You can try this one, if you google heatsink polishing, a few come
up.http://members.tripod.com/scottshw/cpu-cooling1.html


Thanks for the reply. I also did a Google search and read several more
articles.

I like the wet polishing technique and the reminder to use distilled
water to help prevent static buildup (when polishing the CPU's heat
pad). While lapping the heatsink should be easy, I'm leery of polishing
the CPU's heat pad. I don't believe it is too thick and I definitely
don't want to be trying to get a mirror finish only to find the guts
getting exposed. Anyone know how thick is the heat pad on the Athlon XP
(at its thinnest point)?

Using fine-grit paper, say at least #400 or higher, it would take a
long time to sand all the way through, you won't end up doing so by
accident. Once you get through the outer coating it's silvery
colored, that is sufficient enough to make it flat providing you apply
even pressure. It really isn't necessary to do much lapping on the
core though, what little benefit there is, is from removing very minor
surface irregularities. On the Palominos there was laser-etching
across the whole core so more extensive lapping was beneficial, but on
the Thoroughbreds and Barons the etching is only in the corner. What
I do is take a Q-tip, a tiny bit of metal polish, placed in a dremel
tool and just do the etched corner and barely around the perimeter,
only a slight wiping of the top, not enoough to wear through the
colored outer coating. It really does't make much difference though,
but be sure that you apply even pressure if you're going to lap very
deep to avoid chipping the corners.


I'm thinking of getting the MSI KT600 Delta-LSR motherboard which has
their Corecell circuit to monitor various temps and allow changing the
fan speed. I'll put in an Athlong 2500+ Barton and overclock it (I've
seen some users get it up to a 3200+ equivalent by getting 166MHz FSB up
to 200FSB, and since the multiplier is the same for the 3200+ then
you've basically upped the 2500+ to a 3200+). The mobo handles DDR400
memory (which the KT400 did not although their KT400A did) and I'll also
be putting in DDR400 memory, so I'd like to get the FSB at 200MHz to
make full use of the memory speed and hopefully get the 2500+ boosted to
a 3200+. Hopefully the Thermaltake Silent Boost full copper heatsink
and 80mm fan (http://snurl.com/37sj) should suffice since it is rated
for up to the 3200+, plus hopefully it will be quieter than some coolers
that run at 40 to 50 dB, and hopefully the Corecell will find that the
CPU fan doesn't have to always be running at max spin. I'd like to
overclock but I would still like to keep it quiet. With the
overclocking, it could be the temp is always high resulting in the CPU
fan always having to run fast. But I figure lapping the heatsink will
still give it some edge in handling the overclocking. I figure to use
Artic Silver 5 for the heat paste. The heatsink ($35) and paste ($8) is
still way cheaper than the price differential from a XP 2500+ to an XP
3200+ ($230).

I'm just not sure about lapping the CPU's heat pad, though, since
removing a tad too much and the new CPU is scrap.


It's not easy to sand too deep, though the less you sand the more
likely you'll end up with it flat... Just get it flat, don't worry
about trying to reduce the amount of material between the 'sink and
the core. Put most of the work into lapping the heatsink itself.

One thing that can help when lapping the 'sink is to "break it" a new
piece of sandpaper before letting it touch the 'sink. Rub a scrap
piece of metal over each grade of paper to rub off the tallest of the
grit-particles, as they would produce deeper scratches in the heatsink
that take much much more work to sand out later. If you don't get rid
of those largest grits you'll end up with a mirror-finish 'sink but
with many tiny scratches that take forever to sand out with the finest
sandpaper. On the other hand, that last 20% of the lap-job, towards a
mirror finish, has quite diminishing returns, is more or less a matter
of vanity rather than a performance boost so long as you're using
heatsink compound.


Dave

kony wrote:
On Mon, 01 Dec 2003 20:40:57 GMT, "*Vanguard*"
wrote:

hu man wrote:
You can try this one, if you google heatsink polishing, a few come
up.http://members.tripod.com/scottshw/cpu-cooling1.html


Thanks for the reply. I also did a Google search and read several
more articles.

I like the wet polishing technique and the reminder to use distilled
water to help prevent static buildup (when polishing the CPU's heat
pad). While lapping the heatsink should be easy, I'm leery of
polishing the CPU's heat pad. I don't believe it is too thick and I
definitely don't want to be trying to get a mirror finish only to
find the guts getting exposed. Anyone know how thick is the heat
pad on the Athlon XP (at its thinnest point)?

Using fine-grit paper, say at least #400 or higher, it would take a
long time to sand all the way through, you won't end up doing so by
accident. Once you get through the outer coating it's silvery
colored, that is sufficient enough to make it flat providing you apply
even pressure. It really isn't necessary to do much lapping on the
core though, what little benefit there is, is from removing very minor
surface irregularities. On the Palominos there was laser-etching
across the whole core so more extensive lapping was beneficial, but on
the Thoroughbreds and Barons the etching is only in the corner. What
I do is take a Q-tip, a tiny bit of metal polish, placed in a dremel
tool and just do the etched corner and barely around the perimeter,
only a slight wiping of the top, not enoough to wear through the
colored outer coating. It really does't make much difference though,
but be sure that you apply even pressure if you're going to lap very
deep to avoid chipping the corners.


I'm thinking of getting the MSI KT600 Delta-LSR motherboard which has
their Corecell circuit to monitor various temps and allow changing
the fan speed. I'll put in an Athlong 2500+ Barton and overclock it
(I've seen some users get it up to a 3200+ equivalent by getting
166MHz FSB up to 200FSB, and since the multiplier is the same for
the 3200+ then you've basically upped the 2500+ to a 3200+). The
mobo handles DDR400 memory (which the KT400 did not although their
KT400A did) and I'll also be putting in DDR400 memory, so I'd like
to get the FSB at 200MHz to make full use of the memory speed and
hopefully get the 2500+ boosted to a 3200+. Hopefully the
Thermaltake Silent Boost full copper heatsink and 80mm fan
(http://snurl.com/37sj) should suffice since it is rated for up to
the 3200+, plus hopefully it will be quieter than some coolers that
run at 40 to 50 dB, and hopefully the Corecell will find that the
CPU fan doesn't have to always be running at max spin. I'd like to
overclock but I would still like to keep it quiet. With the
overclocking, it could be the temp is always high resulting in the
CPU fan always having to run fast. But I figure lapping the
heatsink will still give it some edge in handling the overclocking.
I figure to use Artic Silver 5 for the heat paste. The heatsink
($35) and paste ($8) is still way cheaper than the price
differential from a XP 2500+ to an XP 3200+ ($230).

I'm just not sure about lapping the CPU's heat pad, though, since
removing a tad too much and the new CPU is scrap.


It's not easy to sand too deep, though the less you sand the more
likely you'll end up with it flat... Just get it flat, don't worry
about trying to reduce the amount of material between the 'sink and
the core. Put most of the work into lapping the heatsink itself.

One thing that can help when lapping the 'sink is to "break it" a new
piece of sandpaper before letting it touch the 'sink. Rub a scrap
piece of metal over each grade of paper to rub off the tallest of the
grit-particles, as they would produce deeper scratches in the heatsink
that take much much more work to sand out later. If you don't get rid
of those largest grits you'll end up with a mirror-finish 'sink but
with many tiny scratches that take forever to sand out with the finest
sandpaper. On the other hand, that last 20% of the lap-job, towards a
mirror finish, has quite diminishing returns, is more or less a matter
of vanity rather than a performance boost so long as you're using
heatsink compound.


Dave

Actually I'm wondering if the CPU's heat pad can actually be lapped
(other than by your suggestion of using polishing compound on a q-tip to
just buff it up). There compliancy tabs in each corner are higher than
the die height. I went to AMD's web site and looked up a tech paper
that gave the dimensions of the CPU and the components on it. It shows
the compliancy pad are higher than the die top. So I guess I'll just
buff it up as you mention.

Yeah, the mirror finish is more of a vanity thing. I remember replacing
the bus cable in a 2kVA UPS with a bus bar (because the replacement
batteries had different terminals which allowed using a simple bar
between them). I got it cleaned and sanded smooth to make the best
possible contact with the terminals, but then I used some very fine
steel wool to buff it up to a shine. It just looks nicer, not that
anyone will happen to see it inside the UPS case, anyway.


--
__________________________________________________ __________
*** Post replies to newsgroup. E-mail is not accepted. ***
__________________________________________________ __________

On Mon, 01 Dec 2003 22:33:50 GMT, My brain dual boots Concious and
Subconcious but I never had a choice but then "*Vanguard*"
wrote :

kony wrote:
On Mon, 01 Dec 2003 20:40:57 GMT, "*Vanguard*"
wrote:

hu man wrote:
You can try this one, if you google heatsink polishing, a few come
up.http://members.tripod.com/scottshw/cpu-cooling1.html


Thanks for the reply. I also did a Google search and read several
more articles.

I like the wet polishing technique and the reminder to use distilled
water to help prevent static buildup (when polishing the CPU's heat
pad). While lapping the heatsink should be easy, I'm leery of
polishing the CPU's heat pad. I don't believe it is too thick and I
definitely don't want to be trying to get a mirror finish only to
find the guts getting exposed. Anyone know how thick is the heat
pad on the Athlon XP (at its thinnest point)?

Using fine-grit paper, say at least #400 or higher, it would take a
long time to sand all the way through, you won't end up doing so by
accident. Once you get through the outer coating it's silvery
colored, that is sufficient enough to make it flat providing you apply
even pressure. It really isn't necessary to do much lapping on the
core though, what little benefit there is, is from removing very minor
surface irregularities. On the Palominos there was laser-etching
across the whole core so more extensive lapping was beneficial, but on
the Thoroughbreds and Barons the etching is only in the corner. What
I do is take a Q-tip, a tiny bit of metal polish, placed in a dremel
tool and just do the etched corner and barely around the perimeter,
only a slight wiping of the top, not enoough to wear through the
colored outer coating. It really does't make much difference though,
but be sure that you apply even pressure if you're going to lap very
deep to avoid chipping the corners.


I'm thinking of getting the MSI KT600 Delta-LSR motherboard which has
their Corecell circuit to monitor various temps and allow changing
the fan speed. I'll put in an Athlong 2500+ Barton and overclock it
(I've seen some users get it up to a 3200+ equivalent by getting
166MHz FSB up to 200FSB, and since the multiplier is the same for
the 3200+ then you've basically upped the 2500+ to a 3200+). The
mobo handles DDR400 memory (which the KT400 did not although their
KT400A did) and I'll also be putting in DDR400 memory, so I'd like
to get the FSB at 200MHz to make full use of the memory speed and
hopefully get the 2500+ boosted to a 3200+. Hopefully the
Thermaltake Silent Boost full copper heatsink and 80mm fan
(http://snurl.com/37sj) should suffice since it is rated for up to
the 3200+, plus hopefully it will be quieter than some coolers that
run at 40 to 50 dB, and hopefully the Corecell will find that the
CPU fan doesn't have to always be running at max spin. I'd like to
overclock but I would still like to keep it quiet. With the
overclocking, it could be the temp is always high resulting in the
CPU fan always having to run fast. But I figure lapping the
heatsink will still give it some edge in handling the overclocking.
I figure to use Artic Silver 5 for the heat paste. The heatsink
($35) and paste ($8) is still way cheaper than the price
differential from a XP 2500+ to an XP 3200+ ($230).

I'm just not sure about lapping the CPU's heat pad, though, since
removing a tad too much and the new CPU is scrap.


It's not easy to sand too deep, though the less you sand the more
likely you'll end up with it flat... Just get it flat, don't worry
about trying to reduce the amount of material between the 'sink and
the core. Put most of the work into lapping the heatsink itself.

One thing that can help when lapping the 'sink is to "break it" a new
piece of sandpaper before letting it touch the 'sink. Rub a scrap
piece of metal over each grade of paper to rub off the tallest of the
grit-particles, as they would produce deeper scratches in the heatsink
that take much much more work to sand out later. If you don't get rid
of those largest grits you'll end up with a mirror-finish 'sink but
with many tiny scratches that take forever to sand out with the finest
sandpaper. On the other hand, that last 20% of the lap-job, towards a
mirror finish, has quite diminishing returns, is more or less a matter
of vanity rather than a performance boost so long as you're using
heatsink compound.


Dave

Actually I'm wondering if the CPU's heat pad can actually be lapped
(other than by your suggestion of using polishing compound on a q-tip to
just buff it up). There compliancy tabs in each corner are higher than
the die height. I went to AMD's web site and looked up a tech paper
that gave the dimensions of the CPU and the components on it. It shows
the compliancy pad are higher than the die top. So I guess I'll just
buff it up as you mention.

Yeah, the mirror finish is more of a vanity thing. I remember replacing
the bus cable in a 2kVA UPS with a bus bar (because the replacement
batteries had different terminals which allowed using a simple bar
between them). I got it cleaned and sanded smooth to make the best
possible contact with the terminals, but then I used some very fine
steel wool to buff it up to a shine. It just looks nicer, not that
anyone will happen to see it inside the UPS case, anyway.

I use 500 wet&dry paper(wet) and place a sheet on a flat surface like
a piece of glass or a mirror(carefully) and then use the HS on it
until the machine marks are out.I always remove thermal gum pads as
they are a use once get-by only and pretty crappy anyway.I then finish
polishing with,"Brasso" metal cleaner until I get a mirror finish and
then a small amount of the thermal paste on the raised Athlon core if
an AMD CPU.

HTH



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"*Vanguard*" wrote in message news:tcxyb.268607$275.961355@attbi_s53...
I will soon be putting together another box and figured this time I
would lap the heatsink to ensure it was silky smooth and level to mate
fully with the CPU. I had a link to an article that mentioned how to
lap the heatsink but can't find it right now. Anyone have a link to an
online article showing step-by-step how to lap the heatsink? I forgot
what grains were used for the sandpaper but the trick was to get a pane
of thick glass to give you a relatively flat surface (otherwise I was at
a quandry on how to make sure the lapping was flat).


I experimented with an old intel heatsink and I used 1000 grit paper
then I used 1500, and then 2000. And when I was done it looked pretty
friggin good. It looked good even though I didn't know what I was
doing.

Nick