the associate - Glad to hear your happy with the cooler. I was considering the True Black cooler (had great success with their products before) but I'm glad I got the Xigmatek. Even after deciding to lap it, I figured it out that if i were to sand through the heatpipes, i could order another one and still be less out of pocket.
Nils and iluvgillgill - Yes they do make 12,000 grit, and even higher, up to 20,000 in some polishing kits, and down to 4micron if your really a freak. I have a kit here that I use for plastic models (I like the paint job to look like glass
) I'll link the kit at the end of this post, and explain what I do.
skittle - Sorry but the cooler is installed in it's final position now. I've done all my temp testing as well as orientation testing for temps. Rest assured though, it's flat and shiny
Just as a note for anyone who's interested, I found that the cooler works best for me with my setup in a horizontal position. The layout of my MB and the way that the cpu sits in it's socket puts the cores in a horizontal position. I was curious if mounting the cooler with the center heatpipe directly accross the cores (E8400) would make a difference... It did, although it was only 1c at idle and 1-2c at load. I did this before I lapped the cooler, and did not check to see if the difference was still there after lapping, but I would assume that my first test would hold true.
From most posts that I have read about Quad Cores though, the orientation doesn't seem to make a difference, since you are now cooling 4 cores that are oriented in a different fashion.
slim - I did not use any type of polishing liquid. Plain old tap water has always worked best. Another thing to think about with polishing liquid is that we don't exactly know what each type of chemical is that is used in the polish itself.. Will it be absorbed into the metals (copper and/or aluminum) ???
So to stay on the safe side, I recommend nothing but water. I'm not sure what others use, but water is a good lubricant, and we know that it won't cause any adverse affects.
The Kit - Hobbico makes it, it's called "Hobbico Micro-Mesh Model Polishing Kit".
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFHZ0
The grits are one of each micro-mesh sheets, 3200, 3600, 4000, 6000, 8000, and 12000 grit
Each sheet measures 3" x 4"
These sheets are extremely soft, pliable, and hold water very well. (You won't need to tape them down when you get to the stage where you will use them).
Better yet, I have my same set for 12+ years now. The new kits come with a Sanding block (no no), a flanel cloth (are we cold) and a liquid abrasive...
ABRASIVE... As the word implies, it's an abrasive. We're not looking to scuff the surface, we're looking to create a mirror finish.
All this for less than $20US! you'll enjoy years of fun with your new polishing kit...Take it on vacation, out to dinner, over to your friends house, you'll be the envy of everyone on the blue bus!
ok, back on topic...
REMEMBER - Your doing this at your own risk and expense, so be careful not to over do it with the 1500 and 2000 grit wet/dry papers. Take your time
If you've never lapped a cooler before, I suggest a search on the web for a lapping guide that you understand best
This is the part of the process that removes the most material, so work smart!!
I start off as usual with 1500 grit and then 2000 grit until I have a cloudy mirror finish. I move the cooler back and forth in a striaght line for a few minutes at a time, and then turn the cooler approx 30 degrees, so that I'm not sanding the same exact grooves and possibly creating a valley in the surface.
This will be also be the longest part of the process. Once you move to the 3600 and above grit, it will only take a few minutes with each
I then move to the 3600, 6000, 8000 and finally 12,000 grit sheets. This is where I change my method a little. I no longer go back and forth with the cooler, I instead using a clockwise/counter-clockwise pattern. It won't take much time at all with each one, and you'll also notice that as you move up in grit, the time will become shorter.
I skip over the 3200 and 4000 grit. why? I'm not really sure, just didn't see the need to only jump up 400grit inbetween.
Once I have the surface a mirror finish, I clean it well with Isopropyl Alcohol and let it dry overnight (again, I'm just a freak like that, the alcohol will dry pretty fast).
For applying the AS5, I found that this was the best method -
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.p...ask=view&id=170&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=5
Read down to his last method, thats the one I found to work the best, although i needed nowhere near the amount of TIM that he used.
Enjoy,
/D
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