Lapped HSF

[Fruity]

Following my cooler issues with the Blue Orb FX, I've decided to lap my Arctic Freezer 7 Pro and get that bad boy back in the beast. Thought I might share a few pics!

As standard

Close up of the center of the HSF

Finished. What a nice pic of my camera lens!

Close up of the center of the HSF. Looks badly scratched but this shot was taken with the lens about 10mm away from the cooler. Smooth as silk!!

Happy with that!!

 

[alvine]

nice dude!

 

[Fruity]

Thanks Alvine! Not bad for a 20 minute job!
Want to add that the last photo is an area of roughly 5mm x 8mm, so those scratches are minute How cool is that!?!?!?!?!?!?

 

[Shadow703793]

Temps?

 

[Fruity]

Will report back temps when I've reinstalled it. Unfortunately that means stripping the PC back (again!) which is a ball ache on a good day!

 

[B-Unit]

20 min, nice! I think it took me almost 45 to do my Freezer64.

 

[rubix_1011]

Have you lapped your CPU? I know this has been discussed several times in the past, but most HSF are designed to compensate for some inconsistencies with either convex or concave CPU IHS. If you lapped your cooler, you might want to lap your CPU and flatten it out as well.

 

[Fruity]

Hi Rubix. Yes, i did the CPU a couple of days ago at which point i installed a different HSF (blue orb FX). The new HSF really isn't performing well so the newly lapped Arctic Freezer Pro is going back in when i get the motivation to take the PC apart again.
I didn't realise that HSF's were designed to compensate for a concave/vex CPU IHS. That will be the 'something new' that I have learnt today

 

[rubix_1011]

Not all are, but I have seen some reviews of Xigmatech and maybe even Zalman where they were apparently 'designed' to work better with how a CPU IHS is formed. I was just checking that since you did the HSF, you would probably want to do the CPU as well, but looks like you have that handled.

 

[Fruity]

Here's the lapped CPU:

Not the best photo in the world, but gives an idea. The Arctic Freezer 7 has been put back in. The good news is the temperatures:

Idle: 32°C (down from 36°C - 39°C with the unlapped Arctic Freezer and Blue orb FX)
Load Temp: 58°C-64°C Tjunc; 55°C Tcase

The load temps are a whacking 8°C-10°C cooler compared to the unlapped CPU & unlapped Arctic Freezer and better than 20°C cooler than the crappy Blue Orb FX!!!!

The lapping also seems to have massively narrowed the gap betwwen Tcase and Tjunc temps

Am happy now

 

[rubix_1011]

That lapped CPU looks pretty. Nice job!

 

[micky_lund]

w00t for 20C difference on loads.... that fixes UR other thread
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/251507-29-arctic-freezer-blue-lapping-confused

 

[4Ryan6]

Just a FYI Note guys, if you lapp both the heatsink and the CPU, change your way of installing thermal compound.

I used rubbing alcohol and cleaned all the oils from my finger and applied AS5 with my finger tip extremely thin just basically pressing it into both surfaces as just a film coating no buildup what so ever and it was perfect.

If both surfaces are lapped the amount of AS5 goes to almost zero, so throw out your old thinking about spreading a thin layer, or a drop in the middle spreaded from the pressure, because it will be way too much that way.

My Lapped FX57 definitely out of warranty now, which by the way if you lapp your CPUs heat spreader you forfeit your warranty.

Additional Note; That was not a CPU magazine plug that was trying to show the mirror finish OK.