Slight flaws in integrated heat spreader?

[ebalong]

Hello,

I'm being paranoid, but I just bought a new 2600K, and you can see an ever so faint rectangular outline on the top of the IHS, near the edge. There also appears to be some near microscopic vertical "scratches" on the surface.

The box looks like it wasn't opened; the stickers are in place and there is no tearing of the box surface that would result from removing the stickers. However, it seems to me (yeah, I know I'm being real paranoid here), that if people were really careful and patient they could get the sticker off and back on the box without marking up the box.

Does Intel slap heat sinks on some outgoing processors prior to boxing them to "make sure" they work?

 

[sk1939]

I have no idea, does it the processor work?

 

[jimmysmitty]

Thats actually normal. Sometimes you can see them, sometimes you can't but not IHS is perfect. Some will be flat, some concave and others convex. Thats the main reason behind thermal paste, to fill those super tiny gaps and allow for the best thermal heat transfer from CPU IHS to heatsink.

If you want a perfect IHS, you need to lap it but that will void the warranty along with a mirror shine.

 

[ebalong]

Best answer selected by ebalong.

 

[dmeon384]

Google "heat spreader lapping". I lap my heatink and the IHS on the CPU after I get close to the warranty , or just find it's time to have some warranty-breaking fun =] I have NEVER lapped an IHS that was decently flat , my theory is it's a manufacturer's way of building in some thermal limitations to what their current CPU's are capable of , possibly allowing them to introduce another CPU almost identical but somehow able to clock much faster with around the same temps. Who knows , I just lap mine to the point they're nice and flat , not to where they're mirror- finished.

You know you did it right when you put the heatsink on the CPU with no paste and there's a slight "grab" when you try lifting it back off because the 2 faces are mating almost perfectly.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Google "heat spreader lapping". I lap my heatink and the IHS on the CPU after I get close to the warranty , or just find it's time to have some warranty-breaking fun =] I have NEVER lapped an IHS that was decently flat , my theory is it's a manufacturer's way of building in some thermal limitations to what their current CPU's are capable of , possibly allowing them to introduce another CPU almost identical but somehow able to clock much faster with around the same temps. Who knows , I just lap mine to the point they're nice and flat , not to where they're mirror- finished.

You know you did it right when you put the heatsink on the CPU with no paste and there's a slight "grab" when you try lifting it back off because the 2 faces are mating almost perfectly.

This is a good method, yet risky if you want to try it. But I buy Zalman heatsinks because they are already a almost perfect mirror shine.

Then I try to use the best TIM I can find, which right now is IC Diamond 24 from what I have seen.

 

[dmeon384]

Yeah I'm using the diamond stuff too BTW. After years of AS5 it's really great stuff and has no break-in period.