Lapping a cooler or heat sink

WHY DO IT
all cooler bases come from the factory machine finished,some are better than others,some are very rough and you can see the machine lines on them
now the best heat transfer takes place from direct metal to metal contact
so now you say well why then the cooler grease
well under the microscope the metals not flat one the cooler nor the cpu die
its covered in dips and peaks
so the bits that actually connect direct are a small percentage and there is air between then
now air is a very good insulator of heat
notice how close you can be to a fire before you feel the heat
so the thermal grease is used to push out the insulating air and bridge the gaps
but its still not as good as direct contact so thats why we lap to remove as much as possible the dips and hollows
LAPPING
get your self set up
you either need a nice glass table top,that you will not get shouted at for using
or a good thick flat bit of glass of cut from a local glass shop
this is the base you will work on
you need some wet and dry emery[some would say sandpaper]paper
in various grades 600 800 1000 may be 1200
a car body shop car accessory shop diy store all should have them
now dont as they are inclined to do let him rool them up you want them flat not all screwed up
basically you start with the roughest 600 and work down to the smoothest 1200
working with the paper flat on the glass the rough side facing up and using some soapy water on it as well
this helps it slide and stops the paper clogging up
try a figure of eight motion
dont force it most coolers are heavy enough its own weight will do it
keep it flat we dont want no round edges
once you have an evan texture with one grade then go on to the next one
once finished clean it as you normally would with isopropyl alcahol or what ever is your cleaner of choice before re fitting it
on some cheap coolers that have a very rough base to start it can make a lot of difference
there will be differences of opinions as to what grade of paper to go down to with some saying 800 is the finest you need and others saying evan finer than the 1200 i listed,well who is to say,the choice is yours,note the ultimate shine you see i some articles on this is not achieved with any sandpaper,a garage may have a buffer will do it if you want to go that far,but many say its actually counter productive

a metal polish sandwiched in between the hsf base and highest grid sandpaper will do the trick to create a mirror like finish...
stricly speaking, will lapping reallyl help practically?

Similar Messages

Will Exterior Heat Sinks Help My Burning Lap(top)?

Hi,
I have a mid-2012 13" MPB with a 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7 that I use out in the field and on set for video edits, Lightroom exporting, and other slightly heavy-duty processing (like 300% CPU usage). The problem is that the computer gets really hot (temp readings over 200F) and it's uncomfortable to be around, especially if using it in my lap.
Questions:
Would gluing head sinks to the exterior bottom case help get rid of the heat faster?
Would more cooling change performance for the better when its under load?
Is there a chance of it messing with the electronics inside or warping the case?
What if I sit the computer on a bag of ice while it's doing its heaviest processing? Would that be a bad idea or a good idea?
Thanks for the input.
RS

TommyBadger wrote:
Would gluing head sinks to the exterior bottom case help get rid of the heat faster?
Glue would act like an insulator. Resting the MBP on a thick aluminum plate in direct contact would act as a heat sink and help dissipate the heat.
Is there a chance of it messing with the electronics inside or warping the case?
Not likely.
What if I sit the computer on a bag of ice while it's doing its heaviest processing? Would that be a bad idea or a good idea?
Bad idea. Water and MBPs are enemies. Dry ice might work but in a humid environment, but it might create frost which the MBP would not favor.
Try a cooling pad or a large passive heat sink.
Ciao.

How to make 260 gtx 55nm VRM custom heat sink

Warning: This will void your warranty
The caveat above added by Mike, Forum Administrator
How to Create a Custom 260 GTX 55nm VRM Heat Sink
Introduction: This guide was created to show how you can make a custom VRM heat sink from the stock heat sink to be used with an aftermarket cooler.
Reason: Many aftermarket companies, such as Thermalright and Arctic, fail to provide a good VRM heat sink for the 55nm 200 series GTX’s. The solution often involves poorly sticking thermal tape or no solution at all, such as the Arctic cooler, which states it’s ok to leave the 260 GTX 55nm VRM chips uncovered. To leave the VRM chipset uncovered maybe ok for stock clocked cards but what about an over clocked card or an enthusiast trying to push the performance envelope? That is after all, what these aftermarket cooling solutions are all about; especially the Arctic cooler which can cool up to 250 watts! Fortunately the solution is very easy and should take you no more than 10 to 15 minutes to address.
Use: To create a custom made VRM heat sink to be used with an aftermarket cooling solution such as the Arctic cooler and Thermalright cooler.
Tools:
Dremel, with metal cutting wheel and sanding wheel.
Thermal Pads, which you can buy in sheets from any performance pc store and should be 1.0 mm in thickness.
Philips Screw Driver, very small size would be ideal.
Before we begin I’d like to remind you that removing or tampering with the stock heat sink will more than likely void your warranty. This guide was also constructed assuming an aftermarket cooler will be installed. The card used in this guide is a MSI 260 GTX 55nm with reference PCB design (REV 1) but will also work with other 200 series GTX cards. When working on any electronic device, always make sure you are well grounded!!!
Step 1: Remove the screws with the springs only from the back side of the graphics card as shown in figure 1A. There is a total of 13 spring screws that need to be removed. Check to make sure that your card does not have two small additional securing screws which are located on the exhaust side of your graphics card with your DVI ports. If your card does contain these additional screws, remove them before continuing on to step 2.
Step 2: Gently work the card from the heat sink. NOTE: Do NOT force or pry heavily, you will damage your card. It may take a little caressing depending on how much poor quality thermal putty was used from the manufacturer.
Step 3: Remove the fan power connector from the fan power port as shown in figure 2A.
Step 4: Remove and discard all the old thermal pads. You should never re-use thermal pads and especially not the low quality manufacturer ones! NOTE: keep in mind the location of the VRM thermal pads since you will be making replacements.
Step 5: Clean off the voltage regulator chips with a tissue or with a soft eraser as instructed by Arctic. Personally I use a tissue very lightly dipped in alcohol to clean the surface of the chips. The voltage regulator chips for the 260 GTX 55nm are shown in figure 3A. NOTE: I will not be covering the cleaning of the GPU or Ram since it does not pertain to the VRM heat sink.
Step 6: Flip the heat sink so you are looking at the bottom where the thermal pads were attached. There are 6 very little screws which need to be removed from the assembly. Figure 4A shows the location of the screws attaching the plastic shroud assembly. Once they are removed gently pry the plastic shroud off and set it aside.
Step 7: Now turn the heat sink over and remove the 4 black screws from the top side of the heat sink. The fan should come off freely and set that aside as well. Your heat sink should look like figure 5A.
Step 8: Now we are ready to begin cutting the stock heat sink. With a sharpie draw a black as shown in figure 6A. This will give you a marker to follow when cutting.
Step 9: Attach the metal cutting wheel to the dremel and begin cutting across the black line. Danger: ALWAYS wear eye protection when cutting a metal object or any object. The metal is very soft and not much force is needed to cut it. Try not to damage the mounting holes when cutting (figure 6A). You may need to lightly sand the cut edge depending on how rough or jagged it is after cutting. When you’re done you should have a piece as shown in figure 7A. This will be your VRM heat sink. Important: MAKE SURE you clean the heat sink well and remove all metal particles. Also allow the heat sink to dry well before installing!!
Step 10: Next cut the new thermal pads to the shape of your VRM chips. It should look like figure 8A when you are finished.
Step 11: Gently place the heat sink into place and attach the screws. When you are done it should look like figure 9A.
Congratulations on your custom made VRM heat sink. The great thing is that it never has the risk of falling off, such as thermal taped ones, and can be removed and installed as many times as you wish. It also does not contain thermal adhesives which also do not facilitate removal as well. The stock spring screws will also insure secure contact between the VRM chips and the sink. The custom heat sink comes with nicely built in fins and much better cooling performance then individual dinky VRM heat sinks provided from the Arctic or Thermalright coolers.
p.s. It is possible to put old heat sink back on the card since each section has its own mounting screws but I would not recommend this unless absolutely necessary.

I'm running a corsair 750 watt PSU
Q660
Gigabyte g31 motherboard
1TB WD Hard drive
OCZ 1066mhz of ram
And I recently swapped the lighting with a gtx 260 and see what would happen in the same system. The GTX260 ran games smoothly, and would run furmark fine with the newest nvidia drivers. Swap back the gtx 275 lightning, and games are really slow and choppy especially when you add any kind of AA. The FPS is literally cut in half when I switched to the msi gtx 275. I think it's safe to say that the GTX275 is defective.

Cleaning heat sink on Macbook Pro Retina after liquid spill... HELP!

Hello all...
My wonderful boyfriend spilled about 3-4 tablespoons of orange juice on my Macbook Pro Retina (15in) on Thursday. Right over the left speaker and onto the ESC, ~, brightness up and down, 1, 2, 3, TAB, Q, W, Caps Lock, and A key. It also dripped down and got into the vent. I immediately (like within 1 second) grabbed it and turned it upside down, and wiped it up while holding it upside down. I then turned it off and held it upside down for some time, and let it sit open and off after that. I turned it back on the next day and had no apparent issues. (However today some of the keys have been "crunchy", so I think I better clean them...)
I couldn't get it to the Apple store until yesterday because of Hurricane Sandy and not having power or anything. I had the genius check it out. He could only take off the back without having to charge me anything and he said that none of the liquid sensors were tripped in the back of the computer but that there was some dried up orange juice in the heat sink (but apparently not really anywhere else which he said makes me the luckiest person in the world). He took a photo on his phone and showed me... just some residue and orange juice that looked "dried up" in like 5 or 6 of the vents. He said that I could try to clean it myslf with alchohol wipes and a toothpick at my own risk. But I am very nervous as I am not exactly tech savvy... I watched videos on how to take the back off, but the part about disconnecting the battery and all gets me nervous. My question is, do I have to disconnect the battery to just gently clean up the heat sink with a little toothpick and alchohol wipes? Do I have to ground myself? What do I do?
Also, how necessary do you think it is to even clean it up? Could the heat sink need to be replaced in the future from this? Is it really a big deal? I'm looking for honest answers, since I felt like the genuis guy had too much liabality to say anything to me about anything.
Unrelated, what are the chances that liquid got through the keyboard to anything more sensitive to liquid? The genius couldnt really give me an answer. I have noticed just as I am typing now that sometimes it seems that the cursor of where I am typing will just jump back to the end of the previous line when I hit the Caps Lock key... it's very strange and I'm getting agita just thinking about it. Could that be a problem with just my keys getting stuck somewhere or a bigger problem with hardware being damaged... help and THANK YOU!

When i start any game the CPU goes up to 90° in 2 minutes and the computer shutdown after at least 5 min.
I found a solution. after a lot of research i checked that my fans are working on the minimum means at 2000 rpm even when the games are on. so i install it a software called smcFancontrol that u can control ur fan speed and i make it up to 4000 pm (you can do it with iStat menu too) and i tested my computer. I Have been playing on my macbook pro since this morning and there is no problem of overheat or shutdown.
Is it normal that we need to change the fan configuration or control to play a game that was working fine before.?
for cooling my machine i have a mStand Rain design http://www.raindesigninc.com/pic_high%20res/mstand_macbookpro_keyboard_perspecti ve_unibody.jpg

Best cleaning steps for g4 processor and heat sink?

I just pick up a dual 800 quicksilver cpu. What is the least expensive/best way to clean the die surfaces as well as the heat sink surfaces? Also does anyone know a link showing stable higher than originally rated speeds?

Hi pheidius-
The surface description is odd- I would expect it to be smooth (as all heatsink surfaces I have seen).
You may be correct on the thermal pad. It would be the only logical explanation..... I've never really "dissected" a thermal pad before- just scraped them off and tossed 'em.
If it is a thermal pad, you may have clearance problems with just thermal compound. This is, of course, dependant on the thickness of the previous pad......Just check the heatsink and it's contact on the processor after you have finished cleaning the thermal pad from the heatsink. It should be obvious if there will be clearance problems.
Recommended removal proceedure for a thermal pad is to use a plastic card (like a credit card) or a plastic putty knife.
When replacing thermal pads, after the old is completely removed, the heatsink surface needs to be heated until hot to the touch (use a heat gun), and then apply the new pad, pushing the pad on firmly and evenly.
Note: When using thermal pads, wait until the heatsink and pad are cool before removing the protective paper and installing on the processors.
If you end up using thermal compound, carefully apply the compound. Getting sloppy, and applying too much, especially with Arctic Silver, can cause problems. The compound is not just thermally conductive.......it is also electrically conductive.
Back to the overclocking question- This article may be of interest.

I need a heat sink/fan for p7-1254

my desktop is getting really loud and i need to replace the fan and possibly also the heat sink, but i dont know what to search for. Can you help me?!
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Here it is on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-P7-Desktop-CPU-Cooling-Fan-Heatsink-644724-001-/360760738117?pt=LH_Defaul...
Part No. 644724-001
HP is out of stock at partsurfer
If this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as Solution" to help others find it.

Help with ICH and IOH heat sink change

Dear friends,
I apologize for my lack of knowledge, I am a new builder. I own a Mobo eclipse sli. I received it with out a pin which holds the IOH heat sink, that is joined with heat pipes with the ICH (I think). Also, I have read the last post regarding the temperature increase in the ICH and IOH due in part for the poor thermal solution in this MOBO.
I have to say that I resolved the first part of the problem, this is getting some push pins better than the original. However, taking into account the different posts, I had thought in changing the original thermal solution for a better one. Therefore, I got a thermal solution from thermalright for the chipset.
My question is: the thermal solution I got is apparently only for the IOH, if I remove the original heatsink from the IOH, I have to remove also the heatpipes ? and What happens with the heatsink from the ICH, it stay alone without the heatpipes? It is dangerous for the ICH?
The thermal solution I got is the HR-05 SLI/IFX
http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/chipset/hr05_sli_ifx/product_chitset_cooler_hr05_sli_ifx.htm?art=MTQyMywxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
I am confused about that.
Please help me,
Santiago

Thanks four your replies.
So, In conclution I have to buy another one chipset cooler? It is ok? In that case I am going to change first the thermal paste of the stock heat sinks. If it doesn´t work I will change by the two chipset Thermalright solution. It it works I think I will test my computer some time before changing the complete chipset thermal solution.
For my cpu I bought the solution offered by gelid solutions,
http://www.gelidsolutions.com/products/index.php?lid=2&cid=12&id=32
I have two case fans in adition.
I hope everything will be ok. I am just waiting for my Corsair dominator 6GB, I live in Ecuador so I had to wait some time until the components come from the US.
Thanks
Santiago

N560gtx-ti Twin Frozr II ram heat sinks

I have an old 560 ti twin frozr II that had the cooler die, so I decided to get a Prolimatech mk-26 cooler...a little overkill, but pretty future proof...I am curious though, so I really need to add the RAM/VRM heat sinks?? As I don't over-clock or anything, I would want to stick to the original design...I'm thinking that putting on the "adhesive" sinks might actually hinder cooling...MSI tech support said they didn't know (I think the guy was on the other side of the world) so I got no answer there...any ideas?

if new new cooler provide decent airflow over those areas, think its not really need.
Quote
so I really need to add the RAM/VRM heat sinks??
does the original cooler has such placed?

Pismo CPU upgrades/heat sink

Does anyone know if the 400 mhz heatsink and 500 mhz heatsink are interchangeable?
PowerMac G4 MDD 1.25 Ghz, PowerBook G3 Pismo 400, Newton 2100, iPod Photo 30 gb Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Hi Gerry:
Are you replacing just the heat sink, or the entire processor daughter-card? If the heat sink and tube only, yes, they are interchangeable. Be sure you apply a thin, even layer of thermal compound on the processor after removal of the old heat sink and before installation of the new.
Good luck.
cornelius
Message was edited by: cornelius

Disconnect battery just to clean heat sink?

I had a minor liquid spill on my retina macbook pro. Took it to apple, genius said everything "appeared" fine except for some residue on the heat sink (it was orange juice). He took a pic on his phone and it showed some dried up orange juice in like 5-6 of the vents. He said I could try to clean it myself with alchohol wipes and toothpicks.
Here is my question - do I need to disconnect the battery or do anything after I open the back, but before I clean the heat sink? I am nervous about doing this as it is, and I am afraid of messing something up.

I thought that corrosion would be a big problem, and the genius told me that the heat sink is made from a coated aluminium and can't corrode... was he wrong?
I am really tight on money (owning a rMBP is way out of my means but I saved up for a long time...) and don't want to have to spend the money to have someone else clean it if it's not really important to the operation or life of the computer or if it's something I can do myself.
Thanks for your input so far!

Question about the heat sinks in these models

Hey all,
Can anyone tell me about the heat sinks used in these model laptops?
Here are my questions:
Are they made from pure copper?
What is inside the tubes that run between the processor covers and the fan? Is it just air? or something else?
Is the thermal paste that sticks to the processors toxic?
I'm not sure this is the right place to ask but thought i might as well try.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

you mean the entire T series range, or are you after information on a specific T model?
1) most of the parts are made of pure copper
2) there is a working fluid within heat pipe, which should either ethanol or acetone. The phase change from liquid to gaseous phase is what transports the heat away from CPU/GPU/motherboard chipsets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pipe
3) thermal paste usually contains silicon and silver, it is not to be ingested as such.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_grease
Regards,
Jin Li
May this year, be the year of 'DO'!
I am a volunteer, and not a paid staff of Lenovo or Microsoft

The Macbook Pro 13 Retina late 2013 heat sink

Did any body notice the unusual design of heat sink in Macbook Pro 13 Retina late 2013? The heat sink only covers CPU but NOT the iris GPU. I wonder why is it designed like this? The GPU can generate much more heat under certain conditions.

Hi All, sorry about this post, I studied the architecture of Haswell chips, find out the small little one is the PCH not GPU.

Best fan for this heat sink?

best fan for this heat sink?
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-109-118&depa=0
ty in advanced

Snakexor,
Hard to tell.
It really depends on your tolerance to noise and/or your goals - OC, pimped out rig, etc.
I usually prefer something on the silent side. SilenX were good for me, pretty quiet. I have XP90 though, XP-120 doesn't fit neo2.
Check out these guys:
http://heatsinkfactory.com/cgi-bin/HFAstore.pl?user_action=detail&catalogno=HS-004
They usually know what they are talking about. There are 3 fans suggested with XP-120 there.
Hope this helps.....

Static/crackling freezes/shuts down Toshiba L300 (already cleaned fan/heat sink)

Was slightly intermittent but pretty much unable to use the computer at this point. The only clues I can give is that there seemed to be 2 errors about usb so wondering if that could cause the static build up that freezes the computer? One was on shut down and the other was after static started and it seemed to be trying to grab a driver (for usb I think) almost as though the device disappeared but then the laptop froze. It wasn't too long ago one of three ports wasn't working but they all work recently (don't recall which one quit for a bit).
Unfortunately I need to fix it myself due to finances. How do I physically disconnect all the usb ports to rule them out? I probably did this when I took out the motherboard to clean the fan/heat sink but I don't know for sure which connection(s) they were.
If I'm way off please provide other suggestions. I REALLY appreciate any help given.

first off, please provide the entire model number of your computer. It is printed on the bottom. do not provide s/n.
Do you have a backup of all your personal data? If not, I would say that should be your priority at this point.
After that has been dealt with, the next question is "did you make restore disks when computer was still working?"
Can you get into recovery menu (spamming f8 on start up). If so, try going into safe mode and restoring the computer to a restore point at a point in time before the problems started.
When you cleaned fan/heat sink, did you reseat the heatsink. If not, you may want to open it back up and reseat the heatsink (i.e., remove old thermal paste and reapply).
L305-S5955, T9300 Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 60GB SSD, Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Heat sink part # for Dual 1 GIg QUicksilver . . .

Is this a correct heat sink # ? 805-3096 B ?
(Thought it was 805-3706)
Anyone?

Thats the official part number of the kit including the springs, but the heat sinks also have a white tag on the bottom with a part number.
I have one I pulled from a dual 1gig QS and it reads 805-3706 (white tag)
Any clues as to the these white tags with numbers on the bottoms of the heat sinks?

Lapping a cooler or heat sink

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