Guide to Lapping an Intel LGA 775 Processor

[|3ourne]

Sooooooo you bought a Netburst processor ( dunno why since A64 is faster and cooler but ohh well , your choice ) and you want to overclock it. You buy the BEST retail HSF available in the market , install it , check your temps and go WTF MATE !!! 50C idle ???? And then the reality dawns ........ the bloody IHS is not flat. Good luck trying to overclock like that.

Buuuuuuut , thankfully since I was bored today and I had enough time to actually document my task , I decided to write up a nice and easy guide for you guys ...... So sit back , crack open a beer and enjoy !

Lapping an LGA 775 CPU

Items Needed : 1) Lapping Paper - 220,400,600,800,1000,1500,2000 and 2500 for that mirror shine which will make your girlfriend want a 125 Dollar pocket mirror .
2) Flat Glass Base
3) Paper Towels
4) A nice cool Ale
5) Alot of Elbow Greasing

Cost of the Project : Less than 15 USD

Timeframe : Approx. 1/2 Hour ~ 45 mins.

Right then , lets get on with it .......

1) Getting rid of the UGLY Nickel Plating :

Here is how the processor looks stock, unlapped .

The first step is to get a Permanent Marker and make markings on the IHS like in this picture. It will help you keep a track of how exactly uneven your IHS really was.


Ok now you are all set. Grab your sheet of 220 Grit Lapping Paper , place it on top of the flat glass surface. Do NOT involve liquid of any kind. You really dont want water/alcohol flowing under the IHS and shorting resistors. Now place the processor face down and start moving it in a circular path over the lapping paper. This is probably the longest phase on paper throughout the whole lapjob . After a couple of mins you will seem something familiar to this .....


which in a few moments will look like this .....




Notice that the copper is starting to become visible now. This is a good sign , this means that you are breaking through the damn Nickel bond and getting to the good stuff. AWESOME JOB !!! Now take a swig of that brew of yours. Ready for more ???
Alright ....... keeping going in circles some more



Okkkkk , so some more Copper nakedness .......... boooooooooring. Can we go straight to the NC-17 stuff instead of this stupid PG-13 Crap ?? Neways carry on soldier .......



Ahhh Amateur Nudity !!! . Now that you have gotten rid of the Nickel with splendor , its time to make the Copper all shiny. The circular pattern makes it easier to remove the nickel and gives you a nice and flat base to begin with.

2) Move up to the next grit , i.e. 400 . But now start lapping in a vertical fashion. This makes it alot easier and gives a better shine/flatness on bare copper. This has been my experience , dont quote me on though.
Every couple of minutes , switch the processor around 180 degrees and start lapping in the same fashion. This prevents the IHS from being thinner on one side and thicker on the other. Remember whenever you proceed to the next grit up , turn the processor 90 degrees or perpendicular to the direction of movement you used on the grit before. This will keep things even and smooth .

The following pics are basically how your processor should look like through various grits of lapping .....








This was my final result. I only used upto 1500 Grit. I wasnt looking for a mirror effect. Just wanted a nice plain flat surface and I think that surface qualifies for those conditions very very well

Now I did not have a graph paper but I had something close to it. Let me know what you think about the reflection



You will definitely notice a remarkable difference in temperatures and will be thankful that you did it in the end.

Now your ale is finished and its time for you to give me your opinions about my first ever guide

[NickS]

Looking good |3ourne! This guide is off da hook

BTW, helluva nice lab job you've done there. Plus, I love the idea with the perm. marker, really useful!

Nick

[twisted5]

Nice work |3ourne! Wonder if conroe will have the same problems that other 775 chips are having with their IHS....

[|3ourne]

thank you guys for such encouraging words. Hope this guide helps new users to get better performance. This same guide can apply for any proc with an IHS.

@Twisted5 : Conroe is supposed to have the same IHS so Im willing to bet that it might be the same case. But nothing a little lapping cant remedy

[twisted5]

Yeah, it all seemed to depend on which proc you got. The 805s were the worst I think with having the bad IHS and the XEs seemed to have an almost perfect IHS. That leads me to believe that they checked them and threw the bad ones on the cheap chips.

[|3ourne]

i cant comment on the XE's but the 9xx series had a horrible IHS , doesnt matter what model it was. But I must say , I am loving the pinless procs more and more.

[Raven]

|3ourne, how big of a difference did it do tempwise ?

[FragTek]

Looks like you scored yourself a nice flat surface there bourne, good job mate!

Nice guide as well, I hope to see some more of these from ya in the future

[|3ourne]

|3ourne, how big of a difference did it do tempwise ?

Raven , I usually more often than not , do not run something with such an abominable IHS at stock neways . But if I had to guess newhere between 5 ~ 10 C drop in load temps. Surprising but true. My last 805D loaded at 43C at 3.6 ghz . Go figure that ! Thats with dual Folding@Home running all night long.

I am actually going to lap my Sempron 2800+ tomorrow for a guide on the A64 Section. But believe me , this is a certain way to about a couple of hundred mhz increase in your max oc if your IHS isnt flat. Granted Intels run hot but definitely no near what people are experiencing everyday. Especially with great coolers like Zalman 9500 , Thermaltake BT , Scythe Ninja , A64 Freezer Pro . That leads us to look for a fault elsewhere , ie. the IHS. I personally feel much more confident of the temps and performance after I lap the IHS. Of course its voids the warranty but then again , so does overclocking . And since you cannot take the IHS off on Intels like you can on A64s , well , lapping is the only other thing you can do.

[Kempez]

Good work |3ourne...very flat