Is the i7 flat enough?
- Thread starter Trollgaard
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Trollgaard
New member
Is the i7 flat enough?(Lapping the Noctua NH-U12P SE1366)
I bought some lapping paper with grit; 600, 800 and 1200. I don't want to start lapping the cpu without being sure it works, as I'm still longing for my MB that arrives tomorrow(hopefully). Instead I started lapping the cooler as suggested by SwaleSmith. Large plate of glass under to make the surface flat.
After a few rounds on the 800 grit I found it too rough and went straight for the 1200. As you can see from the two next images, I quickly realized that the base of the Noctua was far from flat...
The edges on the top and bottom on the above picture are both touching the paper, but the right and left side are not even getting scrathced. After a while I started to worry about "taking off" too much, so I stopped with the 1200 grit and went over to the 2000 grit(That I finally found in a small store far far out in a dark and scary forest). After 30 minutes or so it's starting to look good.
There are still some "untouched" spots as you can see, but since the i7 is smaller than the base of the Noctua, I think they will fall outside the cpu when fitted. After finishing with the 2000 grit I went for a round with my girlfriends Dremel(She makes jewelery) and polished the surface. Here's the final result. It sure feels smoother than it was
.
Hopefully I'll have my MB tomorrow and can put it together again. I'll follow up on this with some temperatures when I've molested it.
I bought some lapping paper with grit; 600, 800 and 1200. I don't want to start lapping the cpu without being sure it works, as I'm still longing for my MB that arrives tomorrow(hopefully). Instead I started lapping the cooler as suggested by SwaleSmith. Large plate of glass under to make the surface flat.
After a few rounds on the 800 grit I found it too rough and went straight for the 1200. As you can see from the two next images, I quickly realized that the base of the Noctua was far from flat...
The edges on the top and bottom on the above picture are both touching the paper, but the right and left side are not even getting scrathced. After a while I started to worry about "taking off" too much, so I stopped with the 1200 grit and went over to the 2000 grit(That I finally found in a small store far far out in a dark and scary forest). After 30 minutes or so it's starting to look good.
There are still some "untouched" spots as you can see, but since the i7 is smaller than the base of the Noctua, I think they will fall outside the cpu when fitted. After finishing with the 2000 grit I went for a round with my girlfriends Dremel(She makes jewelery) and polished the surface. Here's the final result. It sure feels smoother than it was
.
Hopefully I'll have my MB tomorrow and can put it together again. I'll follow up on this with some temperatures when I've molested it.
°TheMadDutchDude°
Banned
They're flat alright...
Spread the thermal compound over the entire CPU. Don't rely on the thermal paste spreading itself out!
Easiest way to do this is to apply a fairly generous amount on the CPU and use an old credit card to spread it out, as evenly as you can!
Spread the thermal compound over the entire CPU. Don't rely on the thermal paste spreading itself out!
Easiest way to do this is to apply a fairly generous amount on the CPU and use an old credit card to spread it out, as evenly as you can!
Trollgaard
New member
I'll do that tomorrow
OmegaStalker
New member
The i7 it self looks pretty flat i checked today... so lapping the cooler was a pretty smart idea (in the sense that it should work, lol forget about a warrenty if coolers come with them which im assuming they do...
) anyways cool luck and post your temps..
) anyways cool luck and post your temps..Trollgaard
New member
Finally I got my rig up and running. I used a creditcard, as suggested, to spread a very thin layer covering the whole cpu. The core tempratures in idle are between 32 and 36. They are indeed lower than they were before lapping, but as the paste wasn't spread properly the first time, it's hard to tell if it's because of the lapping or the more evenly spread paste.
. I used a creditcard, as suggested, to spread a very thin layer covering the whole cpu. The core tempratures in idle are between 32 and 36. They are indeed lower than they were before lapping, but as the paste wasn't spread properly the first time, it's hard to tell if it's because of the lapping or the more evenly spread paste.
