The Benefits of Lapping your CPU
74Let me start with a warning...if you have no technical or modification experience, this process may not be something you want to take on. There may be several benefits to lapping a CPU's integrated heat spreader, but there is one risk you must always keep in mind: it WILL void your warranty. Nuff said.
Personally, I void warranties as a way of life. My customers pay me to do so. They trust me to do so, as do my friends across the web who ask for, and utilize my advice to make their systems run faster and cooler than they did before. I am what you would call a geek...a techie...and above all, an overclocker.
Overclocking your computer's components is a meticulous process of changing stock bus settings, voltage, and sometimes physical modifications of parts to achieve performance hidden within your PC. All the world-record holding enthusiast PC's are overclocked to achieve the pinnacle of. performance. In order to compensate for the extreme temperatures which are produced by coaxing these parts past their stock settings, extreme cooling methods must be implemented. These include aftermarket fans, watercooling systems, and even phase-change cooling. One process that maximizes the efficiency of these cooling methods is a technique known as Lapping.
When your CPU comes to you, it's core is covered by an IHS, or integrated heat spreader. This heat spreader is generally nickel-plated copper. It works well for transferring heat for stock applications, but for-above and beyond, modification may be needed. Why?
The IHS is almost never perfectly flat, leaving gaps in the contact surface of the IHS and the heatsink/waterblock. By sanding and polishing these surfaces to ideal flatness, greater contact is achieved, allowing for less thermal paste and more efficient heat transfer. This improved ability to cool your processor can make the difference between a 90% overclock and a 110% overclock.
Lapping the IHS involves a process of sanding that starts at a higher grit emery cloth or sandpaper (600 or so) and works down through the polishing grits (I finish with 2000 grit) to achieve a flat copper-on-copper contact area. You can find a lot of how-to guides around the web. I use a glass table to achieve flatness, by taping my sandpaper upside down to it. This article isn't meant as a guide, just some points on the benefit and methodology behind the lapping process. Go research if you want to learn more...it is the beauty of the Internet!
Why overclock? Making a $175 processor out-perform a $875 processor is a very real benefit. Does overclocking a processor shorten it's life? Sure it does. Let's say a given processor's lifespan is 10 years. A moderate overclock speeds up the electromitigation process to shorten that life to 8 years, an extreme OC to 5-6 years. Now for a reality check: who keeps using the same processor for 10 years? How about 6? See my point?
I really want to hear from you guys, about your lapping experience, and what you have achieved! Post below to share, and thanks for reading! I hope I may shed some light on lapping for some people!
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Its a miracle what some nice flatness can do :)
I think I'll be doing this to my QX6850 soon, props for article.
Finally someone who knows something about lapping makes a hub , I read another hub about lapping "How to destroy your CPU by lapping" lol epic FAIL. He needs to read this , and then delete his failpost.
I have achieved a 3c and 4c drop on my last 2 builds with lapping, allowing me to hit 4+ ghz with temps that are still below stock!
Thanks for posting this Cheeze ;) That "How to destry your CPU" guy is full of fail, you sir, are full of win!
~Gooda~
Good job. Obviously making two surfaces flat will increase contact and improve cooling. There will always be stupid sacks of shit who think they know best, but then again, they are sacks of shit.
Vcheez thanks for setting the record straight
Good article, VCheez! the drivel that Hal posted about "destroying your CPU" is complete nonsense which any enthusiest can tell you.
I lapped my TT Big Typhoon and got great temps. too chicken to lap my CPU though =]
I dont really like lapping, i wont lap a chip unless i know warrent is dead, or if i bought it lapped :p
i do lap coolers though :D
HI CHEESE
This is great, I am going to lap an older cpu to see how it does!
A very well put explanation.
Fantastic article. Very well written and some great information.
Based on a heat transfer perspective, lapping a CPU/HSF makes perfect senseas each material interface will hinder heat transfer and the thicker the interface region the less efective the heat transfer is. Having a perfectly flat surface on the CPU and HSF respult in a better, more uniform contact and results in more effective heat transfer.
Nice write up.
GOOD JOB
I liked the article! I wont say I was expecting less, but this definitely impressed me :) Very Professional writeup, and a good description of the finer points of lapping a processor. I personally have lapped my chip, and I got a noticable drop in temperatures. That drop allowed me to overclock my chip from 3.4 to 3.7ghz, and greatly increase my core voltage. Lapping really works wonders!
Great article, i might do this to my x2 3800+, just for fun :).
I'll see you back at OCN ;).
oh by the way....wheres Hal, lulz?
I know electromigration is when high electron density motion causes aluminum (in this case) to move toward the positive pole of a circuit. What is electromitigation ?
Good info! I read that goofy article too on "how to destroy your CPU", that guy had no idea what he was talking about. Just finished lapping my AMD 64 5200+ and heatsink. Gonna see how it goes ;)
i need some advice guys. i have an AMD7750 BE running on stock cooler. it runs on 35c temp
you mean if i lap it i will be 3-4 deg lower?
another thing is do i need to put thermal glue coz ofc it will not be shinny anymore?
i am considering lapping my and phenom 1100t... right now it idles at 16c and doesnt go past 43c using prime 95 for 30 minutes... i have the cpu right now at 4.137 ghz but i cannot get the cpu to go any higher than than without throwing errors in prime 95... also i might just wait cause i think im going to start running intel cause i was highly disappointed with amd's new cpu's... can they make something fast to compete with intel or WHAT..... also i ordered 2 dirt 3 games and amd only sent me one code and will not send me the other saying that they already did... well if you did i wouldnt be asking for would I!!!!!!!!
the temperatures go down and you can overclock you cpu further! Get some fun and lap your cpu, is very easy to do. my q9550 runs at 4.0 ghz almost 1 year, no problems at all, and let me say it rocks and i will keep it just like that....
Just did my first lapping job using this guide, Before when I took m y heat sink off my 1100T, You could see spots that it was missing in the thermal paste, like the CPU wasn't flat. And OC to 4.0ghz my CPU max temp was 64c, Now max is around 52c. Awesome!! and good guide!
Cythrawl 3 years ago
For Great Justice.... I have lapped my AMD x2 4400+ and my Q6600 CPU.. dropped the temps by 4 degrees, runs cooler... and will last a lot longer now...