Help, I mighthave ruined my heatsink

[12th_Man]

I just built my first pc and used the stock HSF that came with my P4 2.4C. My temps were a bit high so I decided to replace the thermal pad with Artic Silver.

In the process of trying to remove the old pad I scratched it a little bit with a razor blade. Plus I can't get all that black junk off of it, there's still a black hazeto the surface of the metal.

I've heard of people lapping their heat sinks but do not know exactly what this means. Would this fix the imperfections in the surface? If so how do you do it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Crashman]

Easiest way to smooth the surface is with a "Scotchbrite" or other nylon scrubbing pad and "Softscrub" or other fine abrasive cleaner. This will remove the black stuff and make the surface smoother at the same time.

Wash with hot watter and dishwashing detergent to remove the stronger cleaner, dry well.

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[pIII_Man]

ya...get some 1000 grit wet dry sand paper..put the paper on a clean flat surface...a glass table or granite counter top...

Then start sanding...but make sure you keep the heatsink flat...and rotate 90 degrees every minute or too....

Depending on how deep ya scratched it could take a while...

if you want put a little bit of water on the sandpaper...that will make the heatsink a little bit smoother...

Stop when the heatsink shows no more scratches...

Although a small scratch wont be so bad...you could even run it with the addition of thermal compound...


Proud owner of DOS 3.3

 

[Schmide]

Next time strengthen your gluteus maximums and go grab your girlfriends Acetone. (Fingernail Polish Remover) It gets any crap off any metal. Evaporates quickly and leaves little if no residue.

Dichromatic for your viewing plesure...

 

[pIII_Man]

or you could got to a nice manly hardware store and pick up some acetone if you are a little weary of being caught with mailpolish remover or if you are single...


Proud owner of DOS 3.3

 

[Schmide]

So you pick up manly acetone at the hardware store.

Nail polish remover often has perfumes in it and we wouldn’t want our HSF to smell girly in a manly computer.

Dichromatic for your viewing plesure...

 

[lhgpoobaa]

plus the girlie nail polish remover probably has all kinds of other crap in it.
simple acetone followed by a wash with water then dry.

<b>Regards,
Mr no integrity coward.</b>

 

[tombance]

Simple Petrol seems to work fine for me (Gas to all those who have never heard of petrol, and I mean Gas the Liquid not the Gas 😀).

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=6752830" target="_new">Yay, I Finally broke the 12k barrier!!</A>

 

[lhgpoobaa]

regular, unleaded or premium?

<b>Regards,
Mr no integrity coward.</b>

 

[pIII_Man]

premium of course...it makes your processor run better...

I am sorry but i am going have to recomend against that...no doubt "petrol" kerosine and all the other oil based products are good solvents....i just would not be able to stand their smell!!!


Proud owner of DOS 3.3

 

[12th_Man]

Thanks everyone for the input.

I actually contiued to work away with the alcohol and lense cloths last night and got it looking decent. I put the Arctic Silver on and let it run with the BIOS heat monitor screen up. The CPU temp stbalized at 50C, my case temp was 35C. I know that that temp is really high for a 2.4C, but my case temp seems high too. Is a 15 degree differential a lot or is the heat sink doing a decent job based on the conditions?

Regardless, I'm planning on taking the heat sink off again and doing some of the things you recommended, we'll see how it works.

Thanks again.

 

[lhgpoobaa]

Reasons not to use petrol.
A. it stinks
B. Its carcinogenic
C. It contains all sorts of nasty compounds
D. It contains heavier compounds that dont evaporate right away, leaving crud behind
E. The remaining crud could hinder cooling, or vaporise when the cpu is turned on, giving off bad smells.

Go for clean solvents. Metho, lighter fluid, acetone. (though personally i dont recommend acetone)

<b>Regards,
Mr no integrity coward.</b>

 

[HardWareBoss]

Nail polish remover.

 

[HardWareBoss]

Whats the matter you don't want your puter to smell like a french whore?