What could possibly go wrong with IHS lapping?

[alpine_sc]

HI, I want to lap the IHS on a e4300. I don't want to destroy the CPU, but I can't see what can possibly go wrong if all I'm doing is sanding a metal plate, not the CPU itself. So what could go wrong and what are the risks?

 

[4Ryan6]

Your CPU warranty is gone!

 

[alpine_sc]

My warranty is gone anyway once I overclock it.

 

[utaka95]

Overclocking may void your warranty, but there is basically no way the manufacturer will know you overclocked it - but sand all the writing off the IHS.... 😳

 

[alpine_sc]

Well, how bout risks other than losing the warranty?

 

[Valdis]

why dont you remove IHS completely :?:

 

[alpine_sc]

Cuz I might take the CPU with it.

 

[jackluo923]

Using thermal compound and HSF other than Intel's generic stuff voids your warranty. The worst possible scenario is that nickel and copper dust gets inside the cracks between the PCB and the IHS. I doubt that a cpu'll break in 20 years if you don't overclock it. So basically the warranty is useless.

Also a guy suggested taking the heat spreader off. If you don't want to take the risk, try sanding the entire Heat spreader off. Its only 1cm of copper which wouldn't take very long with 30 grit sand paper.

 

[alpine_sc]

Also a guy suggested taking the heat spreader off. If you don't want to take the risk, try sanding the entire Heat spreader off. Its only 1cm of copper which wouldn't take very long with 30 grit sand paper.

1 mm, you mean?
I don't want to risk crushing the core with the HSF by removing the IHS (I have a fatty tuniq tower).
I think it'll be easy to prevent anything from getting inside the IHS, as long as I'm careful.
I'm probably going to try it--once my case is delivered, that is.

 

[jackluo923]

No.. i meant 1Cm (centimeter). I meant to sand the whole heat spreader off if you don't want to take the risk taking off the heat spreader with a propane burner.

To prevent stuff from getting inside the chip, use tape to seal the edge and peel it off after you're done lapping.

 

[turpit]

No.. i meant 1Cm (centimeter). I meant to sand the whole heat spreader off if you don't want to take the risk taking off the heat spreader with a propane burner.

To prevent stuff from getting inside the chip, use tape to seal the edge and peel it off after you're done lapping.

One centimeter is 0.393 inches. Considering a C2D CPU is only .158 inches thick, its impossible for the IHS to be one centimeter thick.

To the OP, something to think about: The IHS is there to do more than 'spread heat'....it is a protective shell isolating the die from contaminents and also creates a more stable surface for the HSF than the die alone. It also increases the rigidity of the CPU assembly, while at the same time distributing the force of the HSF mount, reducing the risk of cracking the die.

If you are determined to remove your IHS, I would strongly, strongly, recommend against "sanding the IHS off". You risk significant physical damage to the die. Use the torch method...remember, the solder had to be heated in the first place to make the bond, so it can handle some surface heating safely. The 'razor' method used in the link below will 'pop' the IHS of as soon as the the solder softens, minimizing the risk of over heating.

heres a 'how to' for removing IHSs
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/402/2/

Read this, it explains a bit about older CPU IHS removal but more importantly it has some important considerations for a bare die setup.
http://www.overclock3d.net/articles.php?type=3&id=46&page=1&desc=removing_your_heatspreader

 

[alpine_sc]

No.. i meant 1Cm (centimeter). I meant to sand the whole heat spreader off if you don't want to take the risk taking off the heat spreader with a propane burner.

To prevent stuff from getting inside the chip, use tape to seal the edge and peel it off after you're done lapping.

One centimeter is 0.393 inches. Considering a C2D CPU is only .158 inches thick, its impossible for the IHS to be one centimeter thick.

To the OP, something to think about: The IHS is there to do more than 'spread heat'....it is a protective shell isolating the die from contaminents and also creates a more stable surface for the HSF than the die alone. It also increases the rigidity of the CPU assembly, while at the same time distributing the force of the HSF mount, reducing the risk of cracking the die.

If you are determined to remove your IHS, I would strongly, strongly, recommend against "sanding the IHS off". You risk significant physical damage to the die. Use the torch method...remember, the solder had to be heated in the first place to make the bond, so it can handle some surface heating safely. The 'razor' method used in the link below will 'pop' the IHS of as soon as the the solder softens, minimizing the risk of over heating.

heres a 'how to' for removing IHSs
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/402/2/

Read this, it explains a bit about older CPU IHS removal but more importantly it has some important considerations for a bare die setup.
http://www.overclock3d.net/articles.php?type=3&id=46&page=1&desc=removing_your_heatspreader
Lol, I think I wasn't very clear in my last post. I DONT want to remove the whole thing, just lap it flat. So if I lap it, would the IHS still retain its purpose and function nearly as well as it would without lapping?

 

[jackluo923]

Of course, it will retain its purpose and function better than before lapping, that's why people lap the processor and the heatsink.

 

[alpine_sc]

Of course, it will retain its purpose and function better than before lapping, that's why people lap the processor and the heatsink.

By purposes, I meant other than spreading heat. What turpit said:

The IHS is there to do more than 'spread heat'....it is a protective shell isolating the die from contaminents and also creates a more stable surface for the HSF than the die alone. It also increases the rigidity of the CPU assembly, while at the same time distributing the force of the HSF mount, reducing the risk of cracking the die.

 

[jackluo923]

Sanding away 1mm isn't going to cripple the heat spreader. You can mount tuniq tower safely onto the cpu without cracking after lapping.

 

[turpit]

Lol, I think I wasn't very clear in my last post. I DONT want to remove the whole thing, just lap it flat. So if I lap it, would the IHS still retain its purpose and function nearly as well as it would without lapping?

Yes, as long as you dont remove too much material, but thats hightly unlikely.

 

[turpit]

Sanding away 1mm isn't going to cripple the heat spreader. You can mount tuniq tower safely onto the cpu without cracking after lapping.

Considering that IHSs arent very thick (barely over 1mm) sanding 1mm away will not "cripple" the IHS, it very well may cut through the IHS and into the CPU die itself, ruining, or "crippling" the CPU.

The link below is for an older pentium class IHS, but the thickness still applies. For this product, the IHS thickness is 1.3mm, or 0.05in.

http://www.intel.com/support/processors/pentium/sb/CS-011043.htm

Assuming worst case scenario, and maximum permissable distortion of the IHS per spec (.01 in diagonally) you would ony have to remove 0.010in, or 0.254mm to achieve a flat surface.

 

[m25]

I can actually tell you something that went right instead of wrong with lapping the IHS of my X2 4200+; I should have squished better the paste between the IHS and the core and now my cores run with a 4-6°C difference between each other while before the lapping, this was as high as 8-10°C 😀

 

[thescorpion420]

HAHA, you gotta love google ads!

 

[geofelt]

One big risk is that you might find out that the process did no good at all. Read this interesting review: http://www.cryo-laboratory.com/forums/reviews-guides/67789-thermalright-ultra-120-extreme-review.html