Does lapping my CPU destroy it?

[GotNoRice]

Are you for real?

Anyone that trys to grind down there CPU is an idiot and should be taken out back and shot...

Seriously what idiot came up with this great idea? I totaly agree with that article 100%

So do you, like the author of the article, also not know the difference between the heat-spreader and the actual core of the CPU?

Anyone who has been building computers since the Athlon/Pentium3 days or so knows exactly what a CPU core looks like because CPU's did not used to come with heatspreaders. Cores are usually small (about the size of a dime or so) and extremely delicate. No one in their right mind would ever sand the core directly...

But back then it was common for people to chip off a corner of the core during improper heatsink installation since you were basically balancing a big heatsink on a tiny fragile core.

a heatspreader is simply an aluminum and/or copper cap that covers and protects the core. When you are lapping a CPU all you are doing is sanding the surface of the heatspreader for better contact.

What is so dangerous about smoothing out a metal cap? Nothing.

Some people even completely remove the heatspreader.

 

[Crosshairs]

Are you for real?

Anyone that trys to grind down there CPU is an idiot and should be taken out back and shot...

Seriously what idiot came up with this great idea? I totaly agree with that article 100%

I dont grind my chips.I do lap some of then though...big difference

 

[inotocracy]

Are you for real?

Anyone that trys to grind down there CPU is an idiot and should be taken out back and shot...

Seriously what idiot came up with this great idea? I totaly agree with that article 100%

Its not the CPU you're smoothing/grinding, its the heatplate on top of it.

 

[fausto412]

this guy seems to think so...

http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-destroy-your-CPU-by-lapping-it

this makes me think twice about lapping my i5..... but then again he explains lapping to be some sort of bloody barbaric process that breeds terrorism

i read it and he has valid points.

My take on this issue goes like this...take your salary and figure it out to what your hourly rate is, then figure out how long it takes to lap cpu and heatsink....can you buy a legit upgrade with that? then why mess with warranty and reliability and the way a cpu and heat sink were intended to be used.
I've never been conviced that lapping works to the effect a lot of forum posts say it does. untill i see anandtech or tomshardware or even hardocp do a test i won'tt bother with it.

 

[Dethred]

i read it and he has valid points.

My take on this issue goes like this...take your salary and figure it out to what your hourly rate is, then figure out how long it takes to lap cpu and heatsink....can you buy a legit upgrade with that? then why mess with warranty and reliability and the way a cpu and heat sink were intended to be used.
I've never been conviced that lapping works to the effect a lot of forum posts say it does. untill i see anandtech or tomshardware or even hardocp do a test i won'tt bother with it.

People have posted their results, and we aren't simply trying to deceive you. It isn't a matter of whether its worth your time or not. The benefit is there, and at most, it takes 1-2 hours. You can do it while watching a movie, and when the movie is over, you have a cheap solution to lowering your temperatures 1C-5C. If you are into overclocking, its worth it.

The only real calculation you should factor is the warranty issue. Can you afford to buy a new CPU tomorrow if your CPU dies, because Intel warranty service will laugh when they get a CPU in for warranty with an exposed copper IHS. Is it worth the benefits to risk losing your right to a replacement CPU in the case of a failure?

I personally considered all those factors, lapped the CPU, and enjoyed decent temperature drops. Two years later the CPU is still in service and is on the verge of becoming outdated (in my eyes). It has completed its duty cycle at a lower temperature at the cost of about $3 for a piece of glass and sandpaper.

 

[Deleted member 184142]

My take on this issue goes like this...take your salary and figure it out to what your hourly rate is, then figure out how long it takes to lap cpu and heatsink....

The people who are lapping are most of the time at the upper end of coolers, and are trying to get the most out of their chips, it's not a matter of cost, some people find modding things (I know this might be hard to believe)....Fun. The fact of the matter is I enjoyed taking out my CPU and lapping it, and I enjoyed the temp drop I got even more.

 

[Frobot]

i read it and he has valid points.

My take on this issue goes like this...take your salary and figure it out to what your hourly rate is, then figure out how long it takes to lap cpu and heatsink....can you buy a legit upgrade with that? then why mess with warranty and reliability and the way a cpu and heat sink were intended to be used.

You've gotta make a shitload of money if an hour or two of it will buy a CPU upgrade, but that demonstration of opportunity cost is bogus for salaried employees anyway. It's not like you even have an option to get paid at your calculated hourly rate for work you do outside the workday.

 

[Riccochet]

The same arguments can be said about modifying a motor. Who would spend hours of their time and $100's of dollars to gain a few horsepower? People that want to extract every last bit of power from that motor. Same goes for CPU's. We buy expensive aftermarket cooler, fans and spend countless hours modifying our rigs to gain minimal advantages in our ever lasting quest for the maximum overclock potential.

It's what we do. This is [H]ardForum, not warranty conscious, buy a faster CPU if you want a faster CPU forum. I don't stop until the magic blue smoke genie tells me to.

 

[450]

The same arguments can be said about modifying a motor. Who would spend hours of their time and $100's of dollars to gain a few horsepower? me to.

I wish it was just a few hundred dollars.

Are you for real?

Anyone that trys to grind down there CPU is an idiot and should be taken out back and shot...

Seriously what idiot came up with this great idea? I totaly agree with that article 100%

I'm going to assume you're being sarcastic/joking since you're sig says you're a forum troll.

 

[fausto412]

You've gotta make a shitload of money if an hour or two of it will buy a CPU upgrade, but that demonstration of opportunity cost is bogus for salaried employees anyway. It's not like you even have an option to get paid at your calculated hourly rate for work you do outside the workday.

but it's how i decide if something is worth my time or if i'm better off paying for someone else to do it or for a higher quality/performing product.

 

[Deleted member 184142]

but it's how i decide if something is worth my time or if i'm better off paying for someone else to do it or for a higher quality/performing product.

That's fine and dandy, but has no impact on whether or not lapping your CPU is going to kill it. Also, there are many places that do lapping, so you are looking at 20 bucks (or more) plus shipping both ways and time to pack it and mail it and then the down time of the system...I can lap a CPU AND HS in an hours time. Doesn't seem like a waste to me, and I am a geek, it's not like I have anything better to do.

 

[Mr. Bluntman]

Obvious troll is obvious. This guy is offensive, uninformed, and just a MORON, which he so likes to call lappers MORONS. I hope he had fun wrecking a CPU in the process, throwing his cash down the toilet just to prove an ignorant, self-serving, non-existant and moot point.

Is lapping for everyone? No. Does it help in certain instances with lowering temps and maximizing an overclock? When done right, Yes. Especially when watercooling.

You want to state your opinion? Fine. Don't berate and belittle those who wish to attain overclocking nirvana in the process. Moral of the story: please, don't feed the trolls.

 

[PolygonGTC]

i read it and he has valid points.

My take on this issue goes like this...take your salary and figure it out to what your hourly rate is, then figure out how long it takes to lap cpu and heatsink....can you buy a legit upgrade with that? then why mess with warranty and reliability and the way a cpu and heat sink were intended to be used.
I've never been conviced that lapping works to the effect a lot of forum posts say it does. untill i see anandtech or tomshardware or even hardocp do a test i won'tt bother with it.

I just read the article and he has valid points if you try lapping your CPU and you have no idea what you're doing, not to mention his process is wrong. He's an idiot and his article is full of misinformation. I suppose he doesn't understand the basic principals of heat transfer. Just look at that CPU in the picture. That's not how a properly lapped CPU looks. That CPU is worse off than an OEM CPU.

The manufacture doesn't do it because it would be an added cost that 90% of users would see no benefit from. It's sort of like some of the things they do to race cars. They make them faster, some of them by very small margins. Some of it is tech that you will never see in a production car because it's worthless there but it makes a difference for the people pushing it to the limit.

That article serves no other purpose than to mislead people through stupidity. I really hate it when people spread their opinion of things they know nothing about.

 

[Kdot]

If you grind it with 300 grit sandpaper for about 3 hours straight you might get through the IHS and into the actual chip. I lapped my processor & heatsink yesterday and saw a slight difference in temps (a few degrees tops). If you actually do it right (extremely flat surface, 400-600-1000-1500+ grit sandpaper) there is really no risk of breaking your CPU. Using something like 400 or 600 grit sandpaper, it takes nearly an hour of lapping to even remove the nickel plating. The guy is an idiot. I don't claim lapping makes a world of difference, but if you have the intelligence to put your machine together and overclock it, there is no way you can fuck up lapping to the point of wrecking your CPU.

My advice is that if you don't care about voiding your warranty, and are willing to spend two hours with some sandpaper to lower your CPU temps by a few degrees, lap your CPU. If you are someone who doesn't try and push your machine for optimal performance then don't bother. I did my new 860 yesterday (my first lapping experience), and I can honestly say that watching AVP + sanding my CPU was enjoyable. When I was done with the thing it was total exposed copper, and you could read a book in the reflection (though I admit I would have liked it even more smooth... couldn't find anything smaller than 1500 grit sandpaper). Spending a couple hours sanding a CPU seems absurd to some, but honestly its nothing compared to the general amount of time I have spent just messing around with my desktop PC.