Lapping my 5930k

[the pokemon kid]

Hey All,

So I have had the 5930k a while now and I have used Liquid metal thermal compound to get the best cooling possible along side my custom watercooling loop, however I have been suspecting that it wasnt making the best contact as the temps weren't inline with what others were getting.

So I drained the loop and pulled the waterblock up to find this:

Not ideal, I know... 

It was either the CPU or the waterblock which was causing the poor contact. I partially suspected it to be the CPU as Intel have soldered their IHS's to the processor which usually cause bulges and an uneven finish. However I wasn't up for sanding down a Golden sample of a 5930k.

The first place to take the sand paper to was the EK CPU block. I found a nice large piece of flat glass and got to work with slowly sanding the blocks base down, putting equal pressure down throughout. I started at 200 grit and moved up through the grains, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000, 5000, and finally 7000 grit.

This took me an hour or so as the actual block itself was in pretty good condition. I didnt get pictures of this part as there wasnt a massive change in the look of the block. It went from Shiny with liquid metal stuck on it, to shiny with no liquid metal stuck to it...

After this, I decided it was time to take the plunge and to lap the processor. So I masked off the important side of the processor with green painters tape and started to move through the grains.

I know this first photo isnt great, but you can see the high spots which the processor has at 200 grit:



This second photo is at about 600 grit and you can really start to see the base layer of the IHS shining through but also the high spots which are making primary contact with the heatsink.



This RHS high spot matches well with the thermal compound spread pattern on the EK CPU block. Which makes me think that the EK CPU block is flat and that the CPU itself was off.

So I continued going through the grits until we had a mirror finish and that there was no low spots left which I could see.



At this point I was happy with the overall finish of the IHS. I applied the Thermal Grizzly conductonaut to both the CPU and waterblock then strapped them down to the motherboard.

I put all the tubing back together and started refilling the system up. Everything was looking good until the CPU block started a micro leak, something I was really not expecting!

I have drained the system now and found that the block as a small crack in it. No idea how it has happened but a new block as been ordered! Bam, an hour of sanding has gone to waste. However after contacting Overclockers and doing some research, I found out that EK Supremacy Evo waterblocks are flat... -.- What a waste of time.

So stay tuned for tomorrow when the new waterblock gets here, I can fill the system and get some results!

[the pokemon kid]

The new block arrived earlier this morning and I got to work with swapping everything over. I needed to swap to the 2011v3 jet plate and insert for optimal cooling. I gave it a quick leak test however the block was in way better condition than my old one.

I then applied the liquid metal to both the CPU and CPU block and strapped it down. Put the tubing back together made sure everything was fastened down! Time to fill the loop again! However this time, everything went smoothly.

After about 30 mins the system was full, leak testing and the bubbles were coming out thick and fast! After another 30 mins or so, the system was pretty much bubble free and I was fairly happy it wasnt going to spray liquid everywhere. So I gave it one more hour before connecting everything together. Booted her up and no blue smoke escaped! Success!

So as soon as the system booted I went to doing the same test as before: Give the system 30 mins for temps to flatten out, open HWMonitor, CPU-Z and Aida64 just before doing test to get idle temps. Start Aida64 on just 'Stress CPU' for 15 minutes. Snipping tool results as system cools off.

Here are my before results:



Pretty warm I know. The 44C idle was the concerning part as my fan curve was really ramping up at that stage. The 68C max isnt bad but I was expecting better.

However I was not ready for the improvement that was in store for me...



THATS 17C OFF THE PACKAGES MAX!

I was astonished to say the least! A 12C drop on the minimum and 10-17C drop across each core at maximum!

The system is now running super quiet in comparison to previously! I am watching HWMonitor all the time and it has even dipped bellow 30C for the first time ever!