- Feb 26, 2004
- 23
- 0
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First off, I'll say that I'm new to lapping. However, I did read several of the better lapping guides and combined the best procedures from each of them into my own procedure. I'm also familiar with machining and using tools, so I'm not a total newbie at working with metal.
If you've read any of my recent posts, you'll know that my SP-94 was likely one of the worst as far as machine jobs go. The bottom surface was not only uneven (I only found this out during the lapping process!), but the base was full of ridges from the machining process. When I ran my fingernail over the base, I could clearly hear a zippering sound. And since my load temps were quite high (around 55° on an IC7 Max3), I thought my HS would be a good candidate for lapping.
I won't bore you with the entire lapping process. I went from 400-grit, to 600, to 800, and finally to 1000-grit, to achieve a near-mirror finish. The process took about 2 hours, spending most of time using the 400 and 600 grit sandpaper, to even out the base. I have to say, I was quite impressed with how flat and shiny the base came out after I finished!
I reset the HS with AS5, using the rice-sized-blob-method. After about 100 hours of burn-in, loading and unloading, the verdict was in... this was a waste of time. At Idle, I dropped 1°C, and at load I dropped about 2°C. And yes, my case temps are fairly cool- usually about 27-28°C whether at idle or load (I have 10 fans working it, baby!)
Maybe this just testifies to how awesome and efficient AS5 is...I don't know??? My SP-94 base was in worse shape than ANY of the pictures that I saw around the net reviews and forums. I really expected more of a difference from lapping it, but oh well.
For some, a 1-2°C difference might be worth it, but not for me. And as I suspect that most HS bases aren't in as bad of shape as mine was in, the temp drops likely may be negligible.
Take this as you will...
If you've read any of my recent posts, you'll know that my SP-94 was likely one of the worst as far as machine jobs go. The bottom surface was not only uneven (I only found this out during the lapping process!), but the base was full of ridges from the machining process. When I ran my fingernail over the base, I could clearly hear a zippering sound. And since my load temps were quite high (around 55° on an IC7 Max3), I thought my HS would be a good candidate for lapping.
I won't bore you with the entire lapping process. I went from 400-grit, to 600, to 800, and finally to 1000-grit, to achieve a near-mirror finish. The process took about 2 hours, spending most of time using the 400 and 600 grit sandpaper, to even out the base. I have to say, I was quite impressed with how flat and shiny the base came out after I finished!
I reset the HS with AS5, using the rice-sized-blob-method. After about 100 hours of burn-in, loading and unloading, the verdict was in... this was a waste of time. At Idle, I dropped 1°C, and at load I dropped about 2°C. And yes, my case temps are fairly cool- usually about 27-28°C whether at idle or load (I have 10 fans working it, baby!)
Maybe this just testifies to how awesome and efficient AS5 is...I don't know??? My SP-94 base was in worse shape than ANY of the pictures that I saw around the net reviews and forums. I really expected more of a difference from lapping it, but oh well.
For some, a 1-2°C difference might be worth it, but not for me. And as I suspect that most HS bases aren't in as bad of shape as mine was in, the temp drops likely may be negligible.
Take this as you will...