Conclusion

There you have it - a guide to lapping the heatsink base and CPU heatspreader. As you can see, it really is not that difficult, and it's cheap. All you need is some sandpaper, a piece of glass, some tape and a little water. For only $20 and a little sweat, I've managed to reduce the CPU core temperatures by 6.9-10.3 °C. That is a drop of 11-15 % below the baseline.

So, if you are looking for the best reduction in temperature for just $20, lapping both the heatsink base and the CPU heatspreader is the way to go. Lapping just one of them will give you a small but significant reduction in temperature, but lapping both gives you a synergistic effect with a much bigger reduction in core temperatures.

Just remember that the key is to get a flat and smooth finish. A flat surface is more important, although a smooth finish is also good. However, never fall for the trap of using a polishing agent for a mirror finish. The polishing agent will leave a residue that interferes with the thermal transfer from the CPU to the heatsink.

Questions & Comments

Please feel free to post your questions or comments here!