I put together a PC the other day and since I planned to over clock, I lapped the heatsink to improve the heat dissipation. For those who don't know, the reason for this is because you want to transfer as much heat as possible from the CPU to the heatsink, which will be able to dissipate the heat at a ridiculously fast rate. The smoother the surface of the heatsink connection is, the more surface area there is in contact with the CPU and therefore is better able to draw the heat away. You will still need to use thermal paste because it's impossible to not have some gaps in there, but it can cut down on the temps of your CPU by quite a bit depending on how well it's done. I've seen claims of temp differences ranging from 2c up to 10c, 3c - 5c is a much more likely goal to meet though and is still quite the improvement.
Also keep in mind that Copper is a softer metal than Steel so will not require quite as much time to accomplish.
Here is the process!
You'll need:
Wet/Dry sandpaper in 600, 800, 1500 and 2000 grit
Dishsoap
Heatsink
Paper towels
Bowl of water
2 hours or so of your time
PatienceAlrighty, you will start off of course with your heatsink. This one is mine:
If your stock heatsink has that pile of shitty shitty thermal paste, use a wet papertowel to wipe that off.
We are off to a pleasant start with freshly cleaned heatsinks!
Now collect your things, dip the 600 grit sandpaper in the bowl of water and lay it on a smooth surface.:
You will want to use a paper towel to clean off the contact side of the heatsink,
Wet the same side of the heatsink and then apply a rice grain sized bit of dish soap to it. Use your finger to spread the thin layer of soap to that entire surface.
Place the heatsink contact side down at the far end of the of the 600 grit sandpaper.
Putting no weight on the top of the heatsink, just pull the heatsink towards yourself down the length of the sandpaper. Once you reach the end of the sandpaper, push it back to the other end the same way. We ended up doing this for 20 strokes total (10 towards, 10 away):
Once you have completed this, turn the heatsink 90 degrees to the next side. Repeat the process. Once you have done this with all 4 sides, you can clean the contact off and reapply water and soap to the heatsink. Also put some more water on the Sandpaper or just dip it in the water if you need to clear some of the metal shaving water off of it. Repeat 4 - 5 times.
After you've finished with the 600 grit you can admire the work you've done thus far!. It will not be much of an actual improvement yet, but you will notice progress.
Also if you are doing this with a friend and they have a Steel heatsink and you have a copper heatsink, you are likely to be finished before them on each grit. If you do you can call them lazy gits and tell them to hurry their ass up.
(That is loco_banana of this forum)
you will repeat the above with 800:
then 1500
This is loco_banana being rather irritated at the incredibly stubborn middle section of his heatsink. Mr. Premium Dark Soy Sauce is glowering dubiously next to his employer.
and then finishing off with the 2000 grit papers.
You can see reflections in my finished heatsink. It's a beautiful thing.
Once the sanding is all done you will want to rinse the hell out of the heatsink. Make sure to get all of the soap and grime left over from the process off of the contact surface and whatever may have gotten in between the metal plates. You'll leave that alone, set on its side to dry and drip on a paper towel , while you put the rest of the computer PC togethor. the other alternative is simply getting a blow dryer to finish it off. Just keep in mind the heatsink will get hot as hell if you do that, so watch your fingers.
Yes yes yes, you can find this guide elsewhere but goddamnit I had pictures and wanted something to do in between calls at work.