# Q9550 Lapped for crunching!



## Mindweaver (Jul 16, 2009)

Hey TPU Members! I promised everybody on our WCG Crunching team I would post some picks of the lap job for my Q9550. I'm not going to go into great detail, but if anyone is interested in how to lap there process just reply to the thread.

Tools
*Flat surface* - I used a large piece of glass from a coffee table.
*Surface cleaner* - I used 91% Alcohol
*Air* - I used a portable air Compressor (Canned air just as good)
*Sandpaper* - I used 3M Wet or Dry (from Advance automotive) 
                                    Grit sizes (P400, P600, P800, P1000, P1500, P2000)
*Tape* - I used electrical tape to hold down the sandpaper.

Temps before lap job @ Full Load






All the tools together





Just an extra pic of setting up the tools





Stock Q9550 Processor





After 3 rounds of P400 (Remember to clean the processor after each round. Hit it with air then cleaner to not scratch surface.) 





3 rounds of P600 you can start to see where the dips where at.





Money shot of P600.. hehehe





I went 4 rounds of P800 (Just enough to see complete copper)  It's not set in stone for how many rounds for each grit... You can start to tell when it's time to move on.. It will start feeling like your not doing anything. the processor just glides across the sandpaper.





3 rounds of P1000





4 rounds of P1500. Some people start to wet the sandpaper. I don't.. you don't have to make it look like glass. It just needs to be flat. If you do.. Use Alcohol not water.. It dries faster .





Money shot of P1500





And finally 4 rounds of P2000





Another pic of P2000





Temps after Lap Job @ Full Load





Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the pics. Remember, This is not a "how to".. I'm just showing how I lap processors. If anyone wants to lap there processor, and needs more detail. I will be glad to help as much as I can. 

*Everyone please help our crunching, and folding teams by joining, and contributing! Thanks! *


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## erocker (Jul 16, 2009)

Nice work. I use that sandpaper and electrical tape as well. Good temperature difference.


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## Mindweaver (Jul 16, 2009)

Thanks erocker!

Yea some people use masking tape... but i don't paint houses.. hehehe I use what I have..lol


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## p_o_s_pc (Jul 16, 2009)

looks good but not as much as a shine as my cpus i have done but temps are what matters


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## Mindweaver (Jul 16, 2009)

p_o_s_pc said:


> looks good but not as much as a shine as my cpus i have done but temps are what matters



Yea.. when I first started lapping I would go for shine P400 - P2500... but not a big difference in temps.. pretty much the same.. So, I saved myself 4 bucks.. hehehe and a lot of time... hehehe


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## ChaoticAtmosphere (Jul 16, 2009)

Nice job


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## Mussels (Jul 16, 2009)

but but lapping doesnt help temps, it makes the chip worthless, waaaah.

no one else was in here whining about how lapping does nothing, so i thought i'd do it for em 

nice job, lapping mine made my four cores come closer to each other on my Q6600, but the drop was nowhere near as big as yours.


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## Mindweaver (Jul 16, 2009)

@Mussels lol I was waiting on someone to say something about the warranty..lol I'm glad you beat them too it!...lol


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## BUCK NASTY (Jul 16, 2009)

Nice work. I think I may lap my e8400. It's sitting @ 57c/57c with a full load on water right now. Thanks for the inspiration.


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## IINexusII (Jul 16, 2009)

hardly saw any difference in lapping my e7300  it just made it harder to sell now


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## Papahyooie (Jul 16, 2009)

Man thats freakin beautiful... nothing says "hardcore" like a mirror-polished heat spreader. I worked on my P4's heatsink and spreader for hours but never could quite get that magical point where you can make out objects in the reflection. Too heavy grit would just scar it up more, and too light grit did nothing. Pospc, thats a very nice job too! what exactly is that sitting on top of them?


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## OnBoard (Jul 16, 2009)

"3 rounds"

Wonder what you mean by that? Surely 3 swipes don't do that  Think it took me close to 2 hours to lap my old E4300. But I used just 400 & 800 (and a bit of 2000 to make it nicer).



IINexusII said:


> hardly saw any difference in lapping my e7300  it just made it harder to sell now



My E7200 was pretty flat, so I just didn't bother. E4300 had a massive crater on the middle compared to this one.


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## Chicken Patty (Jul 16, 2009)

awesome job there buddy


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## Mindweaver (Jul 16, 2009)

BUCK NASTY said:


> Nice work. I think I may lap my e8400. It's sitting @ 57c/57c with a full load on water right now. Thanks for the inspiration.



Thanks Buck!

 Yea, I enjoyed the temperature drop on my old E8400 after the lap job. The E8400 that I have is a C0 stepping and has one sensor stuck.. but after a few hours of crunching the sensor would free up. My before temps using a zalman 9700n @ 4.05GHz, @ full load were 65c. After the lap job it dropped to 59c with the 9700n, @4.05GHz, @ full load.. 

After you lap your processor, clean both the processor and block. Then lay the processor on a paper towel or your hand (something soft) and place the water block on top, and pick up.. It should create a vacuum between the two. It will feel like the block is picking up the processor. Remember, it will not be a complete bond, so the processor will fall. Just remember that you don't have to raise it very high.. just enough to clear the surface (paper towel or hand). 

If the vacuum between the two are weak, I would lap the block. You can always check the block or processor with a razor blade.

Hopefully this was  just a little more inspiration... hehehe




IINexusII said:


> hardly saw any difference in lapping my e7300  it just made it harder to sell now



Hehehe, Your not pitching it the correct way... You need to sell it to a new overclocker.. explain to them that this is a hand sanded processor  from an experienced overclocker... hehehe 



Papahyooie said:


> Man thats freakin beautiful... nothing says "hardcore" like a mirror-polished heat spreader. I worked on my P4's heatsink and spreader for hours but never could quite get that magical point where you can make out objects in the reflection. Too heavy grit would just scar it up more, and too light grit did nothing. Pospc, thats a very nice job too! what exactly is that sitting on top of them?



Thanks Papahyooie
That's a thumb screw (Screw driverless) for the case doors.



OnBoard said:


> "3 rounds"



When I say 3 rounds, I mean for each round push the processor up the sheet of sandpaper 30 times for each side (4 sides = 1 round). Start, at the bottom push to the top, and back.. that is 1 of 30 times for one side. Clean the processor after each round. Remember, do not ,push down on the processor. let the weight of the processor do the work. 



Chicken Patty said:


> awesome job there buddy



Thanks CP!


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## phanbuey (Jul 16, 2009)

Great Job!

For anyone too lazy to go to an automotive store or unsure about paper - performace PC's sells a good lap kit to start with. - http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=21971


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## BUCK NASTY (Jul 17, 2009)

The deed is done and I have nice difference. I was only able to take it to 1200 grit. I'm happy with a 3-4  degree drop. Should make a bigger difference when I take it up over 4Ghz.
*3 cheers to Mindweaver for the inspiration!!!*

*Before lapping*







*After Lapping*


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## Mindweaver (Jul 17, 2009)

BUCK NASTY said:


> The deed is done and I have noticed a tremendous difference. I was only able to take it to 1200 grit. A large part of the drop may be removing the year-old Ceramique and applying AS-5. Now the temps resemble a water cooled rig!
> *3 cheers to Mindweaver for the inspiration!!!*
> 
> *Before lapping*
> ...



Great Job bro!   Very nice temps!


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## phanbuey (Jul 17, 2009)

BUCK NASTY said:


> The deed is done and I have noticed a tremendous difference. I was only able to take it to 1200 grit. A large part of the drop may be removing the year-old Ceramique and applying AS-5. Now the temps resemble a water cooled rig!
> *3 cheers to Mindweaver for the inspiration!!!*
> 
> *Before lapping*
> ...



one is overclocked and the other isnt.  i think your OC reset when you took out the CPU.


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## BUCK NASTY (Jul 17, 2009)

phanbuey said:


> one is overclocked and the other isnt.  i think your OC reset when you took out the CPU.



Damn, your right. Let me re-clock and post the temps. I knew it was too good to be true

Edit: pics are corrected now. Thanks Phanbuey.


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## Asylum (Jul 17, 2009)

Yea i was about to say the same..LMAO
Good job mindweaver.


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## OnBoard (Jul 17, 2009)

Mindweaver said:


> When I say 3 rounds, I mean for each round push the processor up the sheet of sandpaper 30 times for each side (4 sides = 1 round). Start, at the bottom push to the top, and back.. that is 1 of 30 times for one side. Clean the processor after each round. Remember, do not ,push down on the processor. let the weight of the processor do the work.



No wonder it looked so good even without wetsanding  Yeah, the E4300 was the first CPU I lapped, so I took my time on all sides, but didn't really count the times. Lapping my Thermalright Ultima was a different experience, I'll be happy to lap a CPU after that 

But pictures tell more, found them handy, so I'll add couple here.
400 grit dry




800 grit wet (and used an old spot as a smoother grit later on)




2400 grit wet for 'polish' (it wasn't a mirror, still had marks on it)


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## phanbuey (Jul 17, 2009)

the only way to really get a true mirror finish is to use brasso after 2500 grit, and then rub it with acetone followed by alcohol to get it off...  not worth it IMO.  Doesn't improve or hurt temps either way, its just for show.

after one heatsink mounting it won't be a mirror no more either 

EDIT:  still nice temps buck   gj man.  Basically what I was getting on water (these other f***ers dont live our nice, cool, arid climate).


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## Mindweaver (Jul 17, 2009)

BUCK NASTY said:


> Damn, your right. Let me re-clock and post the temps. I knew it was too good to be true
> 
> Edit: pics are corrected now. Thanks Phanbuey.



Still looks good Buck! Did you use AS5? If so it still should drop 1 or 2 degrees after burn in.



OnBoard said:


> No wonder it looked so good even without wetsanding  Yeah, the E4300 was the first CPU I lapped, so I took my time on all sides, but didn't really count the times. Lapping my Thermalright Ultima was a different experience, I'll be happy to lap a CPU after that
> 
> But pictures tell more, found them handy, so I'll add couple here.
> 400 grit dry
> ...



Looks good Onboard! Nice pics! 



phanbuey said:


> the only way to really get a true mirror finish is to use brasso after 2500 grit, and then rub it with acetone followed by alcohol to get it off...  not worth it IMO.  Doesn't improve or hurt temps either way, its just for show.
> 
> *after one heatsink mounting it won't be a mirror no more either*
> 
> EDIT:  still nice temps buck   gj man.  Basically what I was getting on water (these other f***ers dont live our nice, cool, arid climate).



Yea the first processor I lapped was a P4 heater.. hehehe I rubbed on it for 2 days to get a mirror finish.. But your right it's not worth it.. I only take it to p2000 grit now.


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## d3fct (Jul 19, 2009)

nice temp results mindweaver, if this 9650 wasnt brand new i would attempt it...


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## Mindweaver (Jul 19, 2009)

d3fct said:


> nice temp results mindweaver, if this 9650 wasnt brand new i would attempt it...



After the 2nd day of having it.. I lapped it.. lol  Remember it drops half price after you drive it off the lot... hehehehe


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## d3fct (Jul 19, 2009)

lol, nothing like buying a brand new caddilac then rubbing off all the paint.


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## oily_17 (Jul 19, 2009)

I may give this a try on my Q9550 - I have been testing it out yesterday and not to impressed with results 

It takes 1.4V to get to 3.8GHz, crap VID of 1.3, and temps are 60C full load.

The rest of my parts should arrive this week for my build, so might lap it before it all goes together.


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## d3fct (Jul 19, 2009)

rma it before you lap it


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## Mindweaver (Jul 19, 2009)

Mine is 1.328v @ 3782.7GHz, 1780MHz fsb. My Corsair Dominator 1066 ram doesn't like anything higher than 1069MHz @ 2.10v... That's why it's a little under 3.8GHz. I have to bump it up to 1.4v to get 4GHz, but I have to drop my ram down...


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## d3fct (Jul 19, 2009)

little off topic, but i have dominator 1066 pc 8500's and im having a hell of a time gettin them to run there rated speed, i can only pass memtest up to about 515mhz, and thats after screwin with subtimings. Are you able to run yours stock speed on auto, or do you have to change timings?


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## oily_17 (Jul 19, 2009)

d3fct said:


> rma it before you lap it




There's nothing wrong with it but!!



Mindweaver said:


> Mine is 1.328v @ 3782.7GHz, 1780MHz fsb. My Corsair Dominator 1066 ram doesn't like anything higher than 1069MHz @ 2.10v... That's why it's a little under 3.8GHz. I have to bump it up to 1.4v to get 4GHz, but I have to drop my ram down...





Still testing...but this x38 seems to luv NB volts (1.6-1.7) hope to get 4GHZ stable


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## d3fct (Jul 19, 2009)

you might get lucky and get a better(lower) vid


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## Mussels (Jul 19, 2009)

oily_17 said:


> There's nothing wrong with it but!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



x38 and x48  high voltages when clocking ram up. 1.6v is around the sweet spot, from what i was told over at XS.


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## oily_17 (Jul 19, 2009)

Yeah I think the NB was holding me back..but it ain't the best CPU either I think.

Anyway I will be happy with it crunching at 3.8 stable


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## oily_17 (Jul 19, 2009)

d3fct said:


> you might get lucky and get a better(lower) vid



Nah...I take the rough with the smooth..will just buy another if I am not happy


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## overclocking101 (Jul 19, 2009)

This. Is how I did my q6600.  But I sanded. My hs right off so justthe cores show pretty sweet guys


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## Mindweaver (Jul 19, 2009)

d3fct said:


> little off topic, but i have dominator 1066 pc 8500's and im having a hell of a time gettin them to run there rated speed, i can only pass memtest up to about 515mhz, and thats after screwin with subtimings. Are you able to run yours stock speed on auto, or do you have to change timings?



The default voltage is 1.8v. You have to set the voltage to 2.10v. Do you have the 1gb x 2 or 2gb x2? yea, I also manually set my timings. I'm running pretty loose 5,5,5,15.


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## phanbuey (Jul 20, 2009)

Mindweaver said:


> The default voltage is 1.8v. You have to set the voltage to 2.10v. Do you have the 1gb x 2 or 2gb x2? yea, I also manually set my timings. I'm running pretty loose 5,5,5,15.



are you sure its your ram and not the NB?  BC my ram has to run at REALLY loose timings at high fsb's (my NB sucks) - I mean like 900Mhz at 5-6-6-17 or 1000Mhz at 6-7-7-19... but its not the ram, Its the NB.


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## Mindweaver (Jul 20, 2009)

phanbuey said:


> are you sure its your ram and not the NB?  BC my ram has to run at REALLY loose timings at high fsb's (my NB sucks) - I mean like 900Mhz at 5-6-6-17 or 1000Mhz at 6-7-7-19... but its not the ram, Its the NB.



I can't rule out the nb (P35).. I have a P5K-E /w wifi which does not come with a NB fan, and would heat up like the sun to where you could not touch it. I resolved that problem by removing a 40mm NB fan from an old Gigabyte board. Now you can actually touch the NB with out 3rd degree burns.. hehehe 

Now with my Dominator ram I have 2 x 1gb version, and the 2 x 2gb version 6gb total. The 2 x 1gb version I can push high, and is rock solid, but the 2 x 2gb version are very unstable past 1069. Even at 1069MHz they over heat, and I receive a BSOD (tested on P35 and P45). So, I rarely use them for long periods of time. I realize that it's partly my fault, because I have not purchased the fan kit for them. 

I have a 60mm Masscool Sleeve Bearing fan I plan to attach to the ram later today... If time permits.


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## Mussels (Jul 20, 2009)

Mindweaver said:


> I can't rule out the nb (P35).. I have a P5K-E /w wifi which does not come with a NB fan, and would heat up like the sun to where you could not touch it. I resolved that problem by removing a 40mm NB fan from an old Gigabyte board. Now you can actually touch the NB with out 3rd degree burns.. hehehe
> 
> Now with my Dominator ram I have 2 x 1gb version, and the 2 x 2gb version 6gb total. The 2 x 1gb version I can push high, and is rock solid, but the 2 x 2gb version are very unstable past 1069. Even at 1069MHz they over heat, and I receive a BSOD (tested on P35 and P45). So, I rarely use them for long periods of time. I realize that it's partly my fault, because I have not purchased the fan kit for them.
> 
> I have a 60mm Masscool Sleeve Bearing fan I plan to attach to the ram later today... If time permits.



I used to have that mobo. NB ran at 90C when i ran 1.55v through the NB to do 430FSB on my Q6600. NEEDS a fan. I also ran 6GB of ram on the board, and found i could not pass 1000MHz. 960 was fine, but i couldnt push it higher, despite the ram i was using at the time could do 1066.


Lots of modern OCing ram requires fans  my OCZ reapers require 2.0v for 4-4-4-15, but they overheat after many hours at that voltage. Problem is, due to the giant heatspreaders i cant attach a bloody fan to them.


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## p_o_s_pc (Jul 20, 2009)

Mussels said:


> I used to have that mobo. NB ran at 90C when i ran 1.55v through the NB to do 430FSB on my Q6600. NEEDS a fan. I also ran 6GB of ram on the board, and found i could not pass 1000MHz. 960 was fine, but i couldnt push it higher, despite the ram i was using at the time could do 1066.
> 
> 
> Lots of modern OCing ram requires fans  my OCZ reapers require 2.0v for 4-4-4-15, but they overheat after many hours at that voltage. Problem is, due to the giant heatspreaders i cant attach a bloody fan to them.



not true i had a fan over my reapers it was kinda ghetto but it worked... you could take something like a 80mm fan(possibly smaller but 80mm works good for me) and use a big rubber band or a few smaller ones and just get it behind the clips that hold the ram in and let it hand there. It worked for me just fine and dropped temps alot (to the touch atleast)


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## Mindweaver (Jul 20, 2009)

Mussels said:


> I used to have that mobo. NB ran at 90C when i ran 1.55v through the NB to do 430FSB on my Q6600. NEEDS a fan. I also ran 6GB of ram on the board, and found i could not pass 1000MHz. 960 was fine, but i couldnt push it higher, despite the ram i was using at the time could do 1066.
> 
> 
> Lots of modern OCing ram requires fans  my OCZ reapers require 2.0v for 4-4-4-15, but they overheat after many hours at that voltage. Problem is, due to the giant heatspreaders i cant attach a bloody fan to them.



Here is a pic of my NB... hehehe Notice the fan grill has agp 8x sticker.. hehehe  It's from an old VIA 400 board.


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## Mussels (Jul 20, 2009)

p_o_s_pc said:


> not true i had a fan over my reapers it was kinda ghetto but it worked... you could take something like a 80mm fan(possibly smaller but 80mm works good for me) and use a big rubber band or a few smaller ones and just get it behind the clips that hold the ram in and let it hand there. It worked for me just fine and dropped temps alot (to the touch atleast)



i dont have the room to attach a fan. One side is a DVD drive and hard drive, the other side is my CPU fan. I didnt mean that its impossible to attach a fan to reapers, i meant its impossible to attach a fan to MY reapers.


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