Installing HR03+ with the help of absolut vodka

[it_burns_when_i_pee]

Im still drunk from breakfast so this i may seem short and to the point or dribble on a bit! Also overlook any spelling or gramma i missed going over what i've typed.

You've already seen the installation of a HR03+ so I'm not going to re-iterate it. This is just about the lapping job I did on the heatsink and card. Yes you read AND CARD.

My original stock cooler was "modded" with a 90mm fan as many recommend to improve cooling. Someone suggested keeping the stock fan forced @ 60% speed with part of the shroud cut away as pictured.

http://www.gwynfryn.eclipse.co.uk/lap0.jpg

The idea is that the original fan will create a push to the outside with the 90mm fan doing most of the work. It didnt really improve temps for me but load dropped 1 degree - idle was un-affected.

Moving along, here's the finish of the 8800 GTS's GPU, finish leaves much to be desired. Note: thermal pads have a rank asthetic taste! No i didnt eat it, i went to bite a fingernail after removing the stock cooler and had a nasty suprise :confused:

http://www.gwynfryn.eclipse.co.uk/lap1.jpg

http://www.gwynfryn.eclipse.co.uk/lap2.jpg

So yes i really intended on lapping it. I couldnt find anyone via google who has, there has to be others who have. Failing to locate a guide to follow but being bold with a bit of knowledge and my blood to alcohol ratio in favour of the swedish vodka i thought i'd just give it a whirl. Go absolut courage go!

Since there's going to be alot of micro debris i wrapped the card with electrical tape, much i'd like to do with the kids around here sometimes. Except i wouldnt be dumping my 8800 in the river afterwards! Naw i like kids really, i mean nike trainers would cost more if it wasnt for the child labour factories in china now would it!

http://www.gwynfryn.eclipse.co.uk/lap3.jpg

Because of the raised capacitors and such lapping wouldnt be easy. I did a razor blade test on a small ceramic tile, wrapped sandpaper tightly around it & began lapping (without water), stopping every few minutes to clean both the sandpaper & GPU with pure acetone. I also blew out the debris from the grooves around the GPU. 3 hours later my arm was aching like the time i took those special all night pills and my missus was out of service .....

... but heres the result! And yes i checked it for flat"ness" .... frequently

http://www.gwynfryn.eclipse.co.uk/lap4.jpg

Now the HR-03. The razor blade revealed that its' base was as flat as Jay Leno's chin, and probably as smooth! I expected more for the price!

http://www.gwynfryn.eclipse.co.uk/lap5.jpg

I used 800 grit to erode the un-even surface more quickly, checking with the razor blade every so often until i was happy the surface was flat, then swapped to the 2400 grit as seen above. The cooler was difficult to hold but was much easier & quicker to lap than the video card.

http://www.gwynfryn.eclipse.co.uk/lap6.jpg

http://www.gwynfryn.eclipse.co.uk/lap7.jpg

...... as Mr Burns says "Excellent".

I wasnt bothered about the memory heatsinks being aluminum, they dont generate that much heat but have to express my gripe that only 2 stuck. I am aware that other's have experienced this aswell. I had some zalman thermal epoxy and put a dab on 2 corner's of each video chip with AS5 in the middle. Because it takes several minutes for the epoxy to cure it added nearly an hour to the task, having to press firmly on each ramsink for that amount of time becomes unpleasant.

Finally the heatsink was mounted with AS5 also as i dont have mx2 yet, when i get some i will change over and report results. First installation yeilded an idle of 71 degrees but the heatsink was only warm to touch. After removing the heatsink i could see that the paste had spread unevenly to one side and was too thick. Second attempt was a success though.

Idle temps are 41 and 55 load with a 90mm Antec fan at 3/4 speed via a fan controller. This is at stock "factory overclocked" speeds (BFG OC'd Edition). Before i was idling at 49 and reaching mid 70 degrees load and were higher again without the 90mm fan mod as in 1st pic!

Without the fan the HR03 sat at 69 degrees, I literally burned my finger touching the heatpipes and now have 2 things that burn!

AS5 is supposed to cure but I've never noticed a drop in temperature after any period of time from the initial install measurement. I doubt this will be any different but will report any changes. My only concern is that the fan attached is a bit choked:

http://www.gwynfryn.eclipse.co.uk/lap8.jpg

I was thinking of dremelling out the 3 slot dividers at the back and putting a 90mm fan (which just fits) exhausting air exclusively from the HR03, maybe removing the fan on the HR03 altogether? I'm not bothered about chopping the case as i intend to replace it - you may be able to tell it was buckled at one time, a free mod by a handicapped chimp working in a courier company i once used. The other alternative is to cut a hole in the side of the chassis for a fan.

I'll be attempting one, the other or both soon. Thats your lot, ive waffled on and made an @rse of myself for long enough ... andim sure its been 24 hours since i last ate. Since the kabab shop doesnt open for another 4hrs im gonna attempt to cook something. Burns unit here i come!!!

[Nosfer@tu]

Great work ;)

[LuckyNV]

great lap jobs :up:

btw, you can fit 120mm fans using stock clips, its tight to fit on, but the clips are very strong and they will hold, any 120mm slow fan will rock, mostly due to the larger area for airflow

[it_burns_when_i_pee]

just read my post sober and HA!

i've seen 120mm fitted but for now i went with the 90mm. i feel a fan exhausting air directly from it will help somewhat, maybe a push pull either side or side and chassis side if you know what i mean.

anyone tried what i mentioned?

[Retro]

Nice work! Lapping the gpu-now that's radical! Couple things I did that helped:
Lapped the TR heatsink base (and accidently some of the finish off the heatpipes), no, I had no Absolut:D I lightly sanded the ram chips ( I didn't "lap" them). This helped the Thermaltake copper ramsinks to stick (two different sizes). I used these instead of the stock aluminum sinks.
I also went the 120mm fan route, a Silverstone FM121@110 cfm. No problem with the stock wire clips.
This was an easy solution to getting enough airflow at a reasonable amount of noise:cool:

[it_burns_when_i_pee]

i've just fitted an old 90mm silenx fan i found in a drawer. it shifts more air than one fitted but at the same noise level.

idle remains unaffected but load temps are now 52.

there is a 120mm scythe fan, model DFS122512L, only the ends have been cut from an old mod. when i solder it back up i'll fit and will hopefully see another improvement? only thing is that its noticabley louder than all the other fans i have, so far i've managed to keep a very quiet pc with just 3 x 120mm 1000rpm nexus fans, a 120mm 700rpm psu fan and of course the 90mm installed on the HR03

[Morais]

Excellent! Very cool pics and results. Never saw a GPU lapping. :up:

[Origin_Unknown]

my gpu is the only thing in my machine that i've not lapped ;) i might give it a go

[Morais]

The next thing to lap is the x38 IHS... Whos the volunteer? :p:

[BlueAqua]

Damn nice lapping job, a pioneer in lapping the G80 IHS. Nice work.

[Origin_Unknown]

The next thing to lap is the x38 IHS... Whos the volunteer? :p:

If i had an X38 then i'd give it a go

[LuckyNV]

why lap it, remove the IHS, not like you're going to mount something ultra heavy on it :D

[it_burns_when_i_pee]

cheers guys

on the weekend will fit that 120mm fan and see where it goes. butchering the case still on the cards too

now its friday night and more absolut is in order! best make use of my liver whilst it still works eh?

[it_burns_when_i_pee]

well i have fitted the scythe fan - a DFS122512L. its still choked for airflow in my opinion but has dropped temperatures nether the less.

idle is still the same @ 41 but im seeing 47-48 load at full fan speed. yay? and thats with AS5 not MX-2 (yes i still havent ordered it).

because of noise i've dropped fan speed to about 3/4 ish via the fan controller and load now hits 50. i wont get a different 120mm fan yet, i am going to butcher the rear slots and fit a 90mm fan exhausting and remove the scythe all together. will also try mounting an additional 90mm fan infront of the video card so there is a push pull effect. lastly my other option is to cut a hold for a fan on the side of the chassis to either exhaust or blow air in. i could also try a combination of push pull from side to rear of case. will update with any and all results when i go about it.

but before i go cutting any metal i'll need a box of band aids, rubbing alchol for my pending wounds and of course some alcohol for myself :D

[cuprasport]

nice work there, well done

[it_burns_when_i_pee]

i finally got some MX2 and "installed" it

idle is still the same @ 41 and load is sitting at 48 under a game or just 46 under 3d mark03? ..... and thats at 3/4 fan speed. 2 degrees cooler and no noise increase. yay!

i wasnt sceptical of mx2 - i just wanted to see the results for myself. its got my recommendation anyway.

also with the fan at full speed its fluctuating 47-48 so im happy to leave it as it is. though the fan is still quite choked because of how close it is to the xfi, so really i should be looking at improving airflow too.

[pitadotcom]

just got sum mx-2 my self. i didnt trust as5 on the little chips on the side. ill be doing ur old mod soon. hopefully my temps go down. bloody hot here in brisbane

[Demo]

EDIT

Wrong thread reply

[it_burns_when_i_pee]

just got sum mx-2 my self. i didnt trust as5 on the little chips on the side. ill be doing ur old mod soon. hopefully my temps go down. bloody hot here in brisbane

first mod i copied off someone else

post your results, always good for comparison. i would like to see how the stock cooler perform if it were lapped, its finish isnt the best

[Airbrushkid]

What gets me is I get 41C idle and 48C load and I didn't lap the heatsink or gpu..

[Retro]

What gets me is I get 41C idle and 48C load and I didn't lap the heatsink or gpu..
Good temps:up:
May not be really necessary to lap the HR-03+ then. I lapped mine, but not the gpu, didn't have any Absolut in the house:D

[it_burns_when_i_pee]

the HR03 was not flat, i was well disapointed with thermalright

@ Airbrushkid - remember the fan is only at roughly 3/4 speed and is choked. there is like less than an inch between the fan and x-fi card. idieally i need another slot space but that means a new motherboard and i cant justify that. so will experiment with airflow.

just bought a thermalright ultra extreme, the one in my sig is the 4 piped version. i'll be lapping that when it arrives with more pics etc and may post with results before, after and with mx2 & as5

i've had a few prezzie's of some mates, amereto, aftershock and tequila and have half a bottle of absolut left so i guess i'll be lapping under the influence of some marzipan flavored mix

[S1mon-]

Nice lapping job... I wish I knew how to lap without damaging anything

[Origin_Unknown]

Nice lapping job... I wish I knew how to lap without damaging anything

slow / steady with a peice of glass and you cant go wrong :up:

I lapped my Ultra 120-Extreme / HR-03-Plus / HR-05-IFX in the same day

[Start]

Ahh yes, the fresh smell of warranty being voided in the morning :D

[timber715]

quit worrying about warranty, everyone knows that already before doing any mod... you dont have to do any mod if you're uncomfortable with voiding your warranty...

[it_burns_when_i_pee]

warrant was only a concern on the video card. if i killed it, i killed it. no doubt i would have put my head through the dry wall in blinding white flash of rage but nothing ventured nothing gained right?

and you have to remember, i had dutch courage, or rather absolut swedish courage

[Origin_Unknown]

Pc hardware comes with a warranty? :lol:

[Demo]

I re-lapped my HR03-Plus today and i didnt get any temp drops ( even compared to unlapped ) that means my GPU IHS is the real problem. I Can visualize on how to lap the GPU using a glass strip but making a flat surface for it is quite hard. Any tips on how to do it ?