I checked my 920, and it has it too, but not as bad.  You can see the last pic of the HK 3.0 with the "blemish" that is causing the problem.  Can I just locally sand out that spot on the HK without lapping the whole thing, Rudster?  Click to enlarge, then click again to enlarge further.

980X:



920:



HK 3.0

Yep I have the same mark on my 920.

and i have a stock heat sink ring...go figure.

I wouldnt bother trying to fix anything. Its not hurting your performance from your setup, so I wouldnt want to touch anything and risk making things worse\voiding your warranty.

okay doke...that make's it easier.  I didn't feel like doing it anyway. LOL!

Thanks for looking guys.

Is this the spot you're talking about John?  Circled in red.

That looks like thermal paste. I think he means that the ring made by the stock heatsink is permanent.

John, under your art eraser insulation (assuming that's what it is), did you put any kind of tape anywhere? I am going to start prepping a board for DICE today, and am not sure if i should put tape down, specifically around the socket. Look at this guy's 5th and 6th pictures to see what i mean: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=201916. But then it seems Buckeye at 411 and XS doesn't use tape: http://www.411overkill.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=5552.

Your opinion on the matter?

xxrabid93

John, under your art eraser insulation (assuming that's what it is), did you put any kind of tape anywhere? I am going to start prepping a board for DICE today, and am not sure if i should put tape down, specifically around the socket. Look at this guy's 5th and 6th pictures to see what i mean: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=201916. But then it seems Buckeye at 411 and XS doesn't use tape: http://www.411overkill.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=5552.

Your opinion on the matter?

Rabid, I probably have about a dozen dice runs under my belt now and here is what I do for insulation with absolutely no problems yet. 

1. I painted the back side of my motherboard with liquid electrical tape in about a 6" square directly under where the cpu sits.

2. I put art eraser down all around the socket area out to the nb/pwms

3. I cut out a a folded in half piece of paper towel with a square hole in the center for the cpu then place that on top of the art eraser.

4. I cut a similar piece of 3/4" thick neoprene that sits on top of the paper towel.

5. I put a 1/4" sheet of neoprene between the back of the motherboard and the aluminum plate my 6/32" threaded rod goes in.

6.  I put my neoprene tube insulation on the pot, and wrap it up with paper towels.

This technique has worked fine for me with no problems at all yet.

So no tape? Also, would art eraser be fine for the back of the board? That is what i had planned, along with a piece of neoprene after the eraser and before the backplate.