Intel’s 12th Gen Alder Lake chips have finally arrived after spinning around the rumor mill for months. The new chips represent the biggest generational leap for the blue team in years, thanks to its completely redesigned ‘hybrid’ architecture and support for features like DDR5 memory, PCIe 5.0, and more. These Intel CPUs use the LGA 1700 socket, which means you’ll need a new motherboard and a new cooler or updated standoffs from the manufacturer.
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at all the CPU coolers for Intel Alder Lake socket LGA 1700. There seems to be a lot of confusion around the cooling solutions for these new chips, so let’s break it down. Here’s everything you need to know about the CPU coolers for Intel Alder Lake socket LGA 1700:
Intel LGA 1700 Socket
Intel’s LGA 1700 socket, codenamed 15R1, is taller than the previous LGA 1200 socket powering the current generation of Rocket Lake processors. Here’s a quick look at the LGA 1700 socket specification before we get into more details:
| Specification |
Intel socket LGA 1700 |
| IHS to MB Height (Z-Stack, validated range) |
6.529 – 7,532 mm |
| Socket Seating Plane Height |
2.7 mm |
| Thermal Solution Hole Pattern |
78 x 78 mm |
| Maximum Thermal Solution Center of Gravity Height from IHS |
25.4 mm |
| Static Total Compressive Minimum |
534N (120 lbf), Beginning of Life 356 N (80 lbf) |
| End of life maximum |
1068 N (240 lbf) |
| Socket Loading |
80-240 lbf |
| Maximum Thermal Solution Mass |
950 gram |
| Dynamic Compressive Maximum |
489.5 N (110 lbf) |
The new LGA 1700 socket doesn’t have the same dimensions as the outgoing LGA 1200. Hence, the Z600 series motherboards will have a different mounting hole pattern for the coolers. The new socket not only has an asymmetrical design but also comes with a lower z-stack height. This means the existing CPU cooler mounting brackets won’t be able to establish a proper mounting pressure to make full contact with the CPU IHS. The lack of a proper mounting pressure means the thermal paste may not spread evenly across the cold plate (and the IHS). This is why you’ll need to buy either a new CPU cooler for these chips or at least buy an upgrade kit for your CPU cooler with new mounting brackets and standoffs.
Do you need a new CPU cooler for Intel intel LGA 1700?
Cooler manufacturers have been dealing with new CPU launches for many years now. It’s only a matter of time till they offer “upgrade kits”, allowing you to use your existing LGA1200/LGA115x Retention brackets and backplates. We’ve listed the manufacturers who have already announced an upgrade kit for their cooler below. We’ll update this list over time as more manufacturers reveal their plans for an upgrade. We doubt if all manufacturers will offer kits for all the existing coolers. It’s mostly reserved for only the high-end and relatively new coolers, but we’ll see how it plays out.
A few of these upgrade kits, which consists of new mounting brackets and standoffs, are offered for free of charge, but it’s not a common occurrence. Some manufacturers may charge a small fee for the kit, but it’s at least cheaper than buying a whole new cooler. Here’s a quick look at some of the upgrade kits that are already announced for socket LGA 1700.
Corsair
Corsair has an upgrade kit for its ELITE CAPELLIX coolers. The kit, which appears to be just new standoffs, will adapt the 115x/1200 bracket for use with the LGA 1700 socket. It’s worth pointing out that this will work only with the Elite Capellix coolers. You’ll still have to wait for more upgrades or just buy a cooler if you have any other Corsair AIOs.
This retrofit kit will allow you to use your existing LGA1200/LGA115x Retention brackets and backplates for Elite Capellix coolers with the new Intel Alder Lake processors that require socket LGA1700 mounting kits.
Alternatively, you can also buy the entire retention kit to mount the cooler on a wide variety of sockets including AMD’s AM4.
This Elite series retention kit can be used to mount any ELITE CAPELLIX cooler on Intel 1700, 1200, 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 2011, 2066 sockets, as well as AMD AM4 sockets.
Noctua
Noctua is also one of the very few manufacturers to have confirmed the availability of its mounting upgrade kits. A handful of Noctua’s existing coolers support the new LGA 1700 socket out of the box, and it’s safe to say that almost all Noctua multi-socket CPU cooler models will get an upgrade. Noctua has already listed two different mounting kits along with a compatibility list for each. You can buy the mounting kits using the links below.
This mounting upgrade kit allows Noctua CPU coolers with 78mm mounting pitch to be upgraded to Intel’s latest LGA1700 platform.
You can use this mounting kit to install Noctua CPU coolers with 83mm mounting pitch on a compatible Z690 motherboard with LGA 1700 socket.
be quiet!
be quiet! has some fantastic CPU coolers on the market and the company is fully embracing the new LGA 1700 socket by offering free mounting kits to its existing customers. be quiet! will send you a new backplate, mounting bridges, and all other required components for your new LGA 1700 socket motherboard if you have one of these CPU coolers mentioned below:
- Dark Rock Pro 4
- Dark Rock 4
- Dark Rock Slim
- Dark Rock TF 2
- Shadow Rock 3
- Shadow Rock Slim 2
- Shadow Rock LP
- Pure Rock 2
- Pure Rock
- Silent Loop 2
- Pure Loop
Additionally, the company has also confirmed that all their compatible CPU coolers (going forward) will have the LGA 1700 mounting parts included in the box.
Artic
Artic has also confirmed it’s making LGA 1700 mounting brackets for some of its existing coolers. In fact, it’ll offer them for free of charge to consumers with a valid purchase receipt. Artic will provide LGA 1700 mounting kits for its CPU coolers mentioned below:
- All Freezer 34 models
- Liquid Freezer II series
- Freezer 50
- Freezer i13 X and Freezer i13 X CO
Note: We’ll be updating this space with more upgrade kits as other manufacturers announce their availability.
Using the same CPU coolers for next-gen Raptor Lake chips
The new LGA 1700 socket is said to have more room for additional pins, resulting in a bigger size. It appears the same LGA 1700 socket will be able to accommodate processors with 1700 and 1800 pins. This means the next generation of Intel processors codenamed Raptor Lake (with 1800 pins), will likely use the same socket. It’s not really a surprise considering these sockets usually support multiple generations of processors in the same category. However, we’ll refrain from speculating further in this regard until we get more clarity on this.
Preorders for the new Intel chips have already begun and they hit the shelves officially on November 4. A lot of you are probably excited about getting your hands on one of these new chips to finally dole out a powerful Intel-based build. But don’t forget to get a potent cooler to tame the thermal output of these new CPUs. The Intel Core i5-12600K(F), Core i7-12700K(F), and the Core i9-12900K(F) all have a base TDP of 125W, and it goes without saying that a lack of good cooling solutions will have a lasting impact on the CPU.
Let us know what you think about these new Alder Lake processors in the comments below. And if you’re sticking to your existing CPUs, you might want to check out our collection of the best CPU coolers to see if there are any new coolers for your CPU on the market.
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