AMD's latest Ryzen 7000-series processors based on the Zen 4 microarchitecture have been heavily criticized for their high temperatures. The use of expensive high-performance coolers is a radical way to ensure proper cooling, but Noctua now offers a bit cheaper way to reduce CPU temperature by up to 3°C: offsetting CPU mounting by 7mm using special bars.
The core complex dies (CCDs) of AMD's Ryzen 7000-series processors — the hottest components of the CPU — do not reside in the center of the unit, but are skewed toward the socket's south side. Adjusting the heatsink's location over the CCDs and maximizing contact pressure there significantly boosts thermal performance, Noctua found.
While results may fluctuate due to factors such as heat flux densities, tolerances of the CPU and radiator, and thermal paste application, the offset mounting can still result in considerable core temperature reductions of 1–3°C on high-end AM5 processors, Noctua said. These improvements can help to effectively cool the CPU, achieve higher boost clock frequencies, or lower fan speeds and noise levels. Lowering temperatures and increasing boost frequencies makes a lot of sense as Ryzen 7000-series processors are ranked among the best CPUs for gaming and are used for gaming under high loads.
"We have experimented with offset mountings ever since AMD introduced its first chiplet processors that had the hotspot shifted toward the south side of the socket, but on AM4, we only saw relatively small improvements in the range of 0.5°C–1°C", says Roland Mossig, chief executive of Noctua CEO. "With the new AM5 platform and its different heat-spreader design, we managed to achieve typical improvements in the range of 1°C–3°C, so we think that this will be a very interesting performance upgrade for Ryzen 7000 users!"
Noctua offers a variety of offset mounting kits for AM4 and AM5 coolers depending on their mounting pitch (83mm vs. 78mm) and architecture (single tower vs dual tower). The company plans to offer four mounting kits: NM-AMB12, NM-AMB13, NM-AMB14, and NM-AMB15.
Noctua's offset mounting bars can be purchased either through Noctua's official website or Amazon. They cost €3.90 when bought directly and €4.90 when obtained from Amazon, which essentially means that Noctua only charges for shipping. Starting in Q4, these mounting bars will be bundled with Noctua coolers.
The NM-AMB12, NM-AMB14, and NM-AMB15 bars are compatible with contemporary cooler models and are immediately available for purchase. The NM-AMB13 bars for older models will be available in a couple of weeks.
