Poll: Alder Lake owners: were you able to get a cooling solution for LGA 1700?

Alder Lake owners: were you able to get an LGA 1700 cooling solution?


  • Total voters
    72
Same here. Mobo gets here Friday, already have 12900k, ordered the Noctua because its only solution I could get in short order. Will go AIO eventually again.
Which MB did you go with? I have my 12900K and AIO sitting here. Corsair just shipped my retrofit kit today, and I can decide which board to go with.
 
Which MB did you go with? I have my 12900K and AIO sitting here. Corsair just shipped my retrofit kit today, and I can decide which board to go with.
I went with the ASUS ROG Strix z690-A Gaming Wifi.
DDR4, but made that choice because I wasn't finding or spending the $$ on DDR5 today. Maybe in a year or so will update.
Im moving from a 6600k Kaby Lake with a 3080, so should be great upgrade either way.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09J1RM86X
 
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My Noctua mounting kit arrived today. Since I still do not have a motherboard or DDR5, I cannot use it.

I have to say the packaging is superb! Very Apple-like from Noctua. :cool:

20211118_165906[4527].jpg
 
Took a week to get the LGA 1700 bracket from Arctic Freezer for the Liquid Freezer II 360. I just ran Cinebench and my highest temperature was 80 C with no overclocks on the 12900k. Prime 95 showed 50 C on the blend test. So the cooler seems to be doing fine. It took me a while to get everything setup because the Gigabyte Z690 UD AX DDR4 came with VMD enabled by default so my NVME SSD drive wasn't showing up.
 
the enermax t40 air cooler i got has a janky 1700 adapter. But I tightened everything up and appears to be working fine.

12600k stock, most cores max out in the 60's, with 2 cores maxing out mid 70s under cinebench stress test.

The heatsink just barely covers the cpu heatspreader though.

IMG_20211120_180740.jpg
 
Took a week to get the LGA 1700 bracket from Arctic Freezer for the Liquid Freezer II 360. I just ran Cinebench and my highest temperature was 80 C with no overclocks on the 12900k. Prime 95 showed 50 C on the blend test. So the cooler seems to be doing fine. It took me a while to get everything setup because the Gigabyte Z690 UD AX DDR4 came with VMD enabled by default so my NVME SSD drive wasn't showing up.

Make sure you update your bios on the Gigabyte boards, they all seem to be coming with pre-release versions.
 
Hey cool I'm the OP for this thread and guess what I finally got to figure out in the past couple of days:

My EK AIO 240mm does not fit the ITX motherboard I bought for my 12700k.

Z690I AORUS ULTRA DDR4

For those whom haven't read all of my posts in here----I have the official LGA1700 mounting kit from EK.

The problem is that the L shaped connections where the hoses join the pump block, make contact with RAM or parts of the motherboard, no matter which way I rotate the block.

EK's newer block design is very high quality and a little larger than most every other AIO. However, it has fit fine on an H570 itx board, Z590 ITX, and B550 ITX. I suspect other AIO could be a similar issue for this Gigabyte. Gigabyte could have shaved back that gigantic NVME heatsink 2mm and we would be fine. Or tuck the rear panel VRM heatsink back 2mm.
I have a sliger S610 case and their case designer is already openly bashing the Z690 ITX board designs and they have already put out a new design mockup for a "Console" style case for ATX motherboards.

So, I have now spent like 24 hrs staring at pictures and videos of AIO blocks, trying to guess which ones will fit. I have ordered a Coolermaster Master Liquid 280 and a Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID 240 ARGB. I also almost ordered a Corsair iCUE H115i Elite Capellix (H115i is the 280mm version.) But it sounds like the pump speed is ONLY controllable via Corsair software?! I would prefer motherboard PWM or voltage control, for the pump. So, I skipped it, for now. although, I think it will fit. I may come back to it...

Obviously annoying because now I have to spend more money. But also because EK's AIO are IMO, better quality than most others.
 
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The MSI C240 definitely fits on the Z690i but if you mount it "normally" with the hoses toward the memory, they will touch the memory. Gigabyte really gave us bare minimum when it comes to the area around the socket. The Q58 has next to no spare room in it as well, but I managed to make it all work.

IMG_5521.jpg
 
Hey cool I'm the OP for this thread and guess what I finally got to figure out in the past couple of days:

My EK AIO 240mm does not fit the ITX motherboard I bought for my 12700k.

Z690I AORUS ULTRA DDR4

For those whom haven't read all of my posts in here----I have the official LGA1700 mounting kit from EK.

The problem is that the L shapped connections where the hoses join the pump block, make contact with RAM or parts of the motherboard, no matter which way I rotate the block.

EK's newer block design is very high quality and a little larger than most every other AIO. However, it has fit fine on an H570 itx board, Z590 ITX, and B550 ITX. I suspect other AIO could be a similar issue for this Gigabyte. Gigabyte could have shaved back that gigantic NVME heatsink 2mm and we would be fine. Or tuck the rear panel VRM heatsink back 2mm.
I have a sliger S610 case and their case designer is already openly bashing the Z690 ITX board designs and they have already put out a new design mockup for a "Console" style case for ATX motherboards.

So, I have now spent like 24 hrs staring at pictures and videos of AIO blocks, trying to guess which ones will fit. I have ordered a Coolermaster Master Liquid 280 and a Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID 240 ARGB. I also almost ordered a Corsair iCUE H115i Elite Capellix (H115i is the 280mm version.) But it sounds like the pump speed is ONLY controllable via Corsair software?! I would prefer motherboard PWM or voltage control, for the pump. So, I skipped it, for now. although, I think it will fit. I may come back to it...

Obviously annoying because now I have to spend more money. But also because EK's AIO are IMO, better quality than most others.

I bought the Asus Z690-A Strix board. I hope mine fits. I won't know until next week.

Was the new mounting mechanism hard to figure out? I haven't even opened it yet.
 
I bought the Asus Z690-A Strix board. I hope mine fits. I won't know until next week.

Was the new mounting mechanism hard to figure out? I haven't even opened it yet.
the new mount is easy. A new backplate, a piece of silicone to go between the backplate and the mobo, different standoff screws, and 4 plastic washers to put between the standoff screws and the mobo.

They have directions posted, now. But, I did it correctly, the first time, when they didn't have directions posted.
 
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The MSI C240 definitely fits on the Z690i but if you mount it "normally" with the hoses toward the memory, they will touch the memory. Gigabyte really gave us bare minimum when it comes to the area around the socket. The Q58 has next to no spare room in it as well, but I managed to make it all work.

View attachment 415394
That makes me optimistic. I didn't think that MSI would fit! The block is quite wide. Glad it worked out for you.

I think that the DIMM slots on ITX mobos are closer to the socket. So.....I don't think you can usually put the hoses by the DIMMs, like many people do with ATX boards. However, my only experience is with the EK AIO and its got a wide block and big hose connections...
 
A Newegg review posted their Phanteks glacier one AIO on one of the Gigabyte ITX boards. Looks like it was made for the board :eek:

Its too bad they put their board on the carpet :dead:

fc8b28f9093399dd05a85801b47e5215c1dbca8c7c649da622.jpg
 
Luckily my Aorus waterforce X360 already had the hardware needed for the 1700 socket. When I purchased my processor the associate at Microcenter told me they didn't have any air coolers which I wanted to go with, but oh well.
 
ive got my 12600kf and gigabyte gaming x ddr 4 board. have ordered the arctic liquid freezer 2 240 from amazon. just waiting for that and the bracket to arrive from arctic.
 
A Newegg review posted their Phanteks glacier one AIO on one of the Gigabyte ITX boards. Looks like it was made for the board :eek:

Its too bad they put their board on the carpet :dead:

View attachment 415849

I just installed the EK AIO bracket for LGA1700 on my Asus ATX board. The only caveat was I had to have the input/output tubes on the RAM side as they wouldn't fit on the VRM side (I think I would have done that anyway). Works great.
 
I just installed the EK AIO bracket for LGA1700 on my Asus ATX board. The only caveat was I had to have the input/output tubes on the RAM side as they wouldn't fit on the VRM side (I think I would have done that anyway). Works great.
Well that's cool!

My EK AIO tube connections push on my Crucial Ballistix RAM in the Gigabyte board :(
 
Currently trying to fit a brand new Coolermaster ML280, along with the correct LG1700 mounting kit.

1. the backplate is a cheap, flimsy piece of plastic. Inferior even to the LGA1200 bakcplate which ships with the cooler. Its also plastic, but its really stiff and difficult to flex. The backplate for the LGA1700 kit is super flexy.

2. despite seeing frequent references in various articles about how the height of the Alder Lake CPU is different------this LGA 1700 mounting kit gives you the exact same standoff posts and brackets for the pump block. The only different in the kit, is the backplate. Which is merely there to slip into the LGA1700 holes. There is zero difference in the height of the mount.

3. with the backplate and mounting standoff posts installed----there is play between the standoffs and the backplate. it doesn't seem secure.


I was hoping to use this thing because its a 280mm cooler. But.....I don't feel confident it will mount securely. Trouble is, it came from Newegg and I keep hearing about how often they refuse returns.
 
Currently trying to fit a brand new Coolermaster ML280, along with the correct LG1700 mounting kit.

1. the backplate is a cheap, flimsy piece of plastic. Inferior even to the LGA1200 bakcplate which ships with the cooler. Its also plastic, but its really stiff and difficult to flex. The backplate for the LGA1700 kit is super flexy.

2. despite seeing frequent references in various articles about how the height of the Alder Lake CPU is different------this LGA 1700 mounting kit gives you the exact same standoff posts and brackets for the pump block. The only different in the kit, is the backplate. Which is merely there to slip into the LGA1700 holes. There is zero difference in the height of the mount.

3. with the backplate and mounting standoff posts installed----there is play between the standoffs and the backplate. it doesn't seem secure.


I was hoping to use this thing because its a 280mm cooler. But.....I don't feel confident it will mount securely. Trouble is, it came from Newegg and I keep hearing about how often they refuse returns.
Try some 1mm nylon washers to add space and tighten until snug maybe before returning it. From a Google search "The Z-height has also changed to 6.529mm compared to 7.31mm on the previous LGA 12**/115* sockets." So that is .781mm of space to make up. If the Egg hits you with a restocking fee this may be a better solution.
 
Currently trying to fit a brand new Coolermaster ML280, along with the correct LG1700 mounting kit.

1. the backplate is a cheap, flimsy piece of plastic. Inferior even to the LGA1200 bakcplate which ships with the cooler. Its also plastic, but its really stiff and difficult to flex. The backplate for the LGA1700 kit is super flexy.

2. despite seeing frequent references in various articles about how the height of the Alder Lake CPU is different------this LGA 1700 mounting kit gives you the exact same standoff posts and brackets for the pump block. The only different in the kit, is the backplate. Which is merely there to slip into the LGA1700 holes. There is zero difference in the height of the mount.

3. with the backplate and mounting standoff posts installed----there is play between the standoffs and the backplate. it doesn't seem secure.


I was hoping to use this thing because its a 280mm cooler. But.....I don't feel confident it will mount securely. Trouble is, it came from Newegg and I keep hearing about how often they refuse returns.
Well, Newegg's return did not require any sort of authorization. Just fill out a comment form and it automatically gave me a free shipping label. So that was nice. I will send this back today.

Try some 1mm nylon washers to add space and tighten until snug maybe before returning it. From a Google search "The Z-height has also changed to 6.529mm compared to 7.31mm on the previous LGA 12**/115* sockets." So that is .781mm of space to make up. If the Egg hits you with a restocking fee this may be a better solution.
I think the entire problem I'm experiencing is because the backplate in coolermaster's LGA 1700 kit is the cheapest most flexible "backplate" I have ever experienced. It just doesn't allow a secure, wiggle free mount of itself with the standoffs, to then try and mount pump block. So I didn't even try to mount the AIO. I opened the box, but only used the manual. and I compared the standoffs and pump block brackets to the ones included in the LGA 1700 kit. And they are the exact same.

I tried using the washers from EK's mounting kit. But it didn't help.
 
I just ordered the "free" waterblock adapter for the EK Quantum waterblocks. Its suppose to ship on December 3rd.
 
Well, Newegg's return did not require any sort of authorization. Just fill out a comment form and it automatically gave me a free shipping label. So that was nice. I will send this back today.


I think the entire problem I'm experiencing is because the backplate in coolermaster's LGA 1700 kit is the cheapest most flexible "backplate" I have ever experienced. It just doesn't allow a secure, wiggle free mount of itself with the standoffs, to then try and mount pump block. So I didn't even try to mount the AIO. I opened the box, but only used the manual. and I compared the standoffs and pump block brackets to the ones included in the LGA 1700 kit. And they are the exact same.

I tried using the washers from EK's mounting kit. But it didn't help.
Glad it worked out from NewEgg and good info for anyone else concerning the Cooler master 1700 kit. Seems like one to avoid for now.
 
Cooler updates from this thread's OP:

After my EK AIO doesn't fit my Z690I AORUS ULTRA DDR4 ITX board (not enough room around the socket), I ordered a Coolermaster ML280 Mirror ARGB and a Thermaltake Toughliquid 240 argb.

The backplate for the Coolermaster's LGA 1700 kit was super cheap and flexible and didn't create a stable mount with the standoff screws to mount the block. The standoffs had wiggle/play in the holes. And the backplate, you can easily press on it and tap it against the back of the mobo...... So, I didn't even take the AIO out of the package. I took off the backplate and standoffs from the separate LGA 1700 kit and sent everything back to Newegg. Its already in the mail.

Amazon's webpage for the Thermaltake says that its compatible with LGA1700. but...the box doesn't say anything about it. Looks like they updated the product at some point, but I got older stock. Thermaltake wants $10 for their kit....
418Hr7NbnPL._AC_SL1500_.jpg


....which looks cheap and flimsy.

I also noticed that Thermaltake only has a 1 year warranty. So......I am sending it back to Amazon. I did not open it.

I ordered a Corsair iCUE H115i RGB Pro XT on Amazon. Should be here tomorrow. 5 year warranty and I want to try a 280mm. I already have their LGA1700 mounting kit because I randomnly ordered one (which is just some different standoff screws. no new backplate needed). It cost 2 cents.

For a 5 year warranty....I will deal with having to use their software to tweak the pump speed curve and requiring a sata cable for power to the block. (apparently you can set the pump speed curve and then uninstall the software. the curve is saved on the block itself). I don't care about RGB.

P.S. EK's LGA 1700 kit includes a solid, thick, metal backplate. If you have an ATX or MATX board, don't hesitate. it only took about 5 days to get here, from Europe. Most of the ATX and MATX boards should have enough space around the socket.
They also include 1 gram of Thermal Grizzly Hyrdronaut.
 
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Got the Noctua NH-U12A installed and honestly I like it over the Aorus Waterforce X360 I was initially using. Temps are about the same on the 12700K, and I'm back on the air cooling bandwagon again for now.
 
Probably not the best photo, but the micro fins inside were going in the direction of the red lines. Compared to the paste, they were missing a decent portion of the IHS. I rotated the block and hoping for a smidge better results. Also I had a feeling the past four weeks that I got excited when I installed this and didn’t have the best mount. Which it doesn’t appear to be as bad as I imagined, but this time I took my time installing the block.

45321CA3-C007-410A-B077-18CCD66C5881.jpeg
 
Got my free LGA 1700 mounting kit in the mail yesterday. I'll be putting together the new rig this weekend.

Nice. Are you in the States? How long did it take to arrive in the mail once you ordered from Arctic?

Also, to anyone purchasing a new cooler, be wary of NZXT... they are out of LGA 1700 brackets and customers are being placed on waiting lists.
 
Cooler updates from this thread's OP:

After my EK AIO doesn't fit my Z690I AORUS ULTRA DDR4 ITX board (not enough room around the socket), I ordered a Coolermaster ML280 Mirror ARGB and a Thermaltake Toughliquid 240 argb.

The backplate for the Coolermaster's LGA 1700 kit was super cheap and flexible and didn't create a stable mount with the standoff screws to mount the block. The standoffs had wiggle/play in the holes. And the backplate, you can easily press on it and tap it against the back of the mobo...... So, I didn't even take the AIO out of the package. I took off the backplate and standoffs from the separate LGA 1700 kit and sent everything back to Newegg. Its already in the mail.

Amazon's webpage for the Thermaltake says that its compatible with LGA1700. but...the box doesn't say anything about it. Looks like they updated the product at some point, but I got older stock. Thermaltake wants $10 for their kit....
View attachment 417560

....which looks cheap and flimsy.

I also noticed that Thermaltake only has a 1 year warranty. So......I am sending it back to Amazon. I did not open it.

I ordered a Corsair iCUE H115i RGB Pro XT on Amazon. Should be here tomorrow. 5 year warranty and I want to try a 280mm. I already have their LGA1700 mounting kit because I randomnly ordered one (which is just some different standoff screws. no new backplate needed). It cost 2 cents.

For a 5 year warranty....I will deal with having to use their software to tweak the pump speed curve and requiring a sata cable for power to the block. (apparently you can set the pump speed curve and then uninstall the software. the curve is saved on the block itself). I don't care about RGB.

P.S. EK's LGA 1700 kit includes a solid, thick, metal backplate. If you have an ATX or MATX board, don't hesitate. it only took about 5 days to get here, from Europe. Most of the ATX and MATX boards should have enough space around the socket.
They also include 1 gram of Thermal Grizzly Hyrdronaut.
I've been really busy lately with holiday stuff.

but my latest update is that, in terms of space around the CPU socket: Corsair iCUE H115i RGB Pro XT fits great on the Z690I AORUS ULTRA DDR4 ITX, no matter which way the block is rotated!

The backplate and standoff screws have no wiggle when attached to the motherboard!

however, the mounting bracket for the block is way too generous with its hole sizing to fit over the standoffs screws. So, you have to be VERY careful about how you secure the block and indeed, mine is not mounted "straight" or "squared up" or whatever term you prefer. If my temps are not good, I guess I will have to try re-mounting.

I'm hoping to be able to actually do some testing this weekend.
 
None of the above. I didn't already own a AIO and then one I ordered also didn't ship with the 1700 kit. But they did ship the kit to me for free with proof of purchase. I got the arctic cooling liquid freezer II 360.
I'm in the US and the kit shipped from the east coast and took about 3 days to arrive where I live on the west coast.
 
I running the Noctua U12S Chromax which has the LGA 1700 kit included now on a 12700k. Easy to install and works fine. I also ordered the kit for the C14S from Amazon for just about 8 bucks delivered.
 
Took a week to get the LGA 1700 bracket from Arctic Freezer for the Liquid Freezer II 360. I just ran Cinebench and my highest temperature was 80 C with no overclocks on the 12900k. Prime 95 showed 50 C on the blend test. So the cooler seems to be doing fine. It took me a while to get everything setup because the Gigabyte Z690 UD AX DDR4 came with VMD enabled by default so my NVME SSD drive wasn't showing up.
I have the same cpu and cooler and I’m hitting 100c and throttling on cinebench. Perhaps it’s defective. I idle at 30c. I'm going to exchange it for a new one and see.
 
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PSA. I picked up a 12700k and MSI z690-a ddr4 yesterday. Used a older cooler master hyper212 evo with the X bracket system. Only needed to sand down the rear metal bracket to look like U channels on the corners. I painted my 212 evo years ago.

Have to wait for a kit to be available for my scythe mugen 5 rev.b :gggrrrrr
 

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I've been really busy lately with holiday stuff.

but my latest update is that, in terms of space around the CPU socket: Corsair iCUE H115i RGB Pro XT fits great on the Z690I AORUS ULTRA DDR4 ITX, no matter which way the block is rotated!

The backplate and standoff screws have no wiggle when attached to the motherboard!

however, the mounting bracket for the block is way too generous with its hole sizing to fit over the standoffs screws. So, you have to be VERY careful about how you secure the block and indeed, mine is not mounted "straight" or "squared up" or whatever term you prefer. If my temps are not good, I guess I will have to try re-mounting.

I'm hoping to be able to actually do some testing this weekend.
Updates:

I'm now using EK's thick, metal backplate, with my Corsair iCUE H115i RGB Pro XT.

The cooling is very good. My 12700k with power limits removed, the hottest core is only 79c during Cinibench R23 multicore test.

Unfortunately, the pump for this cooler whines like an old platter HDD. I'm going to try an RMA.

Gigabyte put out a few bios updates. Zero issues in Windows 12, so far.
 
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