Custom PC - UK (2020-02)

ANTONY LEATHER’S

Customised PC

Case mods, tools, techniques, water-cooling gear

and everything to do with PC modding

MODDING / OPINION

Noctua’s

Threadripper-

specific coolers

are just one

example of a new

CPU socket

encouraging

innovation

T^

hree new CPUs, but no
new socket mounts
If you own an expensive CPU
cooler, the thought of upgrading to one
of the new CPUs this month might have
prompted you to think about purchasing
a new CPU cooler too. Some cooler
manufacturers have previously been
delighted by the fact that PC enthusiasts
had to fork out for new mounting
gear, or even entire new coolers, to
cater for their shiny new hardware.
The last time this happened was with
AMD’s AMD 4 and TR4 sockets. The
former had slightly wider mounting
holes than previous mainstream AMD
sockets. It forced manufacturers to
reassess their coolers and come up with
different mounting mechanisms, while
also accounting for the very different
CPU lurking under the heatspreader.
The same was doubly true for
AMD’s Threadripper CPUs. With their
massive heatspreaders, they required
larger contact plates to be used on
coolers, and coolers that instead used
the existing contact plates for Intel’s
smaller HEDT CPUs usually performed
poorly. As a result, many of the better
air and liquid coolers for Socket TR4
have focused purely on dealing
with Threadripper CPUs, and aren’t
compatible with other CPU sockets.

This month, we’re looking at CPU

launches across three different CPU

sockets, but thankfully, none of them

differs from their predecessors in terms

of physical socket requirements. The

Ryzen 9 3950X uses Socket AM4, Intel’s

Cascade Lake-X CPUs are compatible

with current X299 motherboards, and

while AMD has updated the name

of the socket used on its 3rd-gen

Threadripper CPUs from Socket TR4

to TRX4, the mounting system is

identical to that of its predecessor, so

existing coolers will be compatible.

This is mostly great news, as it means

there’s no need to invest in a new cooler

for any of the new CPUs launching this

month in terms of socket compatibility.