Cooling accessories

The cooling accessories solve the small but important tasks around the cooler and the parts that heat up. Here you will find mounting kits and brackets for new sockets, contact frames for processors, coolers for M.2 drives, radiators for RAM memory, cooling for hard drives, covers, and displays for coolers. Often, a small accessory saves the replacement of an entire cooler or solves a problem with overheating of a specific part.

How to choose

• Mounting kits. If you have a good cooler but are changing the platform, often a new mounting kit for a socket like AM5 or LGA 1700 is enough. Check if the kit is exactly for the model of your cooler.
• Contact frames. They replace the standard mechanism for pressing the processor and provide more even pressure. For some Intel processors, this lowers temperatures by a few degrees.
• Coolers for M.2. Fast NVMe drives heat up and reduce speed during long writes. The small radiator keeps the speed stable if the motherboard does not have its own.
• Cooling for memory and drives. The radiators for RAM and fans for hard drives help in tight cases with many devices.
• Decoration and screens. The covers, LCD modules, and lighting kits change the appearance of the cooler without changing the cooler itself.
• Mounting with offset. Some frames for AM5 offset the cooler to the hottest part of the processor and improve cooling under high load.

What to watch out for

• The mounting kit must match both the socket and the model of the cooler.
• Installing a contact frame requires attention – follow the instructions step by step.
• The cooler for M.2 must not interfere with the video card in the adjacent slot.
• Check the height of the RAM radiators relative to the CPU cooler.
• Remove the protective film from the thermal pads before installation.

Compatibility

Each accessory is made for a specific socket, size, or model, so check the description carefully. Mounting kits and covers are often only for specific series of coolers. The coolers for M.2 are for size 2280 and fit most M.2 drives. For paste and pads see thermal pastes and thermal pads. If you are not sure which mounting kit you need, look for the model of the cooler on the manufacturer's website – there is usually a compatibility table there.