In a nutshell: Noctua’s thermal paste guard mounts across the IHS of AM5 CPUs to forestall thermal paste from accumulating within the small cutouts. This could make it simpler to scrub the processor when remounting or changing the CPU cooler.
Noctua simply unveiled its new thermal paste guard for AMD AM5 processors. The NA-TPG1 is a precisely-cut piece of polycarbonate that hugs the IHS of Workforce Pink’s newest sequence of desktop CPUs and thus prevents extra thermal paste from accumulating within the cutouts after a cooler is mounted.
AM5 chips have an uncommon eight-legged heatspreader attributable to AMD placing all SMDs (surface-mount gadgets) on the highest aspect of the interposer. If the corporate made the interposer bigger to accommodate a conventional IHS design, it seemingly would have needed to sacrifice AM4 cooler compatibility. Latest Intel Core processors even have SMDs on the bottom within the central “courtyard.”
So long as the thermal paste is just not electrically conductive, it should not be an issue if it will get between the crevices of the IHS. Subsequently, Noctua’s resolution solely has the benefit of maintaining CPUs tidier, particularly for customers who typically remount coolers akin to reviewers.
Noctua’s thermal paste guard might be obtainable in three completely different units in December. It will not precisely break the financial institution both, costing $8 when bundled with 10 cleansing wipes, $10 with a 3.5g tube of NT-H1 thermal paste, or $14 when packaged alongside the higher-performance NT-H2 paste.
The corporate additionally up to date its roadmap of upcoming merchandise. A number of gadgets have been delayed a number of quarters, together with the desk fan, white-colored followers, and the 8-way fan hub. Fortunately, the 140mm model of the favored NF-A12x25 remains to be on observe to launch later this 12 months.
Early subsequent 12 months, Noctua ought to lastly launch the successor to its NH-D15 flagship CPU cooler, which got here out in 2014. Additionally popping out subsequent 12 months is an NH-L9A SKU with AM5 mounting {hardware} included within the field. The NH-L9A is the corporate’s solely cooler that requires changing the usual AM4 backplate with a customized one, which is not doable on AM5.
