CPU coolers for Intel socket LGA 1700: Everything you need to know

The LGA 1700 socket was made specifically for Intel’s 12th and 13th-generation CPUs, and it’s the socket you see on Intel 600 and 700 series motherboards. When it came out in 2021, it put Intel firmly ahead of AMD, and even though Ryzen 7000 and the AM5 socket have since come out to even the score, LGA 1700 motherboards are still cutting-edge enough. If you’re looking to upgrade to LGA 1700, you probably don’t want to buy a new cooler, but is the one you have compatible? Here’s everything you need to know about coolers for LGA 1700.

Intel LGA 1700 Socket specifications

Intel’s LGA 1700 socket, codenamed 15R1, is taller than the previous LGA 1200 that powered old Rocket Lake processors. Here’s a quick look at the LGA 1700 socket specifications before we get into more details:

The LGA 1700 socket doesn’t have the same dimensions as the former LGA 1200, so 600 and 700 series motherboards have different mounting hole patterns for the coolers. The LGA 1700 socket not only has an asymmetrical design but also comes with a lower z-stack height. This means CPU cooler mounting brackets for 400 and 500 series boards can’t establish a proper mounting pressure to make full contact with the CPU IHS, which in turn means bad cooling. You’ll either need a new cooler or a new bracket that makes your existing cooler compatible with LGA 1700.

Do you need a new CPU cooler for Intel LGA 1700?

It’s been nearly a year and a half since the LGA 1700 socket launched, and that means several coolers made for older motherboards have gotten updated brackets for use with LGA 1700 boards. As for coolers that haven’t gotten new brackets, it’s highly unlikely they ever will at this point. If you have a cooler that doesn’t have an LGA 1700 compatible bracket, we’d recommend buying a new cooler instead of waiting for a new bracket.

Initially, many companies offered LGA 1700 bracket kits for free when 12th-generation CPUs first launched, but those offers have probably expired by now, so you’ll probably have to buy a bracket. That’s still much cheaper than buying a new cooler, however.

Compatibility with future sockets

As far as we can tell, the 13th-generation Raptor Lake chips are the last CPUs coming to the LGA 1700 socket. Intel has seemingly confirmed that the new LGA 1851 socket will be used for 14th-generation Meteor Lake chips, which means LGA 1700 will be old news sometime in 2023 or 2024. We’re not entirely sure what that means for cooler compatibility since currently, available information indicates that LGA 1700 and LGA 1851 are very similar, with the only meaningful difference being in height (which could still be a problem for compatibility, however).

That being said, Meteor Lake is at least several months away, which means you really don’t need to worry about compatibility at this stage. If you have an older cooler that needed an LGA 1700 bracket to work with 600 or 700 series motherboards, it’s very possible an LGA 1851 won’t be available; cooler manufacturers usually limit support to two sockets, though three is not unprecedented.

CPU coolers compatible with LGA 1700 socket

Here’s a quick look at some of the upgrade kits already announced for socket LGA 1700. We’ve also added details about the availability of compatible mounting kit options for the existing coolers on the market.

Corsair

Corsair has an upgrade kit for its Elite Capellix coolers. The kit, which appears to be just new standoffs, will adapt the 115x/1200 bracket for use with the LGA 1700 socket. It’s worth pointing out that this will work only with the Elite Capellix coolers. You’ll still have to wait for more upgrades or buy a cooler if you have any other Corsair AIOs.

Alternatively, you can also buy the entire retention kit to mount the cooler on a wide variety of sockets, including AMD’s AM4.

Noctua

Noctua is also one of the very few manufacturers that confirmed the availability of its mounting upgrade kits. A handful of Noctua’s existing coolers support the new LGA 1700 socket out of the box, and it’s safe to say that almost all Noctua multi-socket CPU cooler models will get an upgrade. Noctua has already listed two different mounting kits, along with a compatibility list for each. You can buy the mounting kits using the links below. Also, Noctua has confirmed it’ll include LGA 1700 mounting hardware with all the multi-socket coolers in its portfolio.

be quiet!

be quiet! used to offer its LGA 1700 bracket for free, but sadly, that deal expired at some point. You now have to pay $6.38 for one, which actually isn’t that expensive. This kit makes the following be quiet! coolers compatible with LGA 1700:

• Dark Rock Pro 4
• Dark Rock 4
• Dark Rock Slim
• Dark Rock TF 2
• Shadow Rock 3
• Shadow Rock Slim 2
• Shadow Rock LP
• Pure Rock 2
• Pure Rock
• Silent Loop 2
• Pure Loop

Additionally, all be quiet! coolers since mid-2022 have been compatible with LGA 1700 out of the box.

Arctic

Like many other companies, Arctic offered free LGA 1700 bracket upgrades to its customers. It seems like that deal still exists but your mileage may vary. Arctic’s LGA 1700 bracket makes the following coolers compatible:

• All Freezer 34 models
• Liquid Freezer II series
• Freezer 50
• Freezer i13 X and Freezer i13 X CO

Cooler Master

Almost all Cooler Master coolers — at least the fairly new and popular ones — now come with the new mounting kit. It’s been a while since Cooler Master promised to send out free LGA 1700 mounting kits for the coolers purchased before the Intel Alder Lake CPU launch, but if you have a Cooler Master cooler that predates the 12th-generation launch, you might as well ask Cooler for a free bracket. Worst case scenario, you pay $5 for one yourself.

NZXT

NZXT offers new mounting kits for its Kraken series of AIO coolers, but all Kraken products since late 2021 have had LGA 1700 support. It appears that Kraken cooler users without the LGA 1700 bracket can still get a free LGA 1700 bracket kit. You can claim yours by following the directions mentioned here. Also, here’s a list of all NZXT CPU coolers that are compatible with Intel’s new LGA 1700 socket:

• NZXT Kraken Z series
• NZXT Kraken X series
• NZXT Kraken 120 series

Asus

Asus also has an elaborate portfolio of AIO CPU coolers that are compatible with the new LGA 1700 socket. All the eligible modules will come with the LGA 1700 mounting kit package, which includes a mounting bracket, a backplate, and four standoff screws for the new socket. Here’s a list of all the ASUS AIO liquid coolers that are LGA 1700 ready:

• ROG Ryujin II 360/ ROG Ryujin II 240
• ROG Strix LC II 360/ ROG Strix LC II 360 ARGB/ ROG Strix LC II 280 ARGB/ ROG Strix LC II 240/ ROG Strix LC II 240 ARGB/ ROG Strix LC II 120 ARGB
• TUF Gaming LC 240 ARGB/ TUF Gaming LC 120 ARGB

Thermaltake

Thermaltake, just like a lot of other manufacturers, has confirmed that many of its existing CPU coolers — both fan coolers and liquid AIO coolers — will support the new LGA 1700 socket. Also, all the new Thermaltake CPU coolers going forward will come with optional LGA 1700 mounting kits. We’ve listed a Thermaltake AIO cooler available right now with a mounting kit for the new CPU socket below.

Below is the list of all Thermaltake CPU coolers that work with the new LGA 1700 provided you have a mounting kit. You can reach out to Thermaltake or your local reseller to you get one for your 12th or 13th-generation CPU.

Air CPU coolers:

• TOUGHAIR Series – TOUGHAIR 510, TOUGHAIR 310, and TOUGHAIR 110
• UX Series – UX210 ARGB Sync, UX200 High Air Flow, and UX100 High Air Flow
• Contac Series – Contac 9 and Contac Silent 12

AIO Liquid CPU coolers:

• Ultra Series – Floe RC Ultra 360 CPU & Memory AIO, Floe RC Ultra 240 CPU & Memory AIO, TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 360, and TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 240
• TOUGHLIQUID ARGB Series – TOUGHLIQUID 360 ARGB Sync, TOUGHLIQUID 280 ARGB Sync, and TOUGHLIQUID 240 ARGB Sync
• Floe RC Series – Floe RC240 CPU & Memory AIO Snow Edition, Floe RC360 CPU & Memory AIO Snow Edition, Floe RC360 CPU & Memory AIO, and Floe RC240 CPU & Memory AIO
• TH Series – TH120 ARGB Sync, TH240 ARGB Sync, TH360 ARGB Sync, TH240 ARGB Sync Snow Edition, and TH360 ARGB Sync Snow Edition

MSI

MSI launched a bunch of new AIO liquid coolers around the time the 12th-generation CPUs came out, and they all support the new LGA 1700 socket out of the box. MSI has launched the new MAG Coreliquid C Series and MAG Coreliquid P Series. Both liquid coolers come in three different sizes of radiators: 240mm, 280mm, and 360mm. You can check out the new cooler using the link below.

Additionally, MSI has also confirmed that all of its AIO liquid coolers will come with the LGA 1700 mounting kits out of the box. MSI’s LGA 1700 socket-compatible AIO liquid coolers include:

• MEG series
• MPG series
• MAG series

Gigabyte

Gigabyte has a lot of high-quality AIO liquid CPU coolers under its Aorus lineup. As we highlighted in our Aorus Waterforce X360 review, it’s also one of the best coolers you can grab for your Alder Lake (and, by extension, Raptor Lake) build. The same cooler is also available in 280 and 240mm flavors, which is good for relatively less powerful PCs. It’s also worth pointing out that all the Gigabyte Aorus CPU coolers come with an LGA 1700 mounting kit inside the box.