With the next-gen socket AM5, AMD is departing from pin grid array (PGA) and moving to land grid array (LGA) on its mainstream chips. However, the move to a new socket with different orientation doesn't mean you'll need new coolers.
Popular cooler manufacturer Noctua has published a full list of cooling solutions that are compatible with AM5, and there are only a couple of incompatible products, the NH-L9a-AM4 and the NM-AM4-L9aL9i.
Here is the full announcement on the firm's FAQ page regarding AM4 coolers on AM5:
Which Noctua CPU coolers are compatible with AMD AM5?
AM5 (LGA 1718) is AMD’s upcoming socket for its next-generation Ryzen 7000 (Zen 4) series processors. Please refer to our socket compatibility overview in the Noctua Compatibility Centre (NCC) to see which Noctua CPU cooler models support socket AM5 out of the box or via mounting upgrade kits.
In short, all Noctua coolers and mounting kits that support AM4 are upwards compatible with socket AM5, except the NH-L9a-AM4 and the NM-AM4-L9aL9i.
All Noctua AM4 mountings except the ones of the NH-L9a-AM4 and the NM-AM4-L9aL9i attach to the threads of the standard AM4 stock backplate. Since these backplate threads and their pattern are identical on AM4 and AM5, our AM4 mountings that attach to the standard AMD backplate also support AM5.
This means that all SE-AM4 models as well as all Noctua multi-socket coolers purchased since 01/2019 already support socket AM5. Multi-socket coolers purchased before this date that have already been upgraded to AM4 using the NM-AM4 or NM-AM4-UxS kits also require no further upgrades. Older multi-socket coolers that have been purchased before 2019 and have not yet been upgraded to AM4 can be made compatible with AM5 using the NM-AM4 or NM-AM4-UxS upgrade kits.
The NH-L9a-AM4 and the NM-AM4-L9aL9i are not compatible with AM5 because they require replacing the standard AMD backplate with a custom one, which isn’t possible on AM5. A dedicated AM5 upgrade kit for NH-L9a, NH-L9a-AM4 and NH-L9i coolers is in preparation.
You can find the Noctua's Socket Compatibility list on this page here, which presents in tables which coolers are compatible for socket AM5.
A development of this nature was expected given how we found evidence suggesting cross-socket compatible coolers last year.
Via: momomo_us (Twitter)
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