Hyte's new $20 processor frames are yet another way to customise your gaming PC

Hyte Processor Frames on show at its CES 2025 booth.
(Image credit: Future)

If you're the type of person to want to colour-match your components down to every excruciating detail, you might want to check out this new product from Hyte.

This is Hyte's Solid Processor Frame, and, uh, it's a frame for your processor made out of CNC aluminium. It is available for AM5, LGA 1851, and LGA 1700 sockets.

The frame sits around your CPU, adding more surface area between your CPU cooler and CPU's IHS.

For Intel's 13th/14th Gen processors, it could help reduce the risk of your chip bending by supporting the CPU and offering a level surface area. This is something to consider doing with a brand new processor, not so much a used one, as once a chip is bent it's unlikely to bend back.

When combined with an AMD processor, the Solid Processor Frame is not really doing much other than looking pretty (if you can even see it under your cooler, that is). Hyte tells me it will help with removing TIM (thermal paste) in one easy motion and without it getting stuck inside all the nooks and crannies of the AM5 heatspreader, though history dictates I'm likely to still make a mess anyways.

It's mostly about the looks. That's why Hyte is producing many different colourways. All sorts of pastel pinks, purples, blues, and even a limited shiny golden version, which Hyte says it won't actually have too many of and is mostly just for showing off the concept.

Though how much you'll be able to see of this frame once installed will depend on your motherboard and choice of CPU cooler. There's a pretty good chance you don't see much of it at all.

So, it's partially, if not sometimes entirely, pointless. But the good news is that it only costs $20 and comes with Hyte's new Thermal Goop compound. Plus, us PC gamers love spending money on things we don't really need, and I'm pretty tempted myself.

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Jacob Ridley
Managing Editor, Hardware

Jacob earned his first byline writing for his own tech blog. From there, he graduated to professionally breaking things as hardware writer at PCGamesN, and would go on to run the team as hardware editor. He joined PC Gamer's top staff as senior hardware editor before becoming managing editor of the hardware team, and you'll now find him reporting on the latest developments in the technology and gaming industries and testing the newest PC components.

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