Noctua will offer free CPU cooler mounting kits for Intel Alder Lake

Noctua LGA 1700 Intel Alder Lake CPU cooler mounting kit in chrome and black with boxes — (Image credit: Noctua)

Cooling company Noctua has said that it will hand customers a mounting upgrade kit for Intel's upcoming LGA 1700 socket free-of-charge. Great news if you're already running a beefy Noctua cooler and don't fancy buying a whole new one once Intel Alder Lake rolls around.

In a blog post on its website, Noctua says it will be offering new NM-i7xx-MP83 and NM-i7xx-MP78 SecuFirm2 mounting kits for moth 83mm and 73mm mounting pitches on its coolers. These will allow users rocking even ageing air coolers to mount them with the LGA 1700 socket.

All that's required to net one is proof of purchase for a Noctua CPU, and an Intel LGA 1700 CPU or motherboard.

“Using a CPU cooler across several platform generations instead of buying a new heatsink for each generation is not only economical, it also helps to reduce unnecessary waste and save precious resources,” Roland Mossig, Noctua CEO, says. “By upgrading rather than replacing your cooler, you’re actively contributing to a more sustainable PC industry!”

Chip chillers

CPU Coolers — (Image credit: Corsair, Noctua)

Best CPU cooler: keep your chip chilled in style
Best PC fans: super-silent and plastered in RGB
Best PC cases: big, little, and everything in-between.

I have to agree this is a fine move by Noctua. While CPU manufacturers might change socket every handful of generations, I don't see any reason why your CPU cooler should be thrown out each time. The only catch being your CPU cooler will still need to match the TDP of your new CPU.

Noctua has also confirmed it is in the process of adding LGA 1700 support to its existing products so that they're ready out of the box for Alder Lake. Some of these, it says, are already shipping today.

Unfortunately, NH-L9i coolers won't be compatible with the free kits, as Noctua states there are "severe compatibility issues." Instead it will release new versions this October.

As for reasons why you might want to upgrade to Intel Alder Lake, the chip generation is looking like the biggest shakeup to Intel's Core DNA in many years. Many standards and specifications we've come to expect from the company's CPUs are set to change with its introduction. Most notably, Intel will integrating both high-performance cores and high-efficiency cores into a single chip design with Alder Lake, in something of a big.LITTLE design (to pinch mobile chipmaker Arm's branding).

Jacob earned his first byline writing for his own tech blog, before graduating into breaking things professionally at PCGamesN. Now he's managing editor of the hardware team at PC Gamer, and you'll usually find him testing the latest components or building a gaming PC.