Noctua announces thermal paste guard for AMD AM5 processors

Tudor Cibean

Posts: 182   +11
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In a nutshell: Noctua's thermal paste guard mounts around the IHS of AM5 CPUs to prevent thermal paste from accumulating in the small cutouts. This should make it easier to clean the processor when remounting or replacing the CPU cooler.

Noctua just 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 Team Red's latest series of desktop CPUs and thus prevents excess thermal paste from accumulating in the cutouts after a cooler is mounted.

AM5 chips have an unusual eight-legged heatspreader due to AMD putting all SMDs (surface-mount devices) on the top side of the interposer. If the company made the interposer larger to accommodate a traditional IHS design, it likely would have had to sacrifice AM4 cooler compatibility. Recent Intel Core processors also have SMDs on the backside in the central "courtyard."

As long as the thermal paste is not electrically conductive, it shouldn't be a problem if it gets between the crevices of the IHS. Therefore, Noctua's solution only has the advantage of keeping CPUs tidier, especially for users who often remount coolers such as reviewers.

Noctua's thermal paste guard will be available in three different sets in December. It won't exactly break the bank either, costing $8 when bundled with 10 cleaning wipes, $10 with a 3.5g tube of NT-H1 thermal paste, or $14 when packaged alongside the higher-performance NT-H2 paste.

The company also updated its roadmap of upcoming products. Several items have been delayed a few quarters, including the desk fan, white-colored fans, and the 8-way fan hub. Luckily, the 140mm version of the popular NF-A12x25 is still on track to launch later this year.

Early next year, Noctua should finally launch the successor to its NH-D15 flagship CPU cooler, which came out in 2014. Also coming out next year is an NH-L9A SKU with AM5 mounting hardware included in the box. The NH-L9A is the company's only cooler that requires replacing the standard AM4 backplate with a custom one, which isn't possible on AM5.

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I would be worried this might actually raise temps

I see the fins as a design and working as heat dissipation
 
I would be worried this might actually raise temps

I see the fins as a design and working as heat dissipation
there is likely no air flow between the CPU cooler, IHS and mounting bracket so any cooling from the "legs" being used as radiators is likely null.
An extra 8 bucks? No thanks.
$8 is where you draw the line? you can't even get a decent sandwich for $8 anymore
 
I'm just waiting for the inevitable update next month where the 140mm A12x25 gets bumped to Q1 2023, it's bound to happen at this point lol
 
Q1 '23: Next gen NH-D15.
As an owner of the current gen NH-D15, I'm all ears, Noctua!
 
there is likely no air flow between the CPU cooler, IHS and mounting bracket so any cooling from the "legs" being used as radiators is likely null.
$8 is where you draw the line? you can't even get a decent sandwich for $8 anymore
I cook, bake and eat at home where all my samwhiches are great and way less than $8. Just like my eggs, hash browns, pancakes, waffles, burgers, chicken, cakes, cobblers, etc. You go out and eat microwave garf if you want to spend, not me
 
I cook, bake and eat at home where all my samwhiches are great and way less than $8. Just like my eggs, hash browns, pancakes, waffles, burgers, chicken, cakes, cobblers, etc. You go out and eat microwave garf if you want to spend, not me
$8 is almost exactly 10 minutes of work at my job. If you would have asked me 15 years ago, $8 was a stupid amount of money to pay for something but you could also get a double cheese burger for $1 and Snickers(objectively the best candybar) was 30 cents. Today it costs me $8 just to get to work and back.
 
$8 is almost exactly 10 minutes of work at my job. If you would have asked me 15 years ago, $8 was a stupid amount of money to pay for something but you could also get a double cheese burger for $1 and Snickers(objectively the best candybar) was 30 cents. Today it costs me $8 just to get to work and back.
We would get 12 cent burgers at the Top Hat when I was a kid. I know how to make them taste even better
 
Noctua has to be like one of the best companies in tech.
Great products and great service, like for example they send me a AM4 adapter free of charge allowing to use a 8+ year old cooler of theirs in a new system.
 
If anything, I'd be worried about it interfering with the most flush contact and pressure possible for the heatsink.
 
there is likely no air flow between the CPU cooler, IHS and mounting bracket so any cooling from the "legs" being used as radiators is likely null.
Airflow is not needed for thermal conductivity in a metal to be effective.
 
Airflow is not needed for thermal conductivity in a metal to be effective.
everything is thermally conductive, what matters is just HOW conductive it is. A pocket of air inside the socket the doesn't move around doesn't conduct much heat. This is literally the principle that household insulation works on.
 
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