The existing LGA 1700 coolers won’t be fully compatible with the LGA 1851 “Arrow Lake” CPUs because the latter will most likely have a different hotspot location.
The expected Intel Arrow Lake CPUs will use the fresh LGA 1851 socket, which so far was supposed to retain compatibility with the coolers that worked with LGA 1700. However, differences in the CPU dies seem to make this difficult.
The Arrow Lake CPUs will be similar in size to the 12th/13th/14th-gen processors, but they will have a different cutout configuration, so they cannot be installed on the LGA 1700 socket if someone tries that anyway. With Intel moving to a different process node and architecture for the Arrow Lake processors, it’s natural to have an upgraded die design that differs from the CPUs of previous generations.
Overclocker Der8auer (via @Unikoshardware) has recently discussed this on the Overclock forum. According to Der8auer, the Arrow Lake CPUs will have a shifted hotspot.
A hotspot is the location on the IHS (Integrated Heat Spreader) where the processor heats the most meaning that the CPU’s cores are exactly beneath this spot. Since the CPU design is different in AMD and Intel CPUs, it is natural that the hotspot is in different places, and this is why some manufacturers release “offset” mounting hardware for AMD processors.
Compared to the LGA 1700 processors, the hotspot on Intel LGA 1851 CPUs, such as the Arrow Lake series, will be shifted slightly toward the north. Let me remind you that LGA 1700 processors had the hotspot around the center. This helped cool the processors regardless of whether users installed the CPU cooler in an opposite orientation, considering the base block is parallel to the CPU die.
With the shift in the hotspot location, a 180° rotation may affect the thermal performance of water coolers since the location of the In and Out ports will be interchanged. This is why Der8auer suggests it will be better to locate the IN-PORT on the north and OUT-PORT on the south of the water block for the best cooling configuration.
This shift in Intel processor’s hot spot will likely force manufacturers to release Intel “offset” mounting hardware.
News Source: Overclock, videocardz
