The design is quite simple and due to the CCD design of the new AMD AM5 processors, which are slightly moved to the south side of the CPU, offsetting the base of the CPU cooler puts more pressure right above those CCD(s), which improves contact and lowers the temperature.

"We have experimented with offset mountings ever since AMD introduced its first chiplet processors that had the hotspot shifted towards the south side of the socket, but on AM4, we only saw relatively small improvements in the range of 0.5-1°C", says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "With the new AM5 platform and its different heat-spreader design, we managed to achieve typical improvements in the range of 1-3°C, so we think that this will be a very interesting performance upgrade for Ryzen 7000 users!"

Noctua was keen to note that the results can vary due to different heat flux densities, tolerances of both the CPU and heatsink as well as other factors such as thermal paste application, but the bottom line is that it just works.

Noctua has a couple of different sets for different coolers depending on their mounting pitch (83 mm vs. 78 mm) and basic architecture:

• NM-AMB12: for coolers with 83 mm mounting pitch that require mounting points north and south of the socket (e.g. NH-D15(S), NH-D14, NH-D9L, NH-C14S, NH-L9x65)
• NM-AMB13: for coolers with 83 mm mounting pitch that require mounting points east and west of the socket (e.g. NH-U12P series, NH-U9B series)
• NM-AMB14: for coolers with 78 mm mounting pitch that require mounting points north and south of the socket (e.g. NH-D12L, NH-L12S)
• NM-AMB15: for coolers with 78 mm mounting pitch that require mounting points east and west of the socket (e.g. NH-U14S, NH-U12A, NH-U12S, NH-U9S)

Noctua offset mounting bars will be available as of today via Noctua's website or Amazon for a service charge of EUR 3.90 (website form) or EUR/USD 4.90 (Amazon). The NM-AMB12, NM-AMB14, and NM-AMB15 bars for current cooler models are already in stock, NM-AMB13 that are required for legacy models will be ready to order within 1-2 weeks.