Particular Intel Alder Lake CPUs may not play nicely with certain coolers

Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central

Intel recently announced its 12th Gen Alder Lake desktop processors. The first 12th Gen Intel CPUs will be high-end processors that feature Gracemont Efficient cores. These will be K SKUs. An MSI Insider Livestream shared information on two different types of 12th Gen Intel CPUs that don’t have Gracemont Efficient Cores.

These chips could have a different die configuration than their K-Series siblings. They’re speculated to be Core i3 or i5 models that could feature six cores and 12 threads. A potential processor could be a Core i5 chip with six cores and 12 threads. If that CPU only has performance cores rather than a combination of performance and efficiency cores, it could be one of the best CPUs for gamers on a budget.

PC Gamer notes that the dies could also be harvested to produce quad or dual-core variants.

MSI explained in its stream that the different die configurations also have different hotspots. This could potentially cause problems for some heat pipe coolers. Some coolers have gaps between pipes, which could lead to issues with certain CPUs. Many of the best CPU coolers should be fine with these new 12th Gen Intel chips, but it’s worth confirming before ordering one or building a PC. The orientation of an air cooler could also play a factor with the new Intel processors.

While Intel only officially announced its 12th Gen chips recently, it’s likely been in contact with major PC part manufacturers for quite some time. As a result, newer hardware should be compatible with any upcoming CPUs.