Details
Thermal Grizzly's AM5 Adapter & Offset Mounting Kit is a practical set for AMD's socket AM5 motherboards. It includes cooler brackets for offset mounting of the CPU cooler, as well as adapter screws from UNC 6-32 to M3 and M4 threads respectively. It also lets a cooler sit lower over Thermal Grizzly's Ryzen 7000 Direct Die Frame, which we stock as the original and the V2.
Properties
- Socket type
- AMD AM5
- Offset brackets
- 4, UNC 6-32 thread
- Adapter screws
- 4x UNC 6-32 to M3, 4x UNC 6-32 to M4
- Clearance needed
- At least 6 mm of free space under the cooler mounting screws
- Color
- Black, anodized aluminum
- Weight
- 17 g, 40 g boxed
Adapter screws
The mounting screws of the cooler bracket on an AM5 board have a UNC 6-32 thread. The adapter screws can be used to mount CPU coolers that require an M3 or M4 thread instead, as is the case with various AIOs or water coolers. Each of the two sizes comes as four screws with four matching knurled nuts.
Offset mounting
Ever since the introduction of the chiplet design in Ryzen CPUs, the hottest point of the heat spreader has no longer been in the middle, but lower. It is offset slightly downwards and, depending on the CPU, towards the edge. With the help of the offset brackets, which Thermal Grizzly also calls offset mounts, compatible CPU coolers can optionally be mounted offset on the processor, closer to that hotspot. This is to optimize cooling performance by allowing heat to be dissipated from the CPU chiplets more quickly and efficiently. The offset mounts carry UNC 6-32 threads, so they can be used with the adapter screws on M3/M4 threads.
With a direct die frame
Direct Die cooling brings a change in mounting height: the cooler must be mounted lower, which is made possible by the M3 and M4 adapter screws. Due to that, the kit also increases CPU cooler mounting compatibility when using the direct die frame. Thermal Grizzly pairs the kit with its optional backplates as well, the AM5 M4 Backplate and the AM5 Short Backplate, which extend the compatibility of CPU coolers.
Note on compatibility with AM5 mainboards
The kit is in principle compatible with mainboards for the AMD AM5 socket, and Thermal Grizzly's short properties read: for AM5 motherboards (see compatibility list), increased compatibility with CPU coolers, easy mounting. The list to check on your own board:
- Another criterion for a mainboard is sufficient space next to the screws of the AMD cooler mounting. More precisely, there must not be any components near the lower cooler mounting, the one facing the PCIe slots.
- Between the screws of the cooler mounting and high components, such as pin-heads or capacitors, the board must leave at least 6 mm of free space under the screws.
- After mounting, if in doubt, ensure that the offset brackets, and the adapter screws mounted in them, do not come into contact with any electronic components.
- Update July 2025: some motherboards come equipped from the manufacturer with a Socket Actuation Mechanism (SAM) that is not fully compatible with the kit. This SAM has a metallic, bright surface, where the original version by Lotes is darker, and an extended bracket at the screws that prevents the kit from being fully aligned downward (180°). That primarily affects CPUs with two CPU chiplets, where the thermal hotspot shifts slightly to the right due to the mounting configuration. For CPUs with a single CPU chiplet it does not pose a problem.
In the box
- 4x offset bracket (UNC 6-32 thread)
- 4x adapter screws, UNC 6-32 to M3
- 4x adapter screws, UNC 6-32 to M4
- 4x knurled nut M3
- 4x knurled nut M4
Thermal Grizzly's data sheet is a PDF.
