Question Thermal Grizzly Contact Frame for 12th and 13th Gen Intel worth it?

[mjbn1977]

Just wondering if the Thermal Grizzly contact frame for LG1700 CPUs is worth it? Have to do some changes to my build which require the temp removal of my Dark Rock 4 Pro and while I am at it, I was considering to slab the Thermal Grizzly contact frame on the board. Usually, everything that comes from der8auer is top notch quality. But still....

A few questions:

1. Does anyone have any experience with it?
2. Can you still add it and get the benefits from it, even after the CPU was already squeezed (and bent???) under the stock ILM from my MSI Z690 MPG Edge Wifi for a couple of months? So, is it too late using it?
3. Can it be used with above mentioned motherboard and tower cooler?

Thanks!!!

 

[bill001g]

Generally if you are going to do this the thermalright frame is going to be easier to install and be cheaper. The grizzly actually floats above the board and getting proper torque on the screws is critical. The thermalright frame sits flush and you can just make sure the screws seem tight. A tiny bit too much or too less is not going to make the huge difference it will on the grizzly product.

If it is worth doing this is hard to say. First many boards are stronger and do not bend. Next all this really doesn't matter as long as you are not actually hitting the max temp on your cpu. If say the temp was 88 and is now 85 it really doesn't matter the cpu will not drop the clocks.
This is more for the guys chasing benchmark numbers. They are going to slam the cpu until it maxes the temp anyway and if you can get even a little more cooling before the cpu throttles you will get a higher number.

This is not something that really matters much for day to day usage...I guess if you run CPU based renders it might.

 

[mjbn1977]

Generally if you are going to do this the thermalright frame is going to be easier to install and be cheaper. The grizzly actually floats above the board and getting proper torque on the screws is critical. The thermalright frame sits flush and you can just make sure the screws seem tight. A tiny bit too much or too less is not going to make the huge difference it will on the grizzly product.

If it is worth doing this is hard to say. First many boards are stronger and do not bend. Next all this really doesn't matter as long as you are not actually hitting the max temp on your cpu. If say the temp was 88 and is now 85 it really doesn't matter the cpu will not drop the clocks.
This is more for the guys chasing benchmark numbers. They are going to slam the cpu until it maxes the temp anyway and if you can get even a little more cooling before the cpu throttles you will get a higher number.

This is not something that really matters much for day to day usage...I guess if you run CPU based renders it might.

Well, I am running a 13700k with air cooler. My motherboard PCB seems heavy, thick and hard. More so than others I had before. My CPU temps are usually in the 70s in gaming (but it jumps between 70s and mid 80s in cyberpunk 2077). One core instantly hits 100C in Cinebench R23 and throttles slightly to 5100 or 5200. But still getting over 29000 points in CB R23, so throttling is not too bad. Idle temps are in the 30sC and normal desktop use temps are normal and low, so I am not concerned for normal use.

 

[Why_Me]

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=thermalright+lga+1700+bracket&crid=382DOWY4DZ7DP&sprefix=thermalright+lga+1700+bracket,aps,724&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_29

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYU1OskbY-Q

 

[Lafong]

The thermalright frame sits flush and you can just make sure the screws seem tight.

I've thought about using the Thermalright for next build, but I would be forever agonizing if I had over or under torqued the screws. Not sure how "seem tight" could ever be measured.

Is that a 30 degree turn of the wrench or 40 degrees? Does the adjacent screw require 36 degrees? Maybe there is no measurable difference within a wide latitude, but how would you know that?

And so on and so forth. Endless second-guessing myself.

I've watched videos on mounting it and they are somewhat inexplicit....as I assume they'd have to be without a torque wrench.

The same vids say the Thermalright does nearly as well as the Grizzly, even though its machining tolerances are wider.

 

[bill001g]

I would be much more scared on the grizzly. The thermalright you tighten it down until the plastic of the frame touches the motherboard. If you try to go farther you now must compress the hard plastic which I guess if you try you could do but most people would feel the resistance and stop.
The grizzly always has a air gap between the board and the frame so it will keep going down and apply too much pressure to the cpu die. It is all based on the ability to turn screws exact tiny fractions of turns.

Now the grizzly might have better tollerance out of the factory but how much of that is lost on the skill of the person installing it.

 

[geofelt]

It is a fix for a problem that you don't have.
How many times have we modded something to make it better, only to find out that we screwed things up?
Leave it be.

 

[mjbn1977]

It is a fix for a problem that you don't have.
How many times have we modded something to make it better, only to find out that we screwed things up?
Leave it be.

So, you basically saying that I am all set and it would not change anything noticeable? If that's the case I don't get a contact frame....

 

[bill001g]

This is could you maybe see some number difference on some benchmark, I guess. Will you see any difference in day to day usage that is highly unlikely.

You are talking a couple degrees at the most . Without lots of testing you can not even be 100% sure it wasn't that you put the thermal paste on a bit differently or maybe the cooler had a tiny difference in alignment.

Mostly this is something for those people who spend more time testing and benchmarking their machine than actually using it.

The more common approach would be to leave one of the CPU monitor programs up and when you start to see a issue that impacts your usage then chase a solution.

 

[mjbn1977]

Ok, thank you everyone about your input. I will not get a contact plate. All things considered I think my temps are fine. Afterall it's an 13700k on air tower cooler (even so a beefy one). My ideal temps are more than normal, I do not experience throttling during normal use and gaming. In selected games it runs a little warm (like I said, temps can hit mid 80s for a few seconds in Cyberpunk) but in most other games the CPU temps are sitting more around 73 to 77C. Much hotter than my GPU by the way....my 4080 never hits more than 66C or so....

Also, I think I could use a bigger case. General airflow is ok, but I think I can do better with a wider case and a mesh intake front.....maybe I will upgrade that soon.....

 

[geofelt]

So, you basically saying that I am all set and it would not change anything noticeable? If that's the case I don't get a contact frame....

Exactly.

You indicated a possible case change.
What is the make/model of your current case?
What is the make/model of your current cpu cooler?

 

[mjbn1977]

Exactly.

You indicated a possible case change.
What is the make/model of your current case?
What is the make/model of your current cpu cooler?

Cooling beQuiet Dark Rock Pro 4
Case: Corsair 400C with beQuiet Silent Wings 3 fans (2x 140mm front intake, 1x 120mm back out)

I am aware that this case is borderline in terms of size for this video card and cooler and I am planning to change it sometime later this year. But for now it works quite good. Built is actually very neat when it comes to cable management, its very silent, and all things considered it runs very cool. GPU is around 65C during gaming and CPU usually at 75C during gaming (but my old 8700k @5GHz used to run about 10C cooler during gaming in the same case with Dark Rock Pro 3 cooler).

Also, airflow is set up with slight positive pressure, since I don't want dust in it and it works quit good. Have no dust build up in the case and on components.

By the way. Case is just wide enough for me to safely attach the 12 pin connector to the videocard with out putting too much bending stress on the plug. If the case would be 1/2 inch narrower, it wouldn't work for that card.

 

[mjbn1977]

Exactly.

You indicated a possible case change.
What is the make/model of your current case?
What is the make/model of your current cpu cooler?

Here is a picture of my build. Only difference is the I moved the lower intake fan as far down as I could. It now sits about 1.5 inches lower. Blowing now mostly under the card and not on the card.

https://imgur.com/a/ZakrBI6

View: https://imgur.com/a/ZakrBI6#7EoWmE6