Cooler Master is now accepting orders for AM4 upgrade kits that will make certain existing coolers compatible with AMD's soon-to-be-released Ryzen processors.
The arrival of Ryzen in just a few weeks also marks the beginning of a new unified platform and socket. Compared to AM3+ motherboards, it appears that AM4 boards will use a slightly different mounting arrangement, one that renders existing coolers incompatible.
It's not all bad news though. Several companies have stepped up to the plate with free upgrade kits. There is an ongoing list at Reddit. Cooler Master is the latest to join the growing list that also includes AlphaCool, BeQuiet, Corsair, Cryorig, DeepCool, Enermax, Noctua, Phanteks, SilentiumPC, and Thermalright.
"We want to make your build upgrade as blazingly fast as possible. Whether you’re going all out with a brand new rig or simply swapping the motherboard and CPU, Cooler Master’s cooling products are already prepped and ready to go," Cooler Master says.
Many of Cooler Master's air and liquid cooling solutions already offer native compatibility with AM4 motherboards, including the MasterLiquid 120/240 and MasterLiquid Lite 120, a pair of all-in-one liquid coolers announced at CES. Several others require an upgrade kit. Here is a look:
The Hyper 212 Evo is one of most popular air coolers out there due to its low price (around $35), low noise, and level of performance. It's also one of the coolers that requires an upgrade kit.
There is no cost for the actual kit, though Cooler Master does charge for shipping.
You can request an upgrade kit from Cooler Master here in the U.S. and here in Europe. Cooler Master expects to ship start shipping them on March 1, 2017.
