ILM mod can significantly lower Intel Core i9 12900K CPU temps

pcgamesn.com:

The Intel Core i9 12900K is undoubtedly one of the best gaming CPUs you can buy for your gaming PC today, but bending issues on LGA 1700 motherboards remain a point of concern for enthusiasts. In the wake of these problems, Thermal Grizzly has released a product to combat the unwanted flex, and someone’s put them to the test.

After a series of experiments, editor-in-chief of Igor’s Lab, Igor Wallossek, finds that Intel Core i9 12900K CPU temperatures can be reduced by up to 10°C after replacing the ILM (internal loading mechanism) on a Z690 motherboard with the Thermal Grizzly CPU contact frame. Wallossek’s results show that the mod can help facilitate more uniform contact between the processor and cooler, allowing the chip to run much cooler.

However, results will vary from cooler to cooler, with the Corsair iCUE H150i seeing little to no improvement due to it having good contact out of the box. It’s also worth noting that the mod can cause some issues with RAM, meaning you may need to reseat your sticks after installing it.

Since Raptor Lake CPUs will use the same LGA 1700 socket, we may see similar gains on 13th Gen Intel Core processors. Regardless, we hope Intel can address these flaws in future chip designs, but for now it’s great to see the community creating fixes like this.