Just ahead of Intel Core Ultra 9 285K releasing in October, renowned overclocker Roman ‘Der8auer’ Hartung identified that LGA1851 hotspots are “a bit further north” than the previous generation. Now, Arctic has revealed that it’ll provide an offset mounting configuration to compensate for the shift, which will lower temperatures substantially.
Using the past few months to conduct extensive testing with its Liquid Freezer III AIO cooler, Arcitc has pinpointed the specific location of the Arrow Lake hotspot. Compared to the more central placement on LGA1700, it now resides in the northeast of the die. This is a common theme with new architectures, as a 7mm difference in AM5 offsets resulted in Ryzen CPUs dropping by up to 3°C.
Putting Intel Core Ultra 9 285K in the spotlight, the company tells Club386 that it’s managed to improve temperatures by up to 7°C with a new LGA1851 bracket. That’s no small jump, considering it was already one of the more thermally capable flagships out there with standard mounting options.
If we put stock in Arctic’s internal numbers, it could have interesting implications against Intel’s rival. Adjusting our 80°C result using Liquid Freezer III 420, Core Ultra 9 285K’s newfound 73°C would place it smack bang in between Ryzen 9 9900X and 9950X, giving it the edge against AMD’s top brass. The real question will be how reliable these cooling effects are in a real-world setting, outside of a lab.
We’ll be able to test for ourselves come Q1 2025, when Arctic will bring its offset mounting option to consumers. It’s not yet certain whether these will be a free upgrade or come with a nominal charge, but every penny seems worth it if it holds up to its promises. Considering how effective the current LGA1700 contact plate is, let’s just say I have high hopes.
