Question ThermalRight Le Grand Macho Series and LGA 1700

[BonzaiDuck]

I'm doing some advance planning for the possibility that I will build an Alder Lake system with an i7-12700K processor by next January 2025.

The other options are to buy an OEM system like a Dell XPS or Optiplex. But the news is fairly confirming now that the 13th and 14th generation processors -- even the i5 and i7 versions -- are flawed and lead to crashes. The other possibility is to simply wait for "generation 15".

Don't tell me your opinion about using the 3-year-old Alder Lake. And even so, this is "advance planning" on the Alder Lake with Z690 chipset as a contingency.

The ThermalRight Le Grand Macho and LGM RT had outperformed the Noctua NH-D15 by one or two centigrade degrees in lab tests. I have two of these LGM coolers.

I could not find where there was an adapter to work with the LGM for LGA 1700.

However, I found this link to a webpage dealing with LGA 1700 and Thermalright products in general.

The page seems to suggest that hardware for the Macho and Macho RT series was already LGA 1700 compatible.

What do you think? Who knows something about this? I've looked at several of the adapter kits sold by ThermalRight, but found none specific to these Macho coolers.

 

[BoomerD]

If you go to the Thermalright website, it lists these processors as compatible with the Macho RT:
(although your link does indicate compatibility)

Le GRAND MACHO RT – Thermalright

www.thermalright.com

Intel: Socket LGA 775/1150/1151/1155/1156/1200/1366/2011/2011-3/2066
AMD: Socket AM2/AM2 /AM3/AM3 /AM4/FM1/FM2/FM2

I can't speak to the i7-12700K, I jumped from an i7-9700K to an i5-13600K last year. That sucker gets hot. I have an Arctic Cooling Liquid Freezer II 280 and while for MOST things, the CPU never gets over 80C, it will occasionally in some of the various bench tests.

I deleted my comment on the contact frame being a way to check fit…because, DUH, the contact frame lines up with the ILM mounting holes, not the cooler mounting holes.

Must have been one of those dreaded “senior moment brain farts.”

 

[BonzaiDuck]

These are the sort of loose ends with uncertainties I would rather resolve before any trial-and-error Hail-Mary fiddling. They stopped producing the MACHO for some reason, but it wasn't for any defects, or for "bad design", or anything I can figure out. It was a great cooler for an ATX case spec and cases wide enough to fit. I'm using two old Coolermaster Stacker 832's, and it fits fine. And cross-referenced lab tests showed the slight edge over NH-D15.

I obviously would like to recycle one of my Machos as opposed to buying an NH-D15 Chromax. Alternatively, I could go the AIO route, as with your Freezer 280.

But I'm not in a "gotta-build-it-now" crisis. I still think it's possible, based on the web-page I linked, that the cooler fits an LGA 1700. I also agree that I should probably purchase their contact frame accessory.

I don't want to make you worry about your gen-13 processor, but I'd posted an article from Tom's Hardware that shows 13 and 14 to have problems just coming to light. It has really put a halt in my enthusiast enthusiasm.

 

[BoomerD]

These are the sort of loose ends with uncertainties I would rather resolve before any trial-and-error Hail-Mary fiddling. They stopped producing the MACHO for some reason, but it wasn't for any defects, or for "bad design", or anything I can figure out. It was a great cooler for an ATX case spec and cases wide enough to fit. I'm using two old Coolermaster Stacker 832's, and it fits fine. And cross-referenced lab tests showed the slight edge over NH-D15.

I obviously would like to recycle one of my Machos as opposed to buying an NH-D15 Chromax. Alternatively, I could go the AIO route, as with your Freezer 280.

But I'm not in a "gotta-build-it-now" crisis. I still think it's possible, based on the web-page I linked, that the cooler fits an LGA 1700. I also agree that I should probably purchase their contact frame accessory.

I don't want to make you worry about your gen-13 processor, but I'd posted an article from Tom's Hardware that shows 13 and 14 to have problems just coming to light. It has really put a halt in my enthusiast enthusiasm.

I don’t know anything beyond stuff like you posted, but Igor mentioned that the Reptor Lake but hasn’t affected DDR4 builds…< crosses fingers>

I LIKE the Noctua coolers…horribly overpriced, not the most attractive color schemes with their tan/brown models…the all black Chromax models are much better…but many people here are pushing Assassin coolers as being every bit as effective…at ~1/4 the price. I’ve never used them myself…just relaying what I’ve read here…and seen on the Gamers Nexus youtube channel.

 

[MrTeal]

I take it you looked at the two LGM's you have and neither have the correct smooth slot vs the detented slot in the picture?
If they're not currently compatible, I'd personally just take a file to the mounting plate and make it work.

Edit: Also, depending on your build you might be fine with 1200 anyway. A lot of Z690 boards have dual 1700 and 1200 mounting holes.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I'm looking at the logistics for building a new PC, and POSSIBLY borrowing parts from older systems like the TR LGMs I have.

I am reluctant to take apart these SKYLAKE/KABY systems I built. They're running just too damn well. I've complicated my life with working-computer surpluses before, though.

In the matter of cases, I've modified two CoolerMaster Stacker 832 cases to my liking. If I had a third one, I wouldn't want to take apart my Skylake to get it. But for over $100 I could buy a newer case, and I could easily spend money on a new cooler like the NH_D15S or Chromax. Corsair has an interesting cooler: the A115

But before I spring for any other cooler, I've emphasized that the NH-D15 comes close to a match with the Grand Macho. I KNOW that. seven years ago, I could find lab-bench comparison reviews with a defined test bed showing results for 50 or more coolers. If you couldn't find the cooler you wanted to assess in some given review, and if you found a similar review featuring the cooler of interest against another cooler contained in both reviews, the transitivity principle would gave you a rating of your cooler.

But I can't find those type of comprehensive reviews anymore, or I haven't found in in searches made today. A person like me can be very nitpicky about thermal conductance and thermal resistance, and I don't just choose coolers because of their appearance.

The good news: In addition to keeping my eye on an Intel build, I'm now looking at Ryzen -- for instance the Ryzen 7 9700X. The TDP spec on some of these Ryzens is significantly lower than your top-end Raptor Lake chips.

 

[In2Photos]

If a cooler is no longer available there may be good reason for that. Thermal Right has plenty of other coolers out that do a fine job with today's CPUs and sockets. Check out the Peerless Assassin and Phantom Spirit models. Great cooling for far less money than the Noctua.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

If a cooler is no longer available there may be good reason for that. Thermal Right has plenty of other coolers out that do a fine job with today's CPUs and sockets. Check out the Peerless Assassin and Phantom Spirit models. Great cooling for far less money than the Noctua.

It was a very good design compared to the NH-D15, and I could prove through lab-test comparison reviews that it actually performed a degree better under the same test-bed.

But if I decide to build an AMD Ryzen system, choosing the absolute best will not be critical.