This $1.50 Bracket Fixes All Your 'Sticky' AMD Ryzen Woes

News
By Aaron Klotz
last updated

Save yourself from bent pins

GELID CPU Protection Bracket
(Image credit: overclock3d.net)

GELID has created a new CPU protection bracket for AMD Ryzen processors that safely ensures your processor won't get yanked out of its socket when disconnecting your CPU cooler, and it costs just $1.50. The new bracket addresses a long-held problem with some AMD CPUs: Sometimes the bond of the thermal paste is strong enough that the CPU pops out of the socket when you remove your CPU cooler. 

This isn't the first time we've seen a bracket like this; a version of this bracket has been on sale for months now in Asia, and it does the exact same thing: Protecting a Ryzen CPU from being ripped out of its socket when you remove the CPU cooler. GIELD is the first company to bring this bracket to the United States, and as you can see in the image below, the bracket completely surrounds AMD's AM4 processors to keep them firmly locked into the socket. 

Image 1 of 1
Gelid AMD AM4 Mounting Bracket
(Image credit: Gelid)

Fortunately, 'sticky' Ryzen chips usually aren't a huge problem. In fact, you can completely circumvent this problem by ensuring your thermal paste is warm before taking your CPU cooler off. This can be done by simply leaving the system on for a few minutes. Also, giving the cooler a slight twist as you remove it tends to solve the issue. 

In the event your CPU cooler does get ripped out of its socket, that won't damage the CPU or motherboard. However, if you don't realize the CPU is still attached, you could damage the chip if you set the cooler down on a table or something else. 

The bracket is perfectly optional, but it can give you some extra insurance to avoid a potentially costly mistake. The bracket works with all of Gelid's AM4 mounting kits and is available now.  

Aaron Klotz
Aaron Klotz
Freelance News Writer

Aaron Klotz is a freelance writer for Tom’s Hardware US, covering news topics related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

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14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • RedCat888 (HIGUYS9090)
    That's nice that someone finally, did it, I've bent my 4570 before but manages to fix it, lol
    Reply
  • DSzymborski
    I just use a piece of fishing line. Dental floss could likely do the trick.
    Reply
  • elfenix
    GELID has created a new CPU protection bracket for AMD Ryzen processors that safely insures your processor won't get yanked out of its socket when disconnecting your CPU cooler, and it costs just $1.50.
    *ensures
    Reply
  • Giroro
    "Just pull hard"
    -NZXT
    Reply
  • eklipz330
    Fortunately, 'sticky' Ryzen chips usually aren't a huge problem. In fact, you can completely circumvent this problem by ensuring your thermal paste is warm before taking your CPU cooler off.

    As a veteran PC Builder, I want to emphasize how untrue this is. I ran Prime 95 for twenty minutes, with my fans completely disconnected. My Scythe Mugen was nice and warm. and my CPU STILL STUCK TO THE HEATSINK. I even did the push-down and twist method.

    The reality is, by the time I unscrewed the heatsink, the suction pulled the CPU out of the socket. I had to pry it off with a knife. I was lucky, my CPU survived.
    Reply
  • Gam3r01
    An issue I can see with a product like this:
    If the bracket isnt totally solid, has some give to it, when removing the heatsink the processor could pull up out of the socket partially then pop off, potentially crushing the half exposed pins on cooler re-install if the user didnt release the latch and reseat the processor first.
    Reply
  • gamergeek
    eklipz330 said:
    As a veteran PC Builder, I want to emphasize how untrue this is. I ran Prime 95 for twenty minutes, with my fans completely disconnected. My Scythe Mugen was nice and warm. and my CPU STILL STUCK TO THE HEATSINK. I even did the push-down and twist method.

    The reality is, by the time I unscrewed the heatsink, the suction pulled the CPU out of the socket. I had to pry it off with a knife. I was lucky, my CPU survived.

    Probably also depends on which specific compound you use. The heating "trick" may work for some compound, but like yours in my experience it tends to stick regardless. I can usually get it of with the twist method but I don't understand why AMD hasn't done anything about this themselves.

    In regards to the product itself, I could see a potential issue, although it may be negligible. Given the picture, this is mounted underneath the heat sinks motherboard brackets. This will alter the mounting pressure as it raises those brackets slightly off the motherboard. Though I don't know if it's enough to cause any noticeable difference.
    Reply
  • SiliconMage
    Giroro said:
    "Just pull hard"
    -NZXT
    Better yet, "Melt it with FIRE"
    Reply
  • Math Geek
    i had this happen to me the first time i changed a cooler for a ryzen and it freaked me out. never seen it before so it caught me completely off guard. the cpu was actually warm since it had been running for a long time before the swap. i had actually run prime 95 to test temps to see what the new cooler brought to the system. not saying warming it up never works, but it did not for me.

    since then, i have been releasing the cpu from the mobo and pulling it off as one and then removing the cpu from the heatsink. i don't trust it to not damage something if it happens again. like said above, then some dental floss or thin fishing line works great for breaking the seal. if i run across one of these to buy, i might actually try it out to see how it goes. but it better be a solid chunk of metal so the chip does not move around at all. if not, then it might not be any better than not having it.
    Reply
  • asgallant
    This has been a problem with AMD CPUs since at least the socket 939 era; it boggles the mind that AMD hasn't implemented anything like Intel's mounting bracket in any of the subsequent generations of AM* sockets.
    Reply