# Is the heatsink swappable?

**URL:** <https://community.frame.work/t/is-the-heatsink-swappable/66017>\
**Category:** Framework Desktop\
**Tags:** compatibility\
**Created:** [March 13, 2025, 1:37am UTC](https://community.frame.work/t/is-the-heatsink-swappable/66017 "2025-03-13T01:37:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sosimple530](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@sosimple530](https://community.frame.work/u/sosimple530)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 1:37am UTC](https://community.frame.work/t/is-the-heatsink-swappable/66017/1 "2025-03-13T01:37:20Z")

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I want to put the Framework Desktop mainboard in a smaller case, but the stock heat sink is too large. Is it possible to swap it out for something like a Noctua NH-L9a? Just for reference, the case is Custom\_MOD SLM1m.

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**Author:** ![Fishd](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/community.frame.work/fishd/32/34059_2.png) [@Fishd](https://community.frame.work/u/Fishd)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 9:46am UTC](https://community.frame.work/t/is-the-heatsink-swappable/66017/3 "2025-03-13T09:46:00Z")

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As the AI Max is a mobile cpu, it won’t share standard desktop cooler mounting points … so I very much doubt that standard coolers will fit.

Also, I have an L9a trying to cool a 3900X cpu running at 65 watts in ECO mode, and under any kind of sustained load it sounds like a fighter jet … so I doubt the L9a would be capable of cooling 120Watts of AI Max.

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**Author:** ![HardHat\_Media](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/community.frame.work/hardhat_media/32/30286_2.png) [@HardHat\_Media](https://community.frame.work/u/HardHat_Media)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 3:53pm UTC](https://community.frame.work/t/is-the-heatsink-swappable/66017/4 "2025-03-13T15:53:52Z")

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no, it has memory cooling which you absolutely need for something like this

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**Author:** ![Alexandru\_Stan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/community.frame.work/alexandru_stan/32/4278_2.png) [@Alexandru\_Stan](https://community.frame.work/u/Alexandru_Stan)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://community.frame.work/t/is-the-heatsink-swappable/66017/5 "2025-03-19T22:24:12Z")

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The heatsink mechanical drawings are available at [Framework-Desktop/Mainboard/FRAMEWORK\_DESKTOP\_MAIN\_PCB\_V0.pdf at main · FrameworkComputer/Framework-Desktop · GitHub](https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/Framework-Desktop/blob/main/Mainboard/FRAMEWORK_DESKTOP_MAIN_PCB_V0.pdf)

It’s custom for this APU unfortunatelly, you need a bunch of adapters/shims to make it work with something meant for a desktop.

Yeah, I would also worry about cooling the ram chips and the regulators, the stock cooler does that.

On the other hand, the stock cooler is pretty decent (and possibly overkill), I don’t find the cpu heating up very much. Sorry, I guess that’s not very useful to you in a smaller case.