In computer hardware, a CPU socket or CPU slot contains one or more mechanical components providing mechanical and electrical connections between a microprocessor and a printed circuit board (PCB). This allows for placing and replacing the central processing unit (CPU) without soldering.
Common sockets have retention clips that apply a constant force, which must be overcome when a device is inserted. For chips with many pins, zero insertion force (ZIF) sockets are preferred. Common sockets include Pin Grid Array (PGA) or Land Grid Array (LGA). These designs apply a compression force once either a handle (PGA type) or a surface plate (LGA type) is put into place. This provides superior mechanical retention while avoiding the risk of bending pins when inserting the chip into the socket. Certain devices use Ball Grid Array (BGA) sockets, although these require soldering and are generally not considered user replaceable.
CPU sockets are used on the motherboard in desktop and server computers. Because they allow easy swapping of components, they are also used for prototyping new circuits. Laptops typically use surface-mount CPUs, which take up less space on the motherboard than a socketed part.
As the pin density increases in modern sockets, increasing demands are placed on the printed circuit board fabrication technique, which permits the large number of signals to be successfully routed to nearby components. Likewise, within the chip carrier, the wire bonding technology also becomes more demanding with increasing pin counts and pin densities. Each socket technology will have specific reflow soldering requirements. As CPU and memory frequencies increase, above 30 MHz or thereabouts, electrical signalling increasingly shifts to differential signaling over parallel buses, bringing a new set of signal integrity challenges. The evolution of the CPU socket amounts to a coevolution of all these technologies in tandem.
Modern CPU sockets are almost always designed in conjunction with a heat sink mounting system, or in lower power devices, other thermal considerations.
In computer hardware, a CPUsocket or CPU slot contains one or more mechanical components providing mechanical and electrical connections between a microprocessor...
Socket AM5 (LGA 1718) is a zero insertion force flip-chip land grid array (LGA) CPUsocket designed by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) that is used for AMD...
Socket SP3 is a zero insertion force land grid array CPUsocket designed by AMD supporting its Zen-, Zen 2- and Zen 3-based Epyc server processors, launched...
Socket sTR5 is a land grid array (LGA) CPUsocket designed by AMD. It supports the Zen 4-based Ryzen Threadripper 7000 series, which launched in November...
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Socket 7 is a physical and electrical specification for an x86-style CPUsocket on a personal computer motherboard. It was released in June 1995. The...
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The Socket AM2, renamed from Socket M2 (to prevent using the same name as Cyrix MII processors), is a CPUsocket designed by AMD for desktop processors...
based mobile Ryzen. Common features of Ryzen 1000 desktop CPUs: Socket: AM4. All the CPUs support DDR4-2666 in dual-channel mode. L1 cache: 96 KB (32 KB...
Socket AM3 is a CPUsocket for AMD processors. AM3 was launched on February 9, 2009 as the successor to Socket AM2+, alongside the initial grouping of...
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Socket 370, also known as PGA370, is a CPUsocket first used by Intel for Pentium III and Celeron processors to first complement and later replace the...
Socket sTRX4, also known as Socket SP3r3, is a land grid array (LGA) CPUsocket designed by AMD supporting its Zen 2-based third-generation Ryzen Threadripper...
Socket 754 is a CPUsocket originally developed by AMD to supersede its Athlon XP platform (Socket A, also referred to as Socket 462). Socket 754 was...
Socket M (mPGA478MT) is a CPU interface introduced by Intel in 2006 for the Intel Core line of mobile processors. Socket M is used in all Intel Core products...
Socket SP6 (LGA 4844) is a zero insertion force land grid array CPUsocket designed by AMD supporting its Zen 4c-based Epyc Siena server processors that...
Modern motherboards include: CPUsockets (or CPU slots) in which one or more microprocessors may be installed. In the case of CPUs in ball grid array packages...
Socket 3 was a series of CPUsockets for various x86 microprocessors. It was sometimes found alongside a secondary socket designed for a math coprocessor...
Socket 939 (also known as Socket AM1) is a CPUsocket released by AMD in June 2004 to supersede the previous Socket 754 for Athlon 64 processors. Socket...
Socket G1, also known as rPGA 988A, is a CPUsocket introduced by Intel in 2009 for the mobile variants of the first-generation Intel Core processors...
also known as Socket T, is an Intel desktop CPUsocket. Unlike PGA CPUsockets, such as its predecessor Socket 478, LGA 775 has no socket holes; instead...
backward compatible with Socket 7 CPUs, meaning a Socket 7 CPU can be used with a Super Socket 7 motherboard, but a Super Socket 7 CPU cannot operate at full...
called Socket R, is a CPUsocket by Intel released on November 14, 2011. It launched along with LGA 1356 to replace its predecessor, LGA 1366 (Socket B) and...
Socket TR4, also known as Socket SP3r2, is a zero insertion force land grid array (LGA) CPUsocket designed by AMD supporting its first- and second-generation...
Socket 479 (mPGA479M) is a CPUsocket used by some Intel microprocessors. It is the socket used by the Pentium M and Celeron M mobile processors normally...
Socket SP5 (LGA 6096) is a zero insertion force land grid array CPUsocket designed by AMD supporting its Zen 4-based Epyc server processors codenamed...
used by AMD for several different budget desktop CPUs, using several different technologies and CPUsocket formats. The Sempron replaced the AMD Duron processor...
(land grid array 1366), also known as Socket B, is an Intel CPUsocket. This socket supersedes Intel's LGA 775 (Socket T) in the high-end and performance...