Specifications

CHAPTER 3
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All About Motherboards
LGA1366 or Socket B Core i7 1366 pins that touch pads on the
processor
Works with DDR3 memory
Expected to replace LGA771 and
LGA775 sockets
LGA771 or Socket J Core 2 Extreme 771 pins that touch pads on the
processor
Used on high-end workstations and
low-end servers
Works with DDR2 memory on boards
that have two processor sockets
LGA775 or Socket T Core 2 Extreme 775 lands or pads
Core 2 Quad Works with DDR3 and DDR2 memory
Core 2 Duo Most popular Intel socket
Pentium Dual-Core
Pentium Extreme Edition
Pentium D
Pentium
Pentium 4
Many Celeron processors
Socket 478 Pentium 4 478 holes for pins
Celeron processors Uses a dense micro PGA (mPGA)
No longer sold
Socket 423 Pentium 4 423 holes for pins
39 x 39 SPGA grid
No longer sold
Intel Socket Names Used by Processor Family Description
Table 3-1 Sockets for Intel processors used for desktop computers
Earlier Pentiums used a pin grid array (PGA) socket, with pins aligned in uniform rows
around the socket. Later sockets used a staggered pin grid array (SPGA), with pins staggered
over the socket to squeeze more pins into a small space. Small pins can easily be bent as the
processor is installed in the socket. Later Intel sockets use a land grid array (LGA) that uses
lands rather than pins. The first LGA socket is the LGA775 socket. It has 775 lands and is
shown with the socket lever and top open in Figure 3-4. The lands look like tiny pads that
the pins on the processor contact.
The latest Intel socket is the LGA1366 socket. It’s called a land grid array socket, but the
lands in the socket are actually more like pins that connect with lands on the bottom of the
processor. Figure 3-5 shows an LGA1366 socket with the load plate and load lever lifted so
that the socket is open and ready to receive the processor.
PGA, SPGA, and LGA sockets are all square or nearly square. So that even force is applied
when inserting the processor in the socket, all current processor sockets have a lever on the side
of the socket. These sockets are called zero insertion force (ZIF) sockets, and this lever is used to
lift the processor up and out of the socket. Push the lever down and the processor moves into its
pin or land connectors with equal force over the entire housing. With this method, you can easily
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