Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Although you can physically install newer processors in motherboards with older sockets,
and they should theoretically work with reductions in bus speeds and memory support,
this also requires BIOS support in the specific motherboard, which may be lacking. In
general, you are best off matching the processor to a motherboard with the same type of
socket.
Socket F (1207FX)
Socket F (also called
1207FX
) was introduced by AMD in August 2006 for its Opteron
line of server processors. Socket F is AMD's first land grid array (LGA) socket, similar
to Intel's Socket LGA775. It features 1,207 pins in a 35-by-35 grid, with the pins in the
socket instead of on the processor. Socket F normally appears on motherboards in pairs
because it is designed to run dual physical processors on a single motherboard. Socket F
was utilized by AMD for its Quad FX processors, which are dual-core processors sold
in matched pairs, operating as a dual socket dual-core system. Future versions may sup-
port quad-core processors, for a total of 8 cores in the system. Due to the high expense of
running dual physical processors, only a limited number of nonserver motherboards are
available with Socket F.
CPU Operating Voltages
Onetrendthatiscleartoanybodywhohasbeenfollowingprocessordesignisthattheop-
erating voltages keep getting lower. The benefits of lower voltage are threefold. The most
obvious is that with lower voltage comes lower overall power consumption. By consum-
ing less power, the system is less expensive to run, but more importantly for portable or
mobile systems, it runs much longer on existing battery technology. The emphasis on bat-
teryoperationhasdrivenmanyoftheadvancesinloweringprocessorvoltagebecausethis
has a great effect on battery life.
The second major benefit is that with less voltage and therefore less power consumption,
less heat is produced. Processors that run cooler can be packed into systems more tightly
and last longer.
The third major benefit is that a processor running cooler on less power can be made to
runfaster.Loweringthevoltagehasbeenoneofthekeyfactorsinenablingtheclockrates
of processors to go higher and higher. This is because the lower the voltage, the shorter
the time needed to change a signal from low to high.
Starting with the Pentium Pro, all newer processors automatically determine their voltage
settings by controlling the motherboard-based voltage regulator. That's done through
built-in VID pins.
