Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
longer worth upgrading or repairing. If the motherboard or any component on it goes bad,
you will be better off purchasing a completely new standard system than paying many
times the normal price for a new proprietary motherboard. In addition, a new industry
standard motherboard would be newer and faster than the one you would be replacing.
In a proprietary system, the replacement board would not only cost way too much, but it
would be the same as the one that failed.
Processor Sockets/Slots
The CPU is installed in either a socket or a slot, depending on the type of chip.
Starting with the 486 processors, Intel designed the processor to be a user-installable and
replaceable part and developed standards for CPU sockets and slots that would allow dif-
ferent models of the same basic processor to plug in. One key innovation was to use a
zero insertion force (ZIF) socket design, which meant that you could easily install or re-
move the processor with no tools. ZIF sockets use a lever to engage or release the grip on
the chip, and with the lever released, the chip can be easily inserted or removed. The ZIF
socketsweregivenadesignationthatwasusuallyimprintedorembossedonthesocketin-
dicatingwhattypeitwas.Differentsockettypesaccepted differentfamilies ofprocessors.
If you know the type of socket or slot on your motherboard, you essentially know which
types of processors are designed to plug in.
See
“
Processor Socket and Slot Types
,
”
p.
74
(
Chapter 3
, “
Processor Types and Spe-
cifications
”
).
Table 4.6
shows the designations for the various industry-standard processor sockets/slots
and lists the chips designed to plug into them.
Table 4.6 CPU Socket Specifications
