What is the base for installing the CPU on the motherboard?

The "CPU socket" is the base where the CPU is installed on the motherboard. The CPU is connected to the motherboard through the slot interface (CPU slot) integrated on the motherboard; the CPU slot is mainly divided into two types: Socket and Slot. After years of development, CPUs use contact-type and pin-type interfaces. Due to different types of CPU interfaces, the number, volume, and shape of the sockets vary, so different types of interfaces cannot be plugged into each other.

The operating environment of this tutorial: Windows 7 system, Dell G3 computer.

The CPU is connected to the motherboard through the slot interface (CPU socket) integrated into the motherboard.

The CPU socket is the socket on the motherboard where the processor (CPU) is installed. CPU sockets are mainly divided into two types: Socket and Slot.

After so many years of development, the CPU interface methods used include contact type and pin type. The widely used CPU interface is generally a pin type interface, which corresponds to the corresponding slot type on the motherboard.

#CPU interface types are different, and the number, volume, and shape of the sockets vary, so they cannot be plugged into each other.

The socket type is built into the motherboard and cannot be changed, every part of the motherboard is tuned to work with a specific generation of AMD or Intel processors. Therefore, choosing between AMD and Intel affects which motherboard models are available to you.

Where is the CPU socket?

The location of the CPU socket may vary depending on the type of motherboard you are using. Standard ATX motherboards (as well as Micro ATX and EATX) have the socket towards the top, while on Mini-ITX motherboards it's closer to the center.

It's easy to tell what the socket is because it's a large blank square and takes up a lot of space on the motherboard.

AMD vs. Intel Sockets: How to Tell the Difference

Now that we have found the CPU socket, we need to tell the difference between AMD and Intel, which boils down to pin. The CPU communicates with the rest of the system through electrical connections carried by groups of pins. Depending on the processor, these pins are either on the socket or on the bottom of the CPU itself.

With AMD, the pins are on the CPU and the socket is the set of holes that the CPU socket plugs into. Intel, meanwhile, leaves the pins on the motherboard and the CPU has a set of contacts on the bottom of the processor.

Where the pins are is the biggest difference between the two processors and how to easily differentiate between the two sockets, but you can look for other signs.

For example, Intel uses a retaining bracket and latch, with the bracket partially covering the seated CPU.

One Intel CPU socket. Note the pins protruding from the socket and the larger retaining bracket that will lower over the CPU to hold it in place.

Unlike Intel, AMD uses a single retention lever. Fixed AMD processors are not partially covered by the bracket.

AMD CPU socket. Note the insertion hole in the socket and the smaller lever used to secure the CPU.

CPU Algebra Matters

Once you understand the characteristics of these two socket types, it is difficult to confuse the two. However, sockets are not just AMD vs. Intel. Which generation of processor you use also matters. For example, just because you have an Intel CPU, that doesn't guarantee it will fit any older Intel-compatible motherboard, and the same goes for AMD.

The reason is that the pin design and pin count will affect the functionality of the system. Each pin is connected to communicate with a specific part of the system. Often, older pin designs cannot accommodate new functionality. For this reason, socket designs often change between generations.

Extended knowledge: Common problems with CPU

Poor contact in the CPU socket

CPU socket Unable to start due to poor slot contact

As the core component of the computer, the frequency of CPU failures is relatively low. In many cases, the detected failures are caused by motherboard problems.

• Fault Analysis and Troubleshooting

After pressing the power supply of the chassis, the machine did not respond at all, which made troubleshooting difficult. There is no other way but to use the substitution method to find the problem. So I borrowed a computer with similar configuration from a friend, started with the power supply, and used the replacement method to find the fault step by step. After replacing a friend's CPU, the machine started normally and no instability occurred after running the test program for three hours. Could it be that the processor of the machine is broken? This machine does not exceed the frequency, and my friend does not use it often, and the only application is office Internet access. In addition, the CPU fan has been running normally, which also shows that there should be no problem with the processor. So I plugged my CPU into my friend's machine. After starting up, everything is normal and the operation is very stable.

This is strange. There is no problem with the CPU and the motherboard, but the machine still cannot start after replacing the previous CPU. What is going on? So I carefully observed two CPUs, one 1.7GHz and one 2.0GHz, both 478-pin Celeron, but I didn't seem to find any difference. After careful observation, I suddenly found slight pinch marks on the CPU pins. Then I thought about whether the fault was caused by poor contact between the CPU socket and the CPU pins. But the CPU socket has 478 pins. Which pin has poor contact? Because my friend's CPU can run normally on my machine, this poor contact should be relatively minor, so I inserted my CPU into the CPU socket and at the same time gently pressed down on the wrench on the CPU socket. When the CPU encounters a certain resistance, forcefully pull the CPU out of the socket (this action is somewhat dangerous. Be careful not to press the socket wrench too tightly. When pulling out the CPU, use vertical and upward force, otherwise the CPU pins will be bent and it will be very troublesome. ). Repeat this several times, then reinstall the CPU, plug in the fan, and after booting, everything is normal

• Fault summary

This kind of fault does not It’s not common. Because the CPU pins are plated with gold, and according to Intel’s requirements, the CPU socket also needs to be gold-plated. Since gold has good conductivity and is not easily oxidized, poor contact between the CPU and the socket is not easy to occur. However, as market price competition intensifies, many CPU sockets on motherboards are not gold-plated, or the gold-plated thickness is lower than the thickness required by Intel. Therefore, during use, over time, the CPU socket is prone to develop a layer of gold. The oxide layer causes poor contact between the CPU and the socket, causing the machine to crash. The method I use is to rub the CPU pins against the socket to destroy the oxide layer on the socket, so that the contact between the CPU and the socket can be made as good as possible.

But this method always treats the symptoms rather than the root cause, so buying a high-quality motherboard when purchasing a computer is a good way to solve the problem once and for all. In addition, everyone needs to pay attention to the fact that when you suspect that the CPU socket is in poor contact, do not use rust remover, because rust remover is generally corrosive and has certain conductivity, so it is possible to use rust remover indiscriminately. Cause your motherboard to be completely burned.

CPU cooling failure

• Fault phenomenon

Sometimes the computer will restart continuously. In addition to being judged to be a hard disk failure, the most likely possibility is that there is a problem with the CPU. Generally speaking, the computer will restart as soon as the startup screen appears, or it will restart immediately after entering the system.

• Troubleshooting

After this problem occurs, you must first enter the system BIOS mode to scan and kill viruses online. If the problem persists, You have to try to format and redo the system, that is, format the hard disk and restart, but the problem remains the same after the system is formatted and redone. At this time, you need to disassemble the chassis and directly observe the inside of the chassis to see if there are any poor hardware connections inside. At the same time, clean the dust inside the chassis, and inspect the power supply, CPU fan, graphics card fan, memory module, and motherboard respectively. and other auxiliary exhaust fans were cleaned and wiped. After completion, the computer was restarted and tested. The computer still kept restarting. At this step, it should be basically determined that there is a problem with the computer hardware. First, check the power supply problem. If the fault persists after replacing the power supply, then use the "minimum system method" to troubleshoot the fault on the basis of retaining the hardware required for system startup. If the problem still cannot be solved after restarting the computer, it can be finally determined to be a CPU fault. . It was eventually found that the root cause of the CPU failure was poor contact between the CPU and the radiator, which directly affected the heat dissipation of the CPU, so the computer continued to restart. At this time, you should choose to directly replace the CPU. In fact, after long-term operation of the CPU, the silicone connection between the heat sink and the chip gradually fails, resulting in poor contact between the two. Another point is that the CPU fan accumulates dust over time, and the dust has entered the gaps between the fan and the heat sink and is difficult to clean. Therefore, this may also cause the CPU to restart the computer due to poor heat dissipation, which greatly shortens the operating life of the CPU.

CPU self-fault

Fault phenomenon analysis
Some computers start up normally, but will Suddenly crashes after the self-test, and this fault will definitely appear after the self-test, without exception.

Troubleshooting
When the computer has a self-check crash problem, you need to first press the "Del" key to enter the computer BIOS system. Settings, check whether there are any problems with various settings, and correct them in time if there are any problems, such as whether the BIOS default parameters are correct. Then observe whether the computer crashes after restarting. If the crash persists, continue to detect motherboard and hard disk problems. Generally speaking, this self-test crash problem caused by the CPU is very common, which means that the CPU is overclocked during the self-test process. Therefore, maintenance personnel need to actively reduce the CPU working frequency and the degree of frequency reduction during the maintenance process. Just ensure that users can use the computer normally. At this time, restart the system again and the computer crash problem will be solved.

Poor contact of CPU pins

• Fault Phenomenon Analysis

If the CPU processor cannot make good contact with the motherboard, such as poor pin contact, the computer will not start normally. Some computers cannot display signals on the screen after they are turned on. It can be initially determined that there is a problem with the graphics card and the display signal cannot be output normally. But after checking and replacing the graphics card, I found that there was actually no problem with the graphics card. I speculated that there was a monitor problem, but the monitor was also normal. Finally, I unplugged the CPU from the motherboard. After checking, I found that there were no signs of burning, but the monitor just couldn't light up normally. After careful observation, it was discovered that there were signs of oxidation such as greening and blackening on the pins of the CPU, as well as rust. This indicated that the gold-plated and copper materials of the CPU pins were oxidized due to poor contact with the motherboard. In this case, you can use a toothbrush to clean the pins. Cleaning the CPU pin locations usually solves the problem.

• Troubleshooting

After derusting the CPU, the problem can be basically solved, but we need to understand how the rust is caused. Come. After some investigation and thinking, the key point was placed on the CPU cooling chip. The refrigeration chip itself will have condensation. This is because the refrigeration chip lowers the chip surface temperature too low, causing the temperature to exceed the dew point. If the CPU is running in contact with air for a long time, its exposed pins will inevitably react with the air in the environment to produce patina, which in the long run will cause rust spots and lead to poor contact between the CPU and the motherboard. In the process of solving this problem, you can first use the toothbrush method mentioned above to clean the rust spots on the CPU pins. In addition, you should use a high-quality motherboard and check that the motherboard's CPU slot is of good quality to avoid unnecessary problems such as poor contact. During the troubleshooting process, maintenance personnel can also re-strengthen the connection between the CPU and the socket to solve the problem.

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