Microprocessors are attached to the motherboard of the computer . There are two general types of mountings used to connect the processor onto the motherboard: sockets and slots. Some processors are available in only one mounting type; others, such as the Intel Celerons, are available with both types of mountings. Which type is used is largely a matter of preference on the part of the processor manufacturer. The two types look very different, but functionally their differences are small.
Socket Types
Here are ten of the most commonly used socket types:
Socket 0 A 168 pin inline layout processor connector for 5V 486DX
processors.
Socket 1 A 169 pin inline layout processor connector for 5V 486DX and
486SX processors.
Socket 2A 238 pin inline layout processor connector for 5V 486DX, 486SX,
and 486DX2 processors.
Socket 3 A 237 pin inline layout processor connector supporting 3 and 5V
486DX, 486SX, 486DX2, and 486DX4 processors.
Socket 4 A 273 pin inline layout processor connector supporting 5V Pentium 60 and Pentium 66 processors.
Socket 5 A 320 pin staggered layout connector supporting early 3V Pentium processors.
Socket 6A 235 pin inline layout processor connector for 3V 486DX4 processors.
Socket 7 A 321 pin staggered format socket created to support later Pentium processors. It used a common interface between the L2 cache bus and the main system bus. This common interface typically limited the bus's clock speed. AMD K6, Cyrix 6x86, and IDT processors also use this socket format. This design also provided for a Voltage Regulator Module to allow different voltage levels to be implemented by the socket.
Super 7 Sockets An extension of the Socket 7 design to support 10OMHz bus speeds on AMD K6 2 and K6 3 processors allowing them to see an almost 50 percent increase in bandwidth and get around the limitations of the Socket 7.
Socket 8 A 386 pin staggered ZIF socket format for the Pentium Pro processor.
Socket 370 The original Celeron main board connection. This supported the early Celerons; in the Plastic Pin Grid Assembly (PPGA) format
Slot Types
There are four types of slot mountings used to attach microprocessors to motherboards:
Slot 1 (SC 242 connector) A proprietary Intel connector supporting Celeron SEPP, Pentium 11 SECC (single edge contact cartridge), Pentium 11 SECC2, and Pentium III processors. It has a 242 pin edge interface and allows higher bandwidth than the original socket designs.
Slot 2 (SC 330 connector) Another Intel processor bus connector style for the high performance Pentium 11 Xeon and Pentium III Xeon chips. These processors are designed for Symmetric Multiprocessing (multiple processors working together), and this slot style enhances this interaction.
Slot A Used by the AMD Athlon processors. It is physically the same as a Slot 1 connector but has incompatible pin outs.
Slot M Connectors are planned for the upcoming 64 bit Intel Itaniurn processor.
