CPU sockets

There are different slots and sockets for CPUs, and it is necessary for a motherboard to have the appropriate slot or socket for the CPU. Newer sockets, those with a three digit number, are named after the number of pins they contain. Older ones are simply named in the order of their invention, usually with a single digit.

Sockets supporting Intel processors

* Socket 6 - 80486DX4
* Socket 7 - Intel Pentium and Pentium MMX, AMD K6 and some Cyrix CPUs)
* Socket 8 - Intel Pentium Pro
* Slot 1 - Intel Pentium II, older Pentium III, and Celeron processors (233 MHz - 1.13 GHz)
* Slot 2 - Intel Xeon processors based on Pentium II/III cores
* Socket 370 - Celeron processors and newer Pentium IIIs (800 MHz - 1.4 GHz)
* Socket 423 - Intel Pentium 4 and Celeron processors (based on the Willamette core)
* Socket 478 - Intel Pentium 4 and Celeron processors (based on Northwood, Prescott, and Willamette cores)
* Socket 479 - Intel Pentium M and Celeron M processors (based on the Banias and Dothan cores)
* Socket 480 - Intel Pentium M processors (based on the Yonah core)
* Socket 603/ 604- Intel Xeon processors based on the Northwood and Willamette Pentium 4 cores
* Socket T/LGA 775 (Land Grid Array) - Intel Pentium 4 and Celeron processors (based on Northwood and Prescott cores)

Sockets supporting AMD CPUs

* Slot A - original AMD Athlon processors
* Socket 462 (aka Socket A) - newer AMD Athlon, Athlon XP, Sempron, and Duron processors
* Socket 754 - lower end AMD Athlon 64 and Sempron processors with single-channel memory support
* Socket 939 - AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Athlon FX processors with dual-channel memory support
* Socket 940 - AMD Opteron and early AMD Athlon FX processors