![]() ![]() Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) is a high-speed serial expansion bus integrated into either your CPU, motherboard’s chipset, or both. A high-speed Direct Media Interface (DMI) bus creates a point-to-point connection between the CPU’s memory controller and the PCH. The CPU connects to a single chip (rather than two) - the Platform Controller Hub (PCH), which controls PCIe lanes, I/O functions, Ethernet, the CPU clock, and more. The memory controller, one of the major factors affecting chipset performance, is now within the CPU itself, reducing lag in communications between the CPU and RAM. Starting with 1st Gen Intel® Core™ processor in 2008, Intel chipsets have integrated the functions of the Northbridge into the CPU. The southbridge, or “I/O Controller Hub,” was connected to the northbridge with a slower internal bus, and controlled virtually everything else: other expansion slots, Ethernet and USB ports, onboard audio, and more. This controlled the system’s performance-critical components: memory and the expansion bus that connected to a graphics card. In this older design, the northbridge, or “memory controller hub,” was linked directly to the CPU via a high-speed interface called the system bus or front-side bus (FSB). Together, the two chips formed the chip “set.” The classic chipset design, common to chipsets for the Intel® Pentium® processor family, was divided into a “northbridge” and “southbridge” that handled different functions of the motherboard. Though early designs for Socket 1 could require up to 100 pounds of force to insert a CPU, within the same CPU generation manufacturers were able to develop user-friendly designs that required virtually no force and no tools to install. This innovation came into use with Intel’s Socket 1 in 1989, which worked with the 80486 (or 486) CPU. This means you only have to fit the processor into place and secure it with a latch, without applying extra pressure that could bend pins out of place. Today’s processor sockets use ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) installation. LGA 1151 is one example of this socket type. Land Grid Array (LGA) sockets, used in many modern chipsets, essentially work the opposite way: pins on the socket connect to conductive lands on the CPU. Older sockets (such as Intel’s Socket 1) were often Pin Grid Arrays (PGA), in which pins located on the CPU fit into conductive lands on the socket. Pins may be located on the motherboard or the processor package itself, depending on the socket type. If your PC is having trouble booting up or recognizing installed memory, it could be caused by a bent pin that isn’t making contact with your CPU, among other potential issues. Some pins connect the CPU to memory via traces (lines of conductive metal) on your motherboard, while others are groups of power or ground pins. ![]() The memory controller lives on the CPU itself, but numerous other devices communicate with the CPU through the chipset, which controls many expansion slots, SATA connections, USB ports, and sound and network functions. Modern Intel motherboards connect CPUs directly to RAM, from which it fetches instructions from different programs, as well as to some expansion slots that can hold performance-critical components such as GPUs and storage drives. (The name of the socket comes from the pin array: for example, the LGA 1151 socket, compatible with 9th Gen CPUs, has 1,151 pins.) Sockets vary in order to support different products based on generation, performance, and other factors by changing the pin array. When selecting a motherboard, check your CPU’s documentation to ensure the board is compatible with your CPU. (Not all motherboards have a socket, though: in systems with less space, like Intel® NUC and most laptops, the CPU is soldered into the motherboard.) These include memory (RAM), storage, and other devices installed in expansion slots - both internal devices like GPUs and external devices like peripherals. Motherboards usually contain at least one processor socket, enabling your CPU (the PC’s mechanical “brain”) to communicate with other critical components. ![]()
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