Sockets.

[jdpatel]

Ok I have a question about sockets. What is the difference between sockets for processors? Is there a performance difference? or something else? Another question I had was why does the price of a certain processor go up a lot even if its a same brand of processor, but for a different socket? Just wanted to know.

Edited January 18, 2006 by jdpatel

[Aluvus]

To some extent, the socket a chip is on may impact performance or its ability to get rid of heat (different numbers of pins, different physical dimensions). And sometimes there are differences that aren't inherently tied to the socket itself, but are decisions made by manufacturers. Athlon 64s on Socket 754 cannot use dual channel, while those on Socket 939 can, because AMD decided to make it so.

Brand is not the only thing that impacts cost. Specific models on different sockets do sometimes have different prices either because of differences in features (dual channel, as above) or just marketing.

Socket differences are significant mainly because they often coincide with shifts in technology- a new feature set, new architecture, different kind of memory, or what have you.

[murtu52]

Good question--I've never really thought about the difference in sockets in depth before.

To add what Aluvus said, changes in sockets can also be just because the technology is advancing. Maybe Socket 939 has some advantages (on the electrical level, as well as feature level) over Socket 754.

Also, it could be a way for companies to keep distinction between their competitors. That way, if you want to upgrade a CPU, you'd be forced to upgrade to a CPU of the same company, unfortunately the same generation as well. Basically, keep Intel customers upgrading to Intel, and AMD customers upgrading to AMD. It may be an overlooked aspect, but still a possible reason.