On 23 Mar 98 at 7:50, Ron Taylor wrote:

> I have been reading PC-Build, PC-Soft, and VPlanets lists with
> interest for about a month now and even asked a few questions most
> of which were answered.  I have answer several questions to the
> best of my ability.   I read several times about terms which I
> don't understand.  One of them is 'SOCKET 7'.  What is SOCKET 7?

  The "socket" is the thing soldered into the motherboard, which the
CPU is inserted into.  The standards for these are, so far, dictated
by Intel.

  Notable examples:

Socket 3 - This was the most common socket for 486 DX2 and DX4 CPUs.
It's a ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) socket, which means that it has a
release lever on one side.  When the lever is "open", the CPU slides
easily into and out of the socket; when "closed", every CPU pin is
tightly gripped to ensure good contact.

Socket 4 - This was the first Pentium socket, used for P60 and P66.
Obsolete.

Socket 5 - Press-fit socket with one multiplier jumper exposed to the
motherboard.  Supports P75-P133, depending on motherboard speed
settings.  Pentium OverDrive (180, 200) should work on these boards;
may not work on Socket 4.

Socket 7 - ZIF socket for Pentium, supporting two multiplier jumpers
and -- subject to motherboard implementation -- split (core vs I/O)
voltage (needed for MMX).  The term is sometimes used to refer to all
of the Intel, AMD, Cyrix and IDT CPUs that can be used in such a
board.  If you have a Pentium-class machine (not PPro or PII) less
than two years old, it probably has a Socket 7 in it.

Socket 8 - ZIF socket for Pentium Pro.  There are rumours that a PPro
w/MMX OverDrive is in the works, but this is a pretty limited market.

Slot 1 - The Pentium II's SEC (Single Edge Cartridge) fits in
something that looks more like a COAST slot and not a PGA (Pin Grid
Array).  There are plans for Slot 2; it is unlikely that we will ever
see a "Socket 9".

David G