Socket 7 is a physical and electrical specification for an

x86 x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was introd ...

-style CPU socket on a personal computer

motherboard A motherboard (also called mainboard, main circuit board, mb, mboard, backplane board, base board, system board, logic board (only in Apple computers) or mobo) is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expand ...

. It was released in June 1995. The socket supersedes the earlier

Socket 5 Socket 5 was created for the second generation of Intel P5 Pentium processors operating at speeds from 75 to 133 MHz as well as certain Pentium OverDrive and Pentium MMX processors with core voltage 3.3 V. It superseded the earlier Sock ...

, and accepts P5

Pentium Pentium is a brand used for a series of x86 architecture-compatible microprocessors produced by Intel. The original Pentium processor from which the brand took its name was first released on March 22, 1993. After that, the Pentium II and Pe ...

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

s manufactured by

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

, as well as compatibles made by Cyrix/ IBM,

AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufactur ...

, IDT and others. Socket 7 was the only socket that supported a wide range of CPUs from different manufacturers and a wide range of speeds. Differences between Socket 5 and Socket 7 are that Socket 7 has an extra pin and is designed to provide dual split rail voltage, as opposed to Socket 5's single voltage. However, not all motherboard manufacturers supported the dual voltage on their boards initially. Socket 7 is backwards compatible; a Socket 5 CPU can be inserted and used on a Socket 7 motherboard. Processors that used Socket 7 are the

AMD K5 The K5 is AMD's first x86 processor to be developed entirely in-house. Introduced in March 1996, its primary competition was Intel's Pentium microprocessor. The K5 was an ambitious design, closer to a Pentium Pro than a Pentium regarding techn ...

and K6, the

Cyrix 6x86 The Cyrix 6x86 is a line of sixth-generation, 32-bit x86 microprocessors designed and released by Cyrix in 1995. Cyrix, being a fabless company, had the chips manufactured by IBM and SGS-Thomson. The 6x86 was made as a direct competitor to In ...

and 6x86MX, the IDT

WinChip The WinChip series was a low-power Socket 7-based x86 processor designed by Centaur Technology and marketed by its parent company IDT. Overview Design The design of the WinChip was quite different from other processors of the time. Instead o ...

, the Intel P5

(2.5–3.5 V, 75–200 MHz), the Pentium MMX (166–233 MHz), and the

Rise Technology Rise Technology was a short lived microprocessor manufacturer that produced the Intel x86 MMX compatible mP6 processor. The mP6 was a microprocessor that was designed to perform a smaller number of types of computer instructions so that it can ...

mP6 The Rise mP6 was a superpipelined and superscalar microprocessor designed by Rise Technology to compete with the Intel Pentium line. History Rise Technology had spent 5 years developing a x86 compatible microprocessor, and finally introduced ...

. Socket 7 typically uses a 321-pin (arranged as 19 by 19 pins)

SPGA A pin grid array (PGA) is a type of integrated circuit packaging. In a PGA, the package is square or rectangular, and the pins are arranged in a regular array on the underside of the package. The pins are commonly spaced 2.54 mm (0.1") a ...

ZIF ZIF, ZiF or Zif may refer to: * Zero insertion force Zero insertion force (ZIF) is a type of IC socket or electrical connector that requires very little (but not literally zero) force for insertion. With a ZIF socket, before the IC is inserte ...

socket or the very rare 296-pin (arranged as 37 by 37 pins)

LIF Lithium fluoride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula LiF. It is a colorless solid, that transitions to white with decreasing crystal size. Although odorless, lithium fluoride has a bitter-saline taste. Its structure is analogous to ...

socket. The size is 1.95" x 1.95" (4.95 cm x 4.95 cm). An extension of Socket 7,

Super Socket 7 Super Socket 7, also referred to as Super 7, is a hardware-level extension of the Socket 7 ZIF socket specification for x86 processors. Compatible motherboards and chipsets use a standard Socket 7 connection for the CPU, while adding certain featu ...

, was developed by AMD for their

K6-2 The K6-2 is an x86 microprocessor introduced by AMD on May 28, 1998, and available in speeds ranging from 266 to 550 MHz. An enhancement of the original K6, the K6-2 introduced AMD's 3DNow! SIMD instruction set, featured a larger 64 KiB ...

and

K6-III The K6-III (code name: "Sharptooth") was an x86 microprocessor line manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices, AMD that launched on February 22, 1999. The launch consisted of both 400 and 450 MHz models and was based on the preceding K6-2 archi ...

processors to operate at a higher clock rate and use AGP. Socket 7 and

Socket 8 The Socket 8 CPU socket was used exclusively with the Intel Pentium Pro and Pentium II Overdrive computer processors. Intel discontinued Socket 8 in favor of Slot 1 with the introduction of the Pentium II and Slot 2 with the release of ...

were replaced by

Slot 1 Slot 1 refers to the physical and electrical specification for the connector used by some of Intel's microprocessors, including the Pentium Pro, Celeron, Pentium II and the Pentium III. Both single and dual processor configurations were impleme ...

and

Slot 2 Slot 2 refers to the physical and electrical specification for the 330-lead Single Edge Contact Cartridge (or edge-connector) used by Intel's Pentium II Xeon and Pentium III Xeon. When first introduced, Slot 1 Pentium IIs were intended to re ...

in 1999.

References

{{intelsock Socket 007

See also

References