Socket compatibility?

[Ags1]

Is it true that not all CPUs of a given socket can be mounted on a motherboard theoretically supporting that socket? For example, I have an old socket 775 Pentium E2160 box running linux, and I have been browsing around on price comparison sites and came across the Intel Xeon X3230, quad core and 2.66GHz with 8MB of cache... for 32 euros. That would really take my plucky little box as far as it can go CPU-wise, but am I wrong in thinking it will never work?

 

[-Fran-]

Yep.

There are 2 main things that make this happen.

1.- The power your MoBo can give to the CPU. For instance, in AMD MoBos you can find ones that only deliver 95W tops, but higher end CPUs are rated for over 125W.

2.- Circuit layouts. Some MoBos have special circuitry made for certain CPUs made into them, that's why some MoBos can "upgrade" to certain new CPUs that use the same socket and some others can't (by BIOS/UEFI upgrade). This can be also be the same, for say, going from DDR2 or DDR3 using the same chipset (AMD 790FX), but the CPU might not have the IMC for DDR2 (older Phenom II models ditched the DDR2 controller).

Those are the 2 I know of at least, there could be more that I'm not aware of yet

Cheers!

EDIT: Spelling

 

[Chaz21]

Is it true that not all CPUs of a given socket can be mounted on a motherboard theoretically supporting that socket? For example, I have an old socket 775 Pentium E2160 box running linux, and I have been browsing around on price comparison sites and came across the Intel Xeon X3230, quad core and 2.66GHz with 8MB of cache... for 32 euros. That would really take my plucky little box as far as it can go CPU-wise, but am I wrong in thinking it will never work?

Look up your motherboard and see what it "specs" for a "max" CPU. This site should help:
http://processormatch.intel.com/compdb/

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Look up your motherboard and see what it "specs" for a "max" CPU. This site should help:
http://processormatch.intel.com/compdb/

Very good tool also check out ark.intel.com and look up the compatible chipsets for a processor. Of course it is always important to check with the motherboard manufacturer to make sure the processor is supported on a board. I know many cases where a processor is normally supported on a chipset but the board maker didnt release Bios updates to support it.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[WR2]

The BIOS firmware can also make a big difference in CPU/MB compatibility.