AMD Socket F up close

[Darksaber]

DailyTech has some nice screenshots on the upcoming Opteron socket F. It will have 1207 pins, and is an LGA type socket. The socket will be able to handle dual and future quad core CPUs, but we know all that already. Here are the pictures of the socket, taken from a Foxconn mainboard:


View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Aevum]

LGA. im really not a fan, on one side, the processor is more expencive therefore harder on the budget when it comes to replacing if you damage the interface pins, especially opterons, also the processor retention mecanism isnt holding the processor by the pins like in PGA sockets, less chance of ripping off pins if the retention mechanism breaks or is used incorrectly,

on the other hand, first gen intel 775 boards had alot of problems regarding the pins, since its harder to protect the pins while shipping and moving a board then a processor which would be in a plastic casing or fixed in a tray,

also in my opinion a processor is better held in place and its harder to bend the pins when theres a corresponding hole to every pin, in LGA, the pins on the motherboard touch against a metal pad on the processor, the pins are exposed from the sides, which can probobly be solved by adding a grid with holes to the processor (hope some intel or AMD engnieers are reading), or some lego styled thick pins that plug on the side to keep the processor stedy in place, or if the motherboard is perpendicular to the floor to keep the processor from falling off when you unlock the retention mechanism,

btw, im wondering about that poker dealer visor style retention mechanism, does it affect the seating of the heatsink against the core ?

 

[Tory]

LGA. im really not a fan, on one side, the processor is more expencive therefore harder on the budget when it comes to replacing if you damage the interface pins, especially opterons, also the processor retention mecanism isnt holding the processor by the pins like in PGA sockets, less chance of ripping off pins if the retention mechanism breaks or is used incorrectly,

on the other hand, first gen intel 775 boards had alot of problems regarding the pins, since its harder to protect the pins while shipping and moving a board then a processor which would be in a plastic casing or fixed in a tray,

also in my opinion a processor is better held in place and its harder to bend the pins when theres a corresponding hole to every pin, in LGA, the pins on the motherboard touch against a metal pad on the processor, the pins are exposed from the sides, which can probobly be solved by adding a grid with holes to the processor (hope some intel or AMD engnieers are reading), or some lego styled thick pins that plug on the side to keep the processor stedy in place, or if the motherboard is perpendicular to the floor to keep the processor from falling off when you unlock the retention mechanism,

btw, im wondering about that poker dealer visor style retention mechanism, does it affect the seating of the heatsink against the core ?

But it's usually less expensive to replace a motherboard than a CPU. For example, my motherboard cost $55 and my CPU $300. I would much rather have the venerable pins be on the motherboard than the CPU.

 

[Aevum]

thanks for repeating the first phrase of my post.

 

[Tory]

thanks for repeating the first phrase of my post.

Hey at least it was in my own words

 

[zekrahminator]

lol considering how many consumers went for the opertrons, I wonder how fast THIS sockets gonna get picked up...whats LGA anyways?

 

[Aevum]

basicly, the idea is that an opteron is alot more expencive then the motherboard its installed on, especialy dual core, or multiprocessor systems,
so basicly, since its cheaper to replace a board then the processor, they took the most fragile part of the processor and put it on the board, which is the pins,
basicly invert the socket, more pins, more probability of bending or damaging one, better to have them sit stedy on the board insted of having to aim them in to holes, especialy if it had 1200 pins,

old socket, pins on the processors go in to holes in the socket, below each hole is a contact surface,
before that, when there were less pines, the socket would just have holes in it, and each hole would have 2 metal plates on the sides to press on the pin and complete the contact,

and before that, the pins on the chip would just go trough empty solder points on the PCB,

evolution, when you cant improve something further, just turn it around and say its new

i suspect that the next evolution would be removing the pins and using direct contact,
as if it was a layed PCB, having a thin insulated layer with cuts where interaction between layers is required,