1.

CPU Packaging

2. CPU COOLING SYSTEM

3. How Fast Is CPU

  Every socket has a

name, indicating

whether it's for an

CPU Socket AMD or Intel CPU.

MPU
Fan  Processors are designed to

fit into a certain type of So c

k et
eat Sink socket on the motherboard.

CPU
Lever
Sockets and slots are used to connect the processor to the motherboard
 Types of sockets
Sockets are built around

1. pin grid arrays (PGA)

2. land grid arrays ( LGA)

 Types of slots
slot processors fit into slots like expansion cards.

slot processors are much larger and slide into a slot on the motherboard

Designated slots: Slot 1, Slot A, and Slot 2

New processor packages use sockets, not slots

7
 On the bottom of the chip are
hundreds of connector pins that
plug into each of the
Pin Grid corresponding pinholes in the
Array socket

This is a Old CPU

Model I486 DX2
 bumps on the
backside of the
processor.

Land Grid
Array
. The pins on the CPU are
placed in the pinholes of
the socket, and the CPU
is locked into place by a
retaining arm.

The LGA Land Grid

Array design uses
spring-loaded
lands in the
processor socket
that connect to
bumps underneath
the processor.

10
Figure 4-16 Socket LGA775
11
All CPU’s have different numbers of pins at the bottom side, which can be easily bend
or broken while installing onto the motherboard, so it must be done carefully.
Sockets used by Intel
CPUs
Intel has used many
usually
processor sockets. Some of differ in
them are as follows: the
• LGA 775 CPUs usually number
differ in the number of pins of pins
used and are often named used
and are
accordingly.
often
• LGA 1155 named
• LGA 1156 accordi
• LGA 1366 ngly.
All these sockets use the
land grid array (LGA) design. 12
AMD
AMD has used many processor sockets. Some of them are as follows: All these sockets,
• Socket 940 except Socket F, use
• Socket AM2
the pin grid array (PGA)
• Socket AM2+
design.
• Socket AM3
Intel abandoned PGA years ago
• Socket AM3+ and now have the pins located
on the socket themselves, called
• Socket F Land Grid Array (LGA).
• Socket FM1.

13
 A+ Guide to Hardware, 4e
Socket Type Manufacturer
 Every socket
LGA 771 (Socket J) Intel (Xeon Server)
has a name,

LGA 775 (Socket T) Intel indicating

whether it's
LGA 1156 (Socket H) Intel

for an AMD
LGA 1166 (Socket B) Intel
or Intel CPU.

AM2 AMD 

AM2+ AMD

AM3 AMD

AM2+ and AM3 mainly differ in terms of the memory each supports. 14
CPU INSTALLATION
 A+ Guide to Hardware, 4e

Figure 4-13 Pentium II with heat sink and fan

attached goes in slot 1 on this motherboard 16
 A+ Guide to Hardware, 4e

Figure 4-27 Insert the heat sink, fan, and SECC into the supporting arms and slot 1

Short for Single Edge Contact Cartridge, SECC is also known as a Slot 1 processor cartridge.
This cartridge is used by Intel Pentium II and III processors. 17
 A+ Guide to Hardware, 4e

Figure 4-19 A processor cooling fan mounts on the top or side of the processor housing and
is powered by an electrical connection to the motherboard 18
 A+ Guide to Hardware, 4e

Figure 4-38 The cooler is installed on the motherboard using four holes in the motherboard 19
Figure 4-30 Carefully push the cooler assembly clips into the retention mechanism on the 20
 CPU COOLING SYSTEM
Computers with extremely fast
Cooling Assembly Heat Pipes: Heat pipes are CPUs and GPUs may use a
combination of heat sink and small tubes moving heat away from
cooling fan the CPU water-cooling system./
Liquid cooling system.
C
P
U
Cooling Assembly combination of heat sink and cooling fan

Fan

HEAT
SINK

CPU
Heat sinks
A heat sink draws heat away from the core of the CPU.

The most common type of heat sink used with CPUs is cooling fins.

 A heat sink without a fan is called passive heat sink cooling;

 a heat sink with a fan is called active heat sink cooling
 A fan on top of the heat sink moves the heat away from the CPU.

Cooling Assembly combination of heat sink and cooling fan

Fins increase the surface area that can transfer heat

away from the CPU
Heat Pipes: Heat pipes are small tubes A thermal
moving heat away from the CPU compound
–
a fluid with
similar
properties to
grease and
that transmits
heat well - is
used between
the parts to
improve heat
flow. You might
also hear
thermal
compound
referred to as
thermal
grease.
Liquid cooling system.
1. A metal plate is
placed over the
processor; and
2. water is pumped
over the top of the
metal plate; to collect
the heat; that the CPU
creates.
3. The water is
pumped to a radiator
to be cooled by the
air, and then re-
circulated.
Computers with extremely fast CPUs and GPUs may use a water-cooling system.
Fan and Heat Sink

The CPU is usually protected

from Heat by a
Heatsink and Fan combination
CPU Fan

Case Fan

 Hardware designers devise a way to move heat away from the components that generate heat. To
maintain allowable temperatures, by forcing hot air out of the case to allow cool air to enter .
 One or more fans are needed to meet cooling needs
 Cooling assembly should keep temperatures <185° F
 Target temperature range: 90° - 100° F
1. Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) fans,
2. Third-party fans

Individual CPUs are most

commonly sold in what’s
known as a “retail box.”
This includes both the CPU
and an OEM fan assembly
 How Fast Is a CPU
When you choose a CPU, you should consider its speed

• The speed of a CPU is determined by 3 main factors.

1. Clock frequency
2. Number of Cores/Processing units within a processor
3. Amount of cache memory

The clock frequency of

 Clock
• An important part of a microprocessor is its built-in clock,
• The amount of time the CPU has to process each piece of data is
controlled by a quartz clock inside the CPU.
• With every tick of the clock, the CPU is able to process one
piece of data, or execute one instruction.

• The clock speed determines the speed of the operation of the

computer.
 CPUs have different speed. The speed or rate – tells how fast it can execute instructions
 The clock frequency of
a CPU

• The higher the value, the faster the CPU will be.
 How do I determine the type and speed of my processor?
 A CPU settings can be adjusted or overclocked.
 In other words, software settings could be adjusted to show a speed higher than the actual processor
speed.

 Overclocking is a technique used to make a processor work at a faster speed than its original
specification. Overclocking is not a reliable way to improve computer performance and can result in
damaging the CPU.

 The opposite of overclocking is CPU throttling. CPU throttling is a technique used when the
CPU runs at less than the rated speed to conserve power or produce less heat. Throttling is
commonly used on laptops and other mobile devices
 If you feel the system may have been tampered with,
 the only way of truly knowing a CPU speed is to open the case and physically look at the computer CPU.
1. Power down the computer, open the chassis, and locate the computer processor. It is important to note that this option may not
If your processor is a socket processor, The CPU information is located on the top of the processor itself, it is
more than likely that a heat sink is attached to the processor. Before the speed can be determined, the heat
sink must be removed. Once removed, if white paste (thermal compound) is on the processor, it needs to be
wiped away. However, keep in mind you need to have more paste that can be applied later to the processor.

A socket processor may have a listing of information similar to 1000/256/133/1.7, which is: 1000
MHz Processor 256 KB Cache 133 Bus Speed 1.7 Voltage

If the computer processor is a slot processor, the processor speed, cache, the voltages used
by the chips and other information can be located on the side of the processor.
For example, a slot processor may have a listing of numbers similar to 500/512/100/2.0V,
which is:
500 MHz Processor 512 KB Cache 100 Bus Speed 2.0 Voltage
What is a CPU core? A core is a single processing unit
 Each processing unit (CPU core) contains a control unit and an arithmetic logic unit (ALU).
 Imagine that the clock cannot be speed up any more for technical reasons, manufacturers instead, added more identical
processing units to single processors.
 Instead of having to process instructions one at a time, a dual core CPU will be able to handle two instructions
simultaneously. You can picture a dual core CPU as having two separate processing units squeezed into a single chip.
 Up until 2005, virtually all processors on the market were single core. Most computer processors today are multicore

• The latest processor technology has resulted in CPU

manufacturers finding ways to incorporate more than one
CPU core onto a single chip.
Dual Core CPU - two cores inside a single CPU
Triple Core CPU - three cores inside a single CPU
Quad Core CPU - four cores inside a single CPU
Hexa-Core CPU  - six cores inside a single CPU
Octa-Core CPU - eight cores inside a single CPU
The cores are typically integrated onto a single integrated circuit die (known as a chip multiprocessor or CMP),
or they may be integrated onto multiple dies in a single chip package.
 The CPU executes stored instructions called as program

While the CPU is

executing one step of
the program,
the remaining
instructions and the
data are stored nearby
in a special memory

called cache. Cache memory is a small amount of very fast memory that is built into the CPU
When data is requested,
the CPU first checks the L1 to see if it's
there. If not it checks L2 and so on.
Accessing data in the cache is far more
faster and efficient than fetching it from RAM

L1 and L2 cache memory inclusion in the

CPU saves time compared to having to get
data from random access memory (RAM).
 Cache  Cache memory: is also known as CPU memory / Memory that holds applications and data that the CPU is
Memory  Since Cache Memory is physically closer than RAM, this is the first place the processor looks for
running /cache memory is memory that holds data that the CPU will search first.

23 instructions and data. If it finds the data it needs IN CACHE , the processor can bypass the more time-

 Cache Levels consuming process of reading RAM or other storage devices.

 Level 1 (L1) cache /primary cache is extremely fast but relatively small,

 L1 cache is internal cache and is integrated into the CPU i.e. embedded in the processor chip (CPU)

 Typical size: 64 KB (its inside microprocessor)

 Level 2 (L2) cache/secondary cache is often larger than L1;
 L2 cache is external cache and was originally mounted on the motherboard on separate chip near the CPU.
 L2 cache is now integrated into the CPU
 Typical size: 1 to 2 MB
 Level 3 (L3) cache
 L3 is the largest in capacity and is usually located outside the CPU and shared by all the cores.
 L3 cache is used on some high-end workstations and server CPUs
 Some CPUs do not have an L3 cache; chip architects are split on the value of an L3 cache if the L2 caches are sufficiently large and
speedy
Sockets and slots are used to connect the processor to the motherboard
 Major Components of a Motherboard
16 Bit ISA Slots
Microprocessor Allows expansion of computer through
Single integrated circuit that modem, sound and video cards.
executes the majority
of the instructions 32 Bit PCI Slots
to process Allows expansion cards that
data. can transfer data faster than
ISA slots.
Battery
Provides power
for the system
clock.

Power Connector
Supplies power to the
motherboard.
ROM BIOS
Basic Input/Output System
stores permanent instructions
Cache RAM that start the computer.
Stores and retrieves information
for the microprocessor at a faster rate than SIMM SIMM RAM Bank
RAM so instructions can be executed faster. Single Inline Memory Module stores data
to be used by the microprocessor.
Computer Concepts 1-47
 Cache Sits between CPU and main memory
END