Central Processing Unit (CPU) and Processor Socket or Slot

The “brain” of any computer is the central processing unit (CPU).

This component does all the calculations and performs 90 percent of all the functions of a computer.

Typically, in today’s computers, the processor is the easiest component to identify on the motherboard.

It is usually the component that has either a fan or a heat sink (usually both) attached to it .

These devices are used to draw away the heat a processor generates. This is done because heat is the enemy of microelectronics.

Theoretically, a Pentium (or higher) processor generates enough heat that without the heat sink it would self-destruct in a matter of hours.

Sockets and slots on the motherboard are as plentiful and varied as processors. Sockets are basically flat and have several rows of holes arranged in a square.

The processor slot is another method of connecting a processor to a motherboard, but one into
which an Intel Pentium II or Pentium III–class processor on a special expansion card can be
inserted .

Newer, more complex processors, such as the Intel Itanium, use a package known as a pin array cartridge (PAC).

The socket that receives a PAC works on the very low insertion force (VLIF) principle.







picture of processor fan and heat sink










example of CPU socket
















example of slot 1 connector slot