What you need to know when matching a CPU to a motherboard

Deciphering all the jargon surrounding sockets and chipsets.

We've seen generations of hardware come out from Intel and AMD. This makes it important to ensure you're matching up compatible processors and motherboards with the chipset best suited to your needs. But what is a chipset and why are sockets different?



Sockets

A socket is the array of pins and the securing mechanism that hold a processor in place and connect the motherboard to the available processing power. There are different sockets depending on what generation CPU is supported. If a situation should occur where the CPU and socket aren't compatible, the best case scenario is that the component won't physically be able to connect with the socket, while the worst case may be irreparable damage to either system part.

Luckily, it's easy to figure out and check whether or not a CPU you're looking at will work with a specific motherboard. Usually, it's recommended to choose the CPU first, which provides you with the sock...