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Hardware Intel Socket 771 Unmasked
Sven Olsen (Blog) - February 23, 2006 12:00 AM

13 comment(s) - last by KristopherKubi.. on Feb 24 at 12:27 PM

Dual Intel Socket 771

New Intel server CPU sockets sighted!

Intel's Xeon will soon have a replacement for the 603/604 CPU socket: Socket 771. The socket will use a Land Grid Array (LGA), similar to the Socket 775 LGA sockets on desktop motherboads. This means upcoming server processors from Intel will use contact pads rather than pins to interface with the motherboard.

LGA sockets are slightly more expensive to manufacture over traditional pin sockets, but the cost is easily recouped due to the fact that the CPUs do not need expensive pins that are easily mangled.

AMD's future Opteron socket, Socket 1207, is also set to use an LGA interface.

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cost savings?

By Myrandex on 2/23/2006 12:08:02 AM , Rating: 3

I don't see how it is more expensive or less expensive for the end user. Extra $$ for the motherboard because they have to put the pins in the socket, or extra $$ for the CPU because of having pins on the CPU. Honestly, I doubt it will change prices that much as well anyways with how aggressive the motherboard market is.
Jason

RE: cost savings?

By oopyseohs on 2/23/2006 2:46:51 AM , Rating: 2

The LGA parts that go on to motherboards are more expensive than the standard PGA parts that are more widely used today. It makes sense though, that these parts will become less expensive as more and more platforms move to LGA. The comment that it ends up less expensive in the end is dead on, considering a CPU with pins on it moves, whereas a motherboard with pins on it does not move. Things typically break when they are in motion =]

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RE: cost savings?

By prokaryote21 on 2/23/2006 3:28:17 AM , Rating: 3

Consider if a perfectly good CPU is encased in a package and that package get damaged. There's no economical way to extract the CPU and repackage it. A more robust package, in the long run, increases final yields which implies not only is more money made for the company, but it has more overhead room to lower prices and still have increased profits.

Cheers,

Ex-package engineer

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RE: cost savings?

By Lonyo on 2/23/2006 7:43:23 AM , Rating: 2

Lots of people upgrade the CPU while keeping the same motherboard (of those who do upgrade), although with Intel it seems most new CPU's need a new motherboard. But with Socket A/939 from AMD there were upgrade possibilities (speed and single -> dual core respectively) without a new motherboard.
Maybe when Intel settles on something and has future-supporting chipsets, it'll be a similar story.

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RE: cost savings?

By KristopherKubicki

(blog) on 2/23/2006 11:03:27 AM , Rating: 2

Would you rather buy a new $100 motherboard or a new $500 CPU?

Kristopher

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LGA

By Missing Ghost on 2/23/2006 12:17:34 PM , Rating: 2

I've never liked LGA cpus.
At least AM2 and S1 will be PGA.

RE: LGA

By hans007 on 2/23/2006 7:37:38 PM , Rating: 2

its a lot easier to ship lga cpus. you don thave to have a secial carrier or whatever you can just stick it in a static bag.

i prefer lga. i mean just because amd doesnt have it, does not mean it is not good.

the motherboards rarely get the pins bent there, since they are inside the stoket, whereas when you have an pga cpu, if you take it out and have to say ship it somewhere it can easily get bent

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RE: LGA

By sieistganzfett on 2/23/2006 9:11:52 PM , Rating: 2

i know, it sucked when the pins were bent, so time consuming for me to rebend them, good thing it happened less than 5 times in my 3 yrs of working as a tech.

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RE: LGA

By KristopherKubicki

(blog) on 2/24/2006 12:27:12 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
i mean just because amd doesnt have it, does not mean it is not good.

foiled!

http://dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=958

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By JackPack on 2/23/2006 1:19:00 AM , Rating: 2

Hello Dempsey, Woodcrest.

RE: .

By Viditor on 2/23/2006 2:24:06 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
Hello Dempsey, Woodcrest

Possibly, but possibly it's for Sossaman...

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Link?

By Googer on 2/23/2006 1:27:02 AM , Rating: 2

You did say that it was spotted didn't you? Well, I don't see it!

Where is the usual link and photograph that we normaly find with Daily Tech articles?

RE: Link?

By KristopherKubicki

(blog) on 2/23/2006 3:10:56 AM , Rating: 2

Well the picture is here:

http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/574_771_spotted...

No real link though -- I was with him when he pulled the board off the assembly line and took a picture. :-P

Kristopher

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