Having 462 pins (and hence also known as
socket 462), this is AMD's socket for
Duron,
Athlon and
Athlon XP flipchip processors. Since its release (to support the cheaper socketed
duron), it has undergone a number of refinements:
- Additional
heatsink mounting tabs (on either side of the existing ones), to support the weight of larger heatsinks. Most heavy heatsinks will have a three-hole clip nowadays.
- Requirement of
motherboards and
cases to have holes (two on either side) to enable heatsinks to be mounted on the motherboard tray. This allows for heavier heatsinks to be used than the socket clips could support, and the wider base reduces rocking, and therefore damage to the die.
- Increased front-side bus speed (100 Mhz DDR - 133 Mhz
DDR)
Most
socket A motherboards can take an athlon with no modification, but a new-ish motherboard is required for 133Mhz
FSB Athlons, and
Athlon XPs. There's nothing stopping you running the chips at 100 Mhz, though.