Computer Hardware Terms, Glossary and Dictionary

Socket 7 is a physical and electrical specification for the x86 processor socket matching the pins on Pentium microprocessors manufactured by Intel, and compatibles made by Cyrix, AMD and others. Any CPU chip conforming to this specification can be plugged into any conforming motherboard. It supersedes the Socket 5. Differences between the two are an extra pin on the Socket 7 and that the Socket 7 is designed to provide dual split rail voltage while the Socket 5 can only have a single voltage. Intel has phased out Socket 7 and replace it with Slot 1.

Related Terms

Socket 7