Gadgetory

the master key series of mechanical keyboards from Coolermaster features genuine Cherry MX switches and the flexibility of choice whether you want small medium or large you can pick your size and pick your color with RGB and clear white LED backlighting options click the sponsor link in the description for more information absolutely the thought occurred to me the other day that if you have just gotten into PC building within the past 5 years or so and if you've gone with the prevailing recommendations based on performance and market share that is to buy an Intel based system then you just might be a bit confused if you decide to put together a Rison based computer now that AMD is back in the game that's because Intel has used LGA or land grid array CPU sockets since about 2004 with the introduction of the Pentium 4 whereas AMD continues to use PGA or pin at grid array today we'll be exploring the pros and cons of both designs the simplest way to describe both socket types is by indicating where the pins are for LGA the pins are on the motherboard and the CPU itself has pads gold-plated contact points that line up with the pins in the socket each pad makes contact with one pin so data or power can be transferred for PGA the pins are on the CPU and rather than pads on the motherboard there's a socket with holes lined up with the CPU pins this is known as a zero insertion force socket meaning that with the installation lever raised the CPU should drop in easily without any pressure applied the lepor can then be dropped back into place to secure the CPU of course there are other ways to surface mount a component onto a motherboard or PCB and while I won't delve into older configurations like dual inline package chip carrier or the slot mounts that Pentium 2 and 3 is used I did want to quickly mention BGA or ball grid array this is F CPUs and GPUs are usually installed in laptops and consoles which aren't meant to be end user serviceable there's a similarity to PGA and LGA with BGA though in that you have a specific number of contact points that need to hook up between the chip and the board but ball grid array uses tiny balls of solder or solder to preempt pronunciation police in the comments instead of pins or pads that need to be aligned on the chip and then reflow door heat it up to the point where they melts and secured shipped to the board this is usually done with specialized equipment but I'll post a couple links in the description to videos of people who are crazy enough to do it at home needless to say this is not recommended for most home builders but now if you hear BGA you'll know what that means - so let's take a little closer look at LGA land grid array Intel's preferred socket itself naming scheme is pretty straightforward it's just LGA followed by the number of the pins in the motherboard sockets or the number of pads on the CPU which should be the same so LGA 1151 has 1151 contacts on the bottom LGA 2011 has 2011 contacts LGA 2011 - 3 also has 2011 contacts but they changed the socket so it's not backwards compatible we'll delve into backwards compatibility in a different video installing an LGA processor involves lifting a lever arm or two lever arms in the case of intelligent thew Xia's platform with the arm raised the lid can lift up the CPU can be aligned by referencing the tiny little gold triangle that's on the corner of the CPU as well as on the corner of the socket and the processor can be gently dropped in the lid then goes back down slips under a catch and then the lever arm or arms can be pushed back down with a little bit of pressure to secure the CPU in the socket it's not the simplest method but it does get the job done one of the big benefits of LGA and I think this is actually why Intel changed over to it in the first place is that it's much harder to damage the CPU itself there are no pins to bend or break and since the CPU is usually going to be the more expensive perks it does make some sense to transfer the more delicate parts of the interface to the motherboard although motherboard manufacturers have probably been dealing with more RMA's since then LGA motherboards on the other hand are incredibly delicate when it comes to the socket and basically if you damage those pins your motherboard is pretty much toast I've managed to repair LGA pins on a motherboard only once and it was an X 58 LGA 1366 board and I had three identical boards with damaged sockets to work with I managed to get only one working the difficulty is mainly due to the socket pins themselves being smaller flatter and sort of angled as they come up out of the socket so they have a little bit of give under pressure when the CPU is installed I will say that I like LGA sockets for the ease of disassembly though as the CPU is held very securely in the socket which if you're working with an aftermarket cooler now AMD for their part has produced LGA CPUs in the past they're Opteron line in 2006 for example was LGA 1 207 but by and large they've stuck with PGA for their consumer parts AMD actually brands their PGA sockets with names such as AM 3 sm 2 and 4 Rison now AM 4 but they can still be identified by their pin cuts and 4 for example could also be referred to as PGA 1331 but we'll stick with a m4 since it rolls off a little bit more easily installing a PGA CPU is quite simple just to make sure to mine those pins on the CPU itself you don't want to bend them or even touch them if you can possibly avoid it the am for socket has a lever on one side that you just simply lift up and then again you align the gold triangle that's on the corner of the CPU was a triangle that should be on the socket itself and it should just drop right in again this is a zero insertion force socket sure it's by the way are available at my store via the link in the description and that means that it should drop in with zero pressure drop the lever arm back down and you're done one of the great things about PGA is that the motherboard socket is much more durable with no delicate pins on there you don't even really need a cover for the socket like you do with LGA which is pretty nice the pins are on the CPU side though and while they're not as delicate as LGA pins on a motherboard there are they are exposed and they can be bent or even broken if handled improperly my advice is to keep the CPU in its protective clamshell until you're ready to install it and again never try to force the CPU into a socket fortunately with PGA a bent CPU pin or even a few of them is not the end of the world I personally repaired probably at least a hundred PGA CPUs with bent pins since back in my time when working in an Omega I'm a department and some of them that were really really bad I basically just had to use a razor blade steady hands and lots of patience use at your own risk of course and remember that if a pin breaks off your CPU is toast but it is certainly a lot more feasible than repairing a damaged LGA socket on a motherboard finally when removing a PGA CPU there's kind of a pain in the butt thing that can happen where the thermal paste sticks the CPU to the CPU cooler and when you're pulling the CPU cooler off you end up pulling the CPU out of the socket along with it that the lever arm raised this happened to me again just recently as well as Kyle when we were doing our eyes interviews and lots mostly not a big deal I have seen people lose CPU pins when this happens just be careful when you're removing your cooler and remember that's easier to pull the cooler off while the thermal paste is still warm so to sum up I have four categories ease of installation CPU durability motherboard durability and ease of D installation VGA takes the lead for installation and motherboard durability and LGA gets the win when it comes to CPU durability and D installation so both sockets have their pros and cons and while other factors such as performance and features will probably weigh more heavily for you when deciding on what platform to build your next system on hopefully this video has helped you learn a little bit more about the nuances between the two I fell for this video though so hit that like button if you enjoyed it share with your friends who are maybe just learning about pcs subscribe to my channel for more videos coming soon including that one on rising 5 overclocking that still in the works check out the description for all the links to all the stuff I talked about today and as always thank you very much for watching