Good people alone aren't enough — the connection and chemistry between them matter just as much.
The same goes for a motherboard and CPU: even the best components aren't enough on their own; the connection point between them is equally important.
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A CPU isn't exactly "connected" to the motherboard — it's simply placed into a socket and secured in position by a metal retention bracket.
Communication between the CPU and the motherboard takes place through an array of pins and contact points.
The more common socket type is LGA, in which the pins are located on the motherboard itself, while the underside of the CPU features gold-plated contact pads.
The PGA socket, once common on AMD processors, placed the pins on the underside of the CPU instead — which not infrequently caused them to bend or break before installation.
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Intel CPU sockets are designated by the number of pins they contain, with the current latest generation being the LGA 1700.
The more pins a socket has, the more data can pass through it simultaneously.
Think of it like lanes on a highway — the more lanes there are, the more cars can travel at any given moment.
AMD processors use a different socket, with AM5 being their latest.
Pictured: A 14th-generation Intel Core i7 processor without integrated graphics, in an LGA 1700 socket.
Photo: White Tiger