Socket 478 is a CPU socket with 478 evenly arranged pins that connects the processor to the motherboard. It was introduced by Intel in 2002 and supports data transfer rates of 400, 533, and 800 million transfers per second. It belongs to the PGA design subcategory called FC-PGA and allows for the use of a heat sink to prevent overheating. Intel phased it out in favor of LGA 775 in 2006.
Socket 478 is a central processing unit (CPU), or microprocessor, socket that contains 478 pins. Its purpose is to provide physical support for the processor and to electrically connect it to the motherboard of a personal computer (PC). Socket 478, like other components of its kind, allows users to securely plug or remove CPUs. It adopts pin grid array (PGA) design, which means its 478 pins are evenly arranged within its square structure. Introduced in 2002, Intel relied heavily on Socket 478 for many of its CPUs until 2006, when it began phasing it out in favor of LGA 775.
When semiconductor maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) released its 462-pin Socket A for its Thunderbird codenamed Athlon microprocessors that debuted in June 2000, its main competitor, Intel Corporation, needed a to rival theirs. AMD was easily beating Intel with the third-generation production Athlon, which it dubbed “XP.” In response, Intel came out with a CPU socket that replaced Socket A with another 16 pins.
Intel created Socket 478 for the flagship Intel Pentium 4 chips, codenamed Northwood, which was released in January 2002. The socket supported a Northwood processing range of 1.4 to 3.4 gigahertz. It also supported the budget-oriented Intel Celeron chips based on the Northwood microarchitecture, with a processing speed range of 1.7 to 2.8 GHz. Later CPUs manufactured by Intel for Socket 478 compatibility included the Intel Pentium 4 Prescotts, which are smaller of their elder Northwood brothers; and the Celeron D, which were actually the last processors made for the socket. Regardless of the brand of computer chip, Socket 478 supports data transfer rates of 400, 533, and 800 million transfers per second, which translates to 400, 533, and 800 megahertz, respectively.
Each 478 socket measures 1.38 square inches (8.90 square centimeters). The socket belongs to a subcategory of PGA design called flip-chip grid pin array (FC-PGA or FCPGA). This means that the silicone core, as the hottest part of the processor, faces upwards, thus avoiding contact with the computer’s motherboard. This allows the user to introduce a heat sink, which draws heat away from the CPU to prevent overheating and subsequent malfunction. Users, however, must ensure that they comply with Intel’s maximum mechanical load limits, which consist of a dynamic force of 890 newtons (200 lbs-fl), a static force of 445 newtons (100 lbs-f), and a transient force of 667 newtons. (150 lb-force).
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