Socket 370 is a CPU socket used by Intel for Pentium III and Celeron CPUs. It has 370 holes to accommodate processor pins and is also known as PGA370. The socket was initially made for single-core Intel Celeron chips and underwent two major revisions to accommodate Pentium III Coppermine and Tualatin processors. The second and third versions of the socket are FC-PGA and FC-PGA2, respectively, with the latter being compatible with Celeron chips. Adapters are available to use the original socket for Coppermine CPUs and Tualatin Pentium III chips.
Socket 370 is a type of central processing unit (CPU) socket that semiconductor manufacturer Intel Corporation used for its Pentium III and Celeron CPUs or personal computer (PC) microprocessors. The number “370” indicates the total amount of holes the socket has to accommodate the processor pins. Socket 370 is also referred to as PGA370, where “PGA” stands for “pin grid array”. This is a form of integrated circuit packaging which consists of a square shaped structure with neatly aligned rows of pins. Like other CPU sockets, the Socket 370 provides support and connection for the microprocessor when placed on the motherboard, making it easy to remove or replace them without causing damage to any of the components involved.
Initially, Socket 370 was made for single-core Intel Celeron chips, which debuted in 1998 as low-end Intel processors. In particular, it was compatible with Celeron CPUs codenamed Mendocino, designed by Intel for application in laptop PCs. The socket design used for these chips, called Mobile Celerons, or mobile processors, due to how they are used, was PPGA, or “plastic pin grid array”. The chips themselves have a data transfer rate of 66 megahertz (MHz), a processing speed range of 266 to 466 MHz, and a core voltage range of 1.5 to 1.9 volts (V).
With the advent of the Pentium III, Intel’s third iteration of its flagship brand, the company decided to revise the Socket 370 based on its specifications. He accomplished this by tinkering with his electrical components, thus making Celeron Mendocino chips incompatible with this release. Pentium III CPUs in particular that received the Socket 370 are codenamed Coppermine. These computer chips have a processing speed range of 500 to 1.133 MHz, data transfer rates of 100 MHz to 133 MHz, and a core voltage range of 1.6 V to 1.75 V.
Intel made the third and final major revision with the April 2001 debut of Pentium III CPUs, codenamed Tualatin, which are significantly smaller than the Pentium III Coppermine processors. Once again, the company changed the electrical components. This consequently resulted in the Socket 370 accommodating the range of Tualatin processor speeds, data rates, and core voltages from 1 to 1.4 gigahertz, 100 MHz and 133 MHz, and 1.45 V and 1.5 V, respectively.
The second and third versions of the Socket 370 are of the flip-chip pin grid array, designated FC-PGA and FC-PGA2, respectively. Users can get a PPGA to FC-PGA adapter to use the original socket for Coppermine CPUs. Similarly, Tualatin Pentium III chips need an adapter to work on sockets with the early FC-PGA design. Besides its targeted accommodation for Tualatin chips, FC-PGA2 is actually compatible with Celeron chips.
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