Socket AM2 = Socket 940?!?

[Stylez Ray.]

So I'm argueing with a friend of mine. I looked at Wikipedia but can't find that this is right. At the german page of Socket AM2 they say that socket has 940 contacts. Ok so in theory it could be Socket 940?

Is that right or not? I ask this because I'm looking at a CPU Cooler which is for Socket 940 so I don't know if it will fit on my AM2..

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

Socket AM2 = Socket 940 is correct.

MD Athlon 64 FX-62 (socket AM2) Specs

Clock Speed 2.8Ghz

L2 Cache 2x1MB

Front Side Bus 2000Mhz

Socket 940 AM2

Architecture 90 nanometers

Dual Core Yes

64 Bit Yes

Additional Technologies HyperTransport™ Technology, AMD Cool‘n’Quiet™ Technology, AMD Virtualization

canadacomputers.com

[WelshBluebird]

It depends.

Both sockets have 940 pins, however, the CPU's are not pin compatible with each other, so you cannot use a Am2 chip in a socket 940 board and vice versa. As for coolers, I dunno

[chconline Veteran]

Socket AM2 has 940 pins, but it is not Socket 940. Pin arrangements are physically different -- just like Socket 479M has 478 pins, but not compatible with Socket 478.

[Elliot B.]

Socket AM2 has 940 pins, but it is not Socket 940. Pin arrangements are physically different -- just like Socket 479M has 478 pins, but not compatible with Socket 478.

Daftness :s

[Stylez Ray.]

Mmhhh...now I'm confused. So I couldn't put a CPU made for AM2 in Socket 940. That's ok so far. But my problem now is: I found a Cooler which is listed only for 940. I mean, if the only difference is the pins it should also fit on Socket AM2, because the CPU is on the Socket and the cooler is on top of it.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

Socket AM2 has 940 pins, but it is not Socket 940. Pin arrangements are physically different -- just like Socket 479M has 478 pins, but not compatible with Socket 478.

pin arrangement is the same:

Socket AM2! (left) Socket 940! (right)

Mmhhh...now I'm confused. So I couldn't put a CPU made for AM2 in Socket 940. That's ok so far. But my problem now is: I found a Cooler which is listed only for 940. I mean, if the only difference is the pins it should also fit on Socket AM2, because the CPU is on the Socket and the cooler is on top of it.

Yes, an AM2 processor won't work in a Socket 940 motherboard, and vice versa, but as for your cooling, it should work, since both Socket AM2 and Socket 940 BOTH have the same clips

[Master Shake]

pin arrangement is the same:

Socket AM2! (left) Socket 940! (right)

Are you blind?

[Phemo]

pin arrangement is the same:

Socket AM2! (left) Socket 940! (right)

Yes, an AM2 processor won't work in a Socket 940 motherboard, and vice versa, but as for your cooling, it should work, since both Socket AM2 and Socket 940 BOTH have the same clips

Pin arrangement is not the same at all - look at the bottom left of both sockets. On AM2 the keyed part is 7 pins in from the left. On the 940 socket it is 5 pins in from the left.

Also, you're wrong - the retention mechanism for 940 and AM2 are different. Take a look at this HardOCP page for instance which details the different heatsink mounting:

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html...W50aHVzaWFzdA==

939/940 had only two holes for CPU mounting. AM2 has 4 holes.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

Are you blind?

ahh.. i didn't see that. i was looking at the heights.

the right side ones are flipped, and the left side ones are on the same row for the AM2

the 940 (right picture) the top right pin is one column to the right of the bottom one, and the left side blanks are a few off from one another.. i didn't see that

Also, you're wrong - the retention mechanism for 940 and AM2 are different. Take a look at this HardOCP page for instance which details the different heatsink mounting:

Depends on what you buy Alphacool NexXxoS supports 754/939/940/FX/Opt./AM2. while the SilverStone Nitrogon supports 478, LGA775, AMD Socket 754, 939, 940

it really depends on what you buy....

Edited April 13, 2007 by lylesback2

[Stylez Ray.]

Wow, those hardware guys are some crazy people. Basically my main question is answered, thank you guys. Still I wonder what's going on in their minds when they make so many Sockets, best exampel is Socket 940 and AM2. You really can't tell the difference when you don't look exactly at the pictures...

[edit]Phemo, thanks for confusing me once more!! :))

[Angel Blue01]

Why do thaty have to make these different sockets so similiar?

[Phemo]

Alphacool NexXxoS supports 754/939/940/FX/Opt./AM2. while the SilverStone Nitrogon supports 478, LGA775, AMD Socket 754, 939, 940

it really depends on what you buy....

A fair point. My old XP120 will fit on 478, 754/939/940, LGA775 and AM2 boards. It's down to the heatsink but if it doesn't specifically state AM2 I wouldn't take a chance on it due to the 2 and 4 hole differences.

[NextGen_Gamer]

Wow, those hardware guys are some crazy people. Basically my main question is answered, thank you guys. Still I wonder what's going on in their minds when they make so many Sockets, best exampel is Socket 940 and AM2. You really can't tell the difference when you don't look exactly at the pictures...

[edit]Phemo, thanks for confusing me once more!! :))

Yeah, I agree that sometimes it can get confusing. Just to clarify all of the information thus far, Socket AM2 and Socket 940 both have 940 physical pins on the them, but the pin arrangement is different. Therefore, a Socket AM2 processor will not fit into a Socket 940 motherboard, and vice versa. Also, Socket 940 (along with Socket 754 and Socket 939) and Socket AM2 use different RMs (retention mechanism) for their CPU heatsinks. So once again this means that a CPU heatsink designed for Socket 940/939/754 will not work on a Socket AM2 motherboard, and vice versa.

As for why this happens? A number of reasons, but the biggest of them is cost. Each one of those pins costs AMD money; they felt that having 940-pins was adequate for not only dual-core but also quad-core processors. In AMD's defense, they did try to not confuse potential customers by labeling the new one Socket AM2 (which, by the way, is what you should always refer to it as). However, they could have saved themselves a lot of confusion by just artificially adding one extra pin and calling it Socket 941 or something.