So the i7 comes in LGA 1156, LGA 1366, and µPGA-989 (wikipedia). I recently purchased an i7 using the 1156 version, and a new motherboard to go with it. Did I just screw myself out of forwards compatibility with my choice of motherboard? What, if any, is the difference between the sockets? edit: fixed my link

Quote: Original post by DaedalusOwnsYou
Did I just screw myself out of forwards compatibility with my choice of motherboard?

Does it matter?

Very few people swap out processors. There are very few changes that people do to computers. People generally add memory, or maybe replace a video card, but not swap out CPUs.

Are you one of those extremely rare people who will swap out a CPU?


Most of us will buy a complete machine (and get the benefit of faster bus, faster ram, faster video card, faster disks, and faster everything else) rather than upgrade a CPU.

I suppose I'm not, especially considering I'm buying the CPU and motherboard together, and I bought my current CPU and motherboard together. Thanks for talking sense, frob.

well, while I agree I prob wouldn't swap out procs for my current machine, I'm personally very big on re-purposing old equipment. So if I buy a mobo I'd like it to be as forward-compatible as possible in case, when I replace it, I also want to swap out for a newer proc when I use it to build a media server or network server or something.

Anyways, yes you might have dead-ended that mobo. I can't ever remember which socket is good for future i7 and which isn't. Good i7 information over here tho (including answer to your question):
http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=562061

A word of advice --
Any processor manufacturer who tells you that a socket is going to be forward compatible for a while is full of shit.

Sockets come and go at insane rates, for good technical reasons, and there's no indication of change coming anytime soon. Even if the socket does last a long time, the rest of the system tends to change enough that things aren't compatible across much of a range. The good news is you've picked Intel's latest mainstream socket, so it's also likely to be the longest lasting, more or less.

Apart from that, 1366 is a waste of money compared to 1156 for most situations. For a workstation, 1366 is only worth it if you're actually planning to run six sticks of memory. If not, 1156 is the best choice right now, period.

Thanks for advice.