Complicated processor specs

Anyone tried buying processors lately?

What an expensive fiasco this turned into for me. I ordered 10 motherboards and 10 Intel processors and upon recieving them promptly found out that no longer do you just need to look at socket pattern (Socket #) and front side bus speed there are now other variables that will stop a motherboard/ processor combo from POSTing. Now there is another number to match “the almighty PCG”, which as it explains below, will give you a rough guide as to the compatibility of a potential chip/mb combo. From Intel’s website I obtained the following:

“The PCG marking on the processor and processor box is used by Intel and third party board and component vendors as a common method to describe processor power requirements. PCG does not promise compatibility, but is an indication of processor electrical requirements. In addition to PCG requirements, processors have board support requirements such as chipset, BIOS, and pin considerations that can determine processor-board compatibility. Intel recommends that you contact your motherboard manufacturer to obtain a supported processor list when selecting a processor for your motherboard.”

Anyway the moral of the story is, before purchasing a motherboard/ processor combo make sure that the processors PCG number is compatible with your motherboard.

A useful tool for figuring this out can be found at : http://processorfinder.intel.com/

Tagged as: Celeron, compatibility, CPU, Intel, motherboard, PCG, Pentium