Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardCPU Architecture Cooling and Sockets

A desktop technician is performing maintenance on an enterprise workstation experiencing thermal shutdowns. Upon unlatching the CPU retaining lever and removing the heat sink, the technician observes that the processor underside features flat gold contact pads with no protruding pins, while the motherboard socket houses an array of delicate, spring-loaded pins beneath a hinged load plate. Additionally, the replacement CPU has a high Thermal Design Power (TDP) rating of 125 W125\text{ W} operating inside a small-form-factor chassis. Which socket architecture is present on this motherboard, and which thermal management solution is most appropriate for this processor?

  1. Land Grid Array (LGA) socket, paired with an active cooling system utilizing heat pipes and a fan assembly.Answer
  2. B
    Pin Grid Array (PGA) socket, paired with a passive aluminum heatsink without a fan.
  3. C
    Ball Grid Array (BGA) socket, paired with direct thermal interface material application without a radiator or heatsink.
  4. D
    Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) PGA socket, paired with SO-DIMM thermal conduction pads.

Answer

The motherboard utilizes a Land Grid Array (LGA) socket, and the processor requires an active cooling system with heat pipes and a fan assembly.
The correct answer identifies the socket as Land Grid Array (LGA) because the spring-loaded pins are located on the motherboard socket while the processor package features flat contact pads. It also specifies an active cooling solution with heat pipes and a fan, which is mandatory for safely cooling a high-TDP (125 W125\text{ W}) processor in a small-form-factor case.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the physical CPU socket architecture from the hardware description.
The presence of flat gold contact pads on the processor package and pins located inside the motherboard socket indicates an LGA (Land Grid Array) design.
In LGA systems, the delicate pins reside within the motherboard socket under a lever-operated load plate, protecting the CPU package from bent pins.
2
Evaluate thermal cooling requirements based on processor TDP and chassis envelope.
A high TDP rating of 125 W125\text{ W} generates significant thermal energy that requires active heat transport.
Passive heatsinks cannot dissipate 125 W125\text{ W} efficiently in compact enclosures; active cooling with liquid-filled heat pipes and forced-air fans is necessary to prevent thermal throttling.

Key Concept

LGA socket pin placement and active thermal management selection for high-TDP processors
Rate this question

Topics

CPU Architecture Cooling and Sockets

More questions from this topic