Hardware leaker @momomo_us has shared a diagram of what appears to be Intel's forthcoming LGA1200 socket. The new socket will house the chipmaker's Comet Lake-S desktop processors, which could potentially drop in the first quarter of next year.
The LGA1200 socket, also known as Socket H5, is set to replace the current LGA1151 socket that was introduced with Intel's Skylake processors. Just as its name implies, the LGA1200 socket comes with 1,200 protruding pins, 49 more than the LGA1151 socket.
The mechanical diagrams show that the LGA1200 and LGA1151 socket share similar dimensions. The mounting mechanism is most likely the same as well. This should come as music to Comet Lake adopters' ears as existing CPU coolers that support the LGA115x socket should fit just fine on the new LGA1200 socket. Sadly, they'll still need to spill out cash for a new Intel 400-series motherboard.
Intel is introducing its first mainstream 10-core desktop chip with the Comet Lake. lineup. For this reason, it's important to make sure your cooling solution is capable of handling Comet Lake's increased TDP (thermal design power) before recycling it.
Comet Lake-S CPU (Image credit: momomo/Imgur)
@momomo_us previously tweeted a photograph of the land grid array for Comet Lake. Apparently, Intel was able to squeeze in 49 additional pins without modifying the size of the contacts by utilizing the available space on the fiberglass substrate. The added pins are suppose to improve power delivery and support expanded I/O capabilities.
The contact points and notches for the LGA1200 package are located differently in comparison to the LGA1151 package. It seems impossible to get a Comet Lake chip to work on a previous Intel motherboard.
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Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.
Smart move by Intel to allow the CPU coolers to carry over. Also saw an article recently where the graphics on new Intel CPU may be compatible with essentially SLI with their upcoming discrete Intel GPUs. Both seem like smart moves.
