# item.guide
Side-by-Side Comparison Processors

ARM vs. LGA

Comparing 2 standards across 8 specifications. 8 key differences identified.

Comparing:
ARM
LGA

ARM is a family of RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) processor architectures, originally developed by Acorn Computers in the UK starting in 1983 as the Acorn RISC Machine. Unlike Intel or AMD, ARM Holdings doesn't manufacture chips -- it licenses its architecture designs to companies like Qualcomm, Apple, and Samsung, who build their own chips around it.

View full ARM spec sheet →

LGA (Land Grid Array) puts the pins on the socket rather than the chip -- the processor has flat contact pads instead of pins, reducing the risk of chip damage since a bent-pin problem falls on the cheaper motherboard rather than the CPU. Intel adopted it for desktop CPUs in 2004 with Socket 775.

View full LGA spec sheet →

Specification Comparison Table

8 Parameters
Parameter / Spec
Type
RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture family
Original Developer
Acorn Computers (UK)
Project Started
October 1983
Renamed
1990 (Acorn RISC Machine -> Advanced RISC Machines, on spinoff)
Business Model
Licenses architecture designs; does not manufacture chips
Pin Location
Socket (motherboard side); chip has flat contact pads ("lands")
Used By
Intel (desktop/server since 2004); AMD (Threadripper, EPYC, and Ryzen since AM5, 2022)
Introduced (Desktop)
2004 (Intel Socket 775 / LGA775)