LGA
Processors · 3 specs
Direct Answer
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.
Source: Socket packaging technology · Last reviewed Aug 28, 2026
Specs
| 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) |
Moving the Risk to the Cheaper Part
In an LGA socket, the pins live on the motherboard socket itself; the processor's underside has only flat gold-plated contact pads called "lands" that press against those pins when the CPU is clamped down. That arrangement reduces the chance of damaging the chip during handling or installation, since there are no pins on the CPU to accidentally bend -- and if pins do get bent, it's the socket, part of a comparatively inexpensive motherboard, rather than the CPU itself, usually the more expensive component to replace. Bent LGA socket pins remain a well-documented, real-world repair problem, just one that's cheaper to fix than a bent CPU.
Intel introduced LGA packaging for desktop CPUs in 2004 with Socket 775 (LGA775), moving away from the pin-on-chip designs it had used before. AMD used pin-based packaging for its mainstream desktop CPUs for many years afterward, only shifting to LGA for its mainstream Ryzen line with Socket AM5 in late 2022; AMD's higher-end Threadripper and EPYC server chips had already used LGA before that.