PGA
Processors · 3 specs
Direct Answer
PGA (Pin Grid Array) puts the pins directly on the processor package, with the socket providing holes instead -- the inverse of LGA. AMD used PGA for its mainstream desktop sockets for years, including AM4, before shifting its mainstream line to LGA with AM5 in 2022.
Source: Socket packaging technology · Last reviewed Aug 28, 2026
Specs
| Pin Location | Chip package itself; socket has holes |
| Notable Example | AMD Socket AM4 (1331 pins) |
| AMD Transition to LGA | Late 2022 (Socket AM5) |
The Inverse Tradeoff of LGA
PGA packaging puts the pins on the processor itself, arranged in a regular grid on its underside, with the motherboard socket providing matching holes -- mechanically the reverse of LGA's arrangement. Because the pins are on the chip, a bent pin is a more consequential problem than with LGA: the CPU itself, typically the more expensive component, is what's at risk rather than the socket.
AMD used PGA packaging for its mainstream desktop CPU sockets for many years, including the widely-used Socket AM4 (a 1331-pin PGA socket) that spanned several generations of Ryzen processors. AMD's mainstream desktop line shifted from PGA to LGA with the introduction of Socket AM5 in late 2022, aligning it with the LGA approach Intel had already used for desktop chips since 2004.