How to Find out the Processor (CPU) Socket Type of Motherboard

When it comes to how to choose a right CPU for your computer, the CPU socket type of motherboard is one of the most significant factors that you must consider. The compatibility between processor and motherboard depends on if they have the same socket type. So, when you are intended to upgrade or purchase a new CPU, it is vitally necessary for you to know about the processor socket type of motherboard. In this post, we will show you how to find out CPU socket type of your motherboard in desktop and laptop.

Part 1: For desktop computer

For desktop computer, you need to identify the model name of motherboard or CPU firstly. According to motherboard or CPU model name, you can search it on Google for more specifications about it, from where you can find out the CPU socket type of motherboard easily. Take my desktop computer as an example, the model names of my motherboard and CPU are B360M and i3-8100 respectively. So, I searched "b360m specs" on Google. Then, I found out that the socket type of my motherboard is LGA1151 on the MSI official website. Similarly, you can also find the processor socket type of your motherboard by the model name of processor.

Part 2: For laptop computer

Every laptop has its own model. You can find out your motherboard socket type by searching for your laptop model specifications on the Internet. Generally speaking, there are so many websites from where you can check your laptop's detailed specs such as the laptop official website (Lenovo, ASUS), online marketplace (Amazon, eBay) and some IT websites (CNET, ZDNet). For example, I have found that the processor socket type of my laptop (DELL G7 17) is FCBGA1440 on the Dell official website. Actually, you can also identify your processor socket type by searching for the model name of processor or motherboard to get more details.

Part 3: A third-party utility

If you think the above ways are so troublesome, you can try to use a third-party utility named CPU-Z to identify processor socket type of motherboard. First of all, you need to download this utility and install it on your computer. After opening it, you can find out the processor socket type of motherboard on Processor section of CPU tab. As shown in the following figure. It is so convenient to check processor socket type of motherboard by CPU-Z.