The rumor mill kicked into high gear last week when several sites, corroborated by evidence from unnamed PC OEMs, claimed some of Intel's future desktop CPUs would forgo processor sockets in favor of being soldered directly to motherboards. This move would theoretically render end users and system builders unable to swap out processors on their own.
At the time Intel had no official statement on the matter, but the company has now gone on the record with Maximum PC: “Intel remains committed to the growing desktop enthusiast and channel markets, and will continue to offer socketed parts in the LGA package for the foreseeable future for our customers and the Enthusiast DIY market. However, Intel cannot comment on specific long-term product roadmap plans at this time, but will disclose more details later per our normal communication process.”
Intel's response was likely prompted not just by the persistent rumors but also because its competitors were seizing the opportunity to promote their products at Intel's expense. Gary Silcott, Senior Manager of Client Products at AMD, reached out to us on this topic earlier this week.
"AMD has a long history of supporting the DIY and enthusiast desktop market with socketed CPUs and APUs that are compatible with a wide range of motherboard products from our partners," Silcott told Ars. "That will continue through 2013 and 2014 with the 'Kaveri' APU and FX CPU lines. We have no plans at this time to move to BGA only packaging and look forward to continuing to support this critical segment of the market."
While Intel's statement should calm enthusiasts nervous about soldered-on CPUs, it's worth noting the company's remarks change basically nothing about what we already knew. Last week's rumors didn't suggest Intel would immediately cease to manufacture all socketed desktop processors when the Broadwell architecture is launched in 2014, and Intel's statement doesn't preclude the possibility that some of its CPUs will indeed use the soldered-on BGA package rather than the socketed LGA package. By the same token, Intel's "foreseeable future" timetable is vague enough that it could mean virtually anything.
Even if CPUs do become non-upgradeable as I believe they eventually will, many of you pointed out in the comments section you didn't generally upgrade your processors without upgrading your motherboards anyway. Since Intel's new CPU architectures often bring new processor sockets with them, the practical effect of this move for enthusiasts might be overblown. At any rate, Intel says it's not something you'll have to worry about just yet.
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