Whether you’re trying to build a new gaming PC or just getting a brand-new CPU so your PC can run Microsoft Flight Simulator at more than a cinematic 24 FPS, you’ll have to deal with CPU sockets and compatibility. It's commonly known that every CPU socket is compatible with only two to four generations of processors, and this applies to both Intel and AMD chips. Before purchasing a new CPU, you have to make sure that your current motherboard supports it. If the socket on it doesn’t support the CPU you're going for, you’ll have to add a new gaming motherboard to the buying cart as well. In this guide, we’ll take a look at how you can identify the CPU socket on your motherboard, so you don’t end up with 2 incompatible PC parts.

Identifying the CPU socket without opening your PC

This is the easiest and most straightforward way to check the socket of your CPU. But for this to work, your PC must be able to turn on and has to be fully functioning with an operating system installed on it. This is the best method for you if you’re planning to upgrade your CPU and want to check whether your motherboard's socket will support the new processor.

Here’s how you can check the socket on both Windows 10 and 11:

  1. Open the Start Menu and click on Settings.
  2. Select System from the icons shown.
    Windows start menu open with settings button highlighted
    windows settings main menu with system button highlighted
  3. Click on About, which is the last button on the left panel.
  4. Under Device Specifications, you’ll see the name of your CPU next to the Processor section. Feel free to note it down somewhere for future reference as well.
    system menu in windows with about button highlighted on the left
    about section of windows settings with processor name highlighted
  5. Go online and search for the specifications of your processor online using its name. The most accurate and reliable specifications of your processor will be shown on its manufacturer’s official website.
  6. On the website, you’ll should find all the specifications of your processor as well as the name of its socket. This CPU socket is the one your current motherboard has.
    search results for ryzen 5 1400 specifications with official amd website highlighted
    specifications for ryzen 5 1400 with socket name am4 highlighted

If your PC is functioning but doesn’t have an operating system on it, you can also check for the name of the processor through the BIOS of your motherboard. You can access this by pressing a specific key, which is usually the Del, F1, F2, or F10 key during startup. These keys vary with motherboard manufacturers but are usually shown underneath the manufacturer’s logo during the startup. The UI of the BIOS of every motherboard manufacturer is different, but you should easily be able to find the name of your CPU somewhere on the main screen. Once you have your processor's name, search online for its specification on your phone or tablet to find the socket.

Once you have the info about your CPU socket, you can simply search for all the processors supported by that socket. Your upgrade path can either be a generational upgrade or a tier upgrade from an i5 to an i7 and vice versa. Tier upgrades are within the same generation, and for those, you don’t need to worry about CPU sockets and compatibility. A motherboard that supports the Intel Core i5 12600k will also support an i7 12700k and even an i9 12900k, as they all belong to the 12th gen. With generational upgrades, there’s always a chance that a newer CPU generation came out with its own socket, so checking for compatibility here is a no-brainer.

Identifying the CPU socket using the parts

This method can get a bit tricky and involves a some conditions. Here, we’ll be using your PC parts, the CPU or the motherboard, to identify the socket. For this, if you can't find the name of your motherboard among the numerous labels, you might have to remove the CPU heat sink and thermal paste to gain access to the CPU and socket name, which will take quite some time.

Hence, this method is only recommended if your PC has stopped functioning, and you are unable to turn it on. Here’s how to open your PC:

  1. Remove any power cables from your PC.
    backside of a pc with power cable plugged out and switch turned off
  2. Open the side panel of your PC casing. The side panel might have 2–4 screws, either in front of the glass panel or the rear of your PC.
    taking screws off of the pc case glass
  3. Try to find the name of your motherboard if you can. You might need a flashlight or your phone’s torch for this. This might be particularly difficult to find if you’re using a mini-ITX motherboard or an OEM motherboard from Dell or HP, and you might have to move around some of your PC components like the GPU.
    picture of a motherboard with its name highlighted and a gpu on top
  4. If you’ve had no success with that, then you’ll have to gain access to the processor. Use a screwdriver to remove the heat sink. Depending on your heat sink and whether it's an AIO heat sink or not, you may have to deal with 2–4 screws.
    picture of an aio heatsink with its two screws highlighted
  5. Once the CPU is exposed, use a microfiber cloth to remove any residual thermal paste on it. You should be able to see the name of the processor. In most motherboards, you’ll find the socket name somewhere on the socket itself.
    picture of a ryzen 5 5600x processor with its name highlighed and socket name on top highlighed

If you couldn't to find the socket name, then just use the motherboard name or the processor name online and use the manufacturer's specifications to find the socket.

The sheer variety of CPU sockets

Unless you’re buying a used processor that’s more than 4–5 years old, you only need to know about the newest socket and the one that preceded it, as these sockets will be compatible with most CPUs currently in the market.

For AMD processors, the newest socket is AM5, which supports the Ryzen 7000 series processors and will continue to support new processors until 2026. Their older, AM4 socket supports processors starting from 1st-gen Ryzen to Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 series CPUs. Intel is a bit notorious for rapidly changing CPU sockets. Team Blue's newest socket is called LGA 1700, and it supports Intel’s 12th-gen to 14th-gen processors. The preceding socket, LGA 1200 supports 10th and 11th gen processors only.

For your next motherboard upgrade, you might want to consider the best motherboards for overclocking your CPU.