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There are so many aspects and parts that go into making a computing system your own. All of these parts create your system’s functionality, creativity, and storage.
One of the most important parts of your CPU system is the motherboard. The motherboard is the core of your CPU system. It processes and controls all of the electrical pulses around the CPU, similar to a heart.
Everything that happens in your CPU begins in the motherboard, so you must choose the best motherboard possible that suits the needs of your CPU. There are also aspects of the motherboard that change as technology changes — like CPU sockets.
CPU sockets are often varied and different for different Intel Core processors as well as AMD CPUs. These core processors change as technology develops and can help you have better processing no matter what you are using your CPU for. Here we will look at the LGA 1200 versus the LGA 1151.
Verdict: As you can see from the bullet points above, the LGA 1200 is a touch above the LGA 1151. This makes it a slightly better investment, as well as a product that will probably be more compatible with technologies in the future as it is a newer model. That means our winner is the LGA 1200!
The number of pins on a CPU socket is important. The number of pins indicates the connections between the motherboard and the processor at which the socket is facilitating. You want a higher speed so that you can get faster speeds on your CPU.
The LGA 1151 has 1151 pins located on the bottom of the socket itself. The LGA 1200, on the other hand, has 1,200 pins located on the rear of the motherboard. As you can see, there is a correlation between the name of the CPU socket and the number of pins connecting it to the motherboard.
This means that the LGA 1200 has more connections than the LGA 1151. Thus, the LGA 1200 wins this round for the number of pins!
Winner: LGA 1200
Memory capabilities are a huge aspect of motherboards, as well as a processor. The LGA 1151 H4 socket supports two RAMs. These RAMs are the DDR3 RAM and the DDR4 RAM.
On the other hand, the LGA 1200 only supports one RAM, the DDR4 RAM.
However, the LGA 1200 sockets are capable of supporting a wide range of techs, like the HEVC, the HDR, the VGI, and the VP9 10-bit. This makes it a little bit more flexible than the LGA 1151.
Overall, our winner for the memory support category has to go to the LGA 1200! Even though the LGA 1200 does not support as many are RAMs, it does support a variety of different techs, which is superior in our view.
Winner: LGA 1200
Compatibility is another important aspect of a CPU socket. Different sockets have different compatibility depending on the models that they are and the times that they were made. Technology advances quickly, and so sometimes newer CPU sockets do not support older systems.
The LGA 1151 socket is compatible with Intel’s Kaby Lake desktop CPU and the Skylake desktop CPU. The LGA 1200 is a modified LGA 1151 version and is compatible with the rocket Lake desktop CPU and the Comet Lake desktop CPU.
Interestingly, the processors based on both the LGA 1200 and the LGA 1151 are electrically incompatible! The LGA 1151 socket supports the 8th and 9th generation CPUs that are based on the Intel 300 chipset, like the Z390, H310, Z370, AND B360.
On the other hand, the LGA 1200 socket it’s only compatible with Intel core processors of the tenth generation, such as intel i3 10100, i5 10600k, i7 10700k, and the i9 10900k, as well as the Intel core processors in the 11th generation, like the i5-11400, i5-11600k, i7-11700k, and the i9-11900k.
Our winner for this category is once again going to be the LGA 1200 socket, simply because of its higher technicality and higher compatibility with newer systems and CPUs, as well as motherboards.
Winner: LGA 1200
Both the LGA 1151 socket and the LGA 1200 socket allow for overclocking. However, it should be noted that the LGA 1151 socket does have limited support for overclocking. The LGA 1200 socket is superior to the LGA 1151 socket.
Thus, our winner for overclocking category is the LG a1200 socket.
Winner: LGA 1200
The LGA 1151 CPU socket uses an orientation of the right with the heat sink securing holes in a square-shaped formation. The LGA 1200 CPU socket has 4 holes for the heatsink, which allow for the same cooling as the generation sockets before it, such as the 1151 LGA socket.
Since both models have the same capabilities for heat sink, there is no clear or decisive winner in this category. However, it could be said that the LGA 1200 is the winner in this category simply because it is newer.
Winner: Both
Overall, the winner of this competition is the LGA 1200. It is newer, more modified, and more adapted to changing technologies as well as new systems and motherboards.
The LGA 1151 is not a bad CPU socket. It is simply a little bit older and therefore not as adapted to newer technologies as they come out onto the market.
Both sockets are great and deserve praise nonetheless.
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