It is something that many will be scaling, others will raise their hands to their heads and in the last cases a question mark would be floating in the head of some. Such a simple question can lead us to wrong conclusions, so let’s start with it: is it possible to install an AMD processor on an Intel motherboard? Let’s see it.
Don’t ask yourself why, ask yourself how in any case. It may seem like an obvious answer, but many users have this doubt and when it comes to building a PC they don’t understand the differences and of course something as basic as sockets cannot be understood. So with that said, let’s answer the question.
An AMD processor on an Intel motherboard, real or fake?
Well, as you may well have glimpsed in the above, installing an AMD processor on an Intel motherboard, regardless of the manufacturer, is literally impossible. There are many reasons for this, so we’ll start with the most obvious, the socket.
This component inside a motherboard makes it impossible for an AMD CPU to be installed on an Intel-ready motherboard. Physical differences, pin differences and of course architectures make this impossible. It is like wanting to fit one piece of a puzzle with another, where they only have in common that they are that, pieces, you can force them, break them, but it is not their place nor will they fit well and of course the fact of making said puzzle will not work.
This is a bit similar and is something that has not happened at any time in the history of processors and motherboards, and will not happen in the future for obvious reasons of competition.
Why don’t Intel and AMD work on a common socket for their CPUs?
Well, it would be a brilliant idea, same weapons, same pins, same socket, interchangeable processors, same buses and technologies. It sounds so good that it is better to wake up from sleep sooner. The reality is that as we say, we will never see an AMD processor on an Intel motherboard and the reasons are varied.
First of all, neither cares about compatibility . They have different strategies, different budgets, different market segmentations, that is, two ways of understanding the same purpose. Each one invests billions in R&D in architecture and takes different steps with it, this makes all the difference in processors, whether for better or worse, but above all it marks the socket that will finally be used, since the number of pins is not input limited and is therefore a free system.
Creating a single socket to be able to install an AMD processor on an Intel motherboard or vice versa would create the same effect that occurs in the other protocols, buses and slots on the market: a slowdown based on the standardization of all market players that neither companies neither individuals want.
When you buy a processor you expect a jump in performance, well, standardizing a CPU to a socket breaks with this premise, because the jumps in performance would be much smaller and longer over time due to the limitations of sticking to a design for you and for your rival. That is why we said before that installing an AMD processor on an Intel motherboard is something that we will never see.
