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The Super Socket 7, also referred to as Super 7, is an extension of the Socket 7
Socket 7

Socket 7 is a physical and electrical specification for an x86-style Central processing unit socket on a personal computer motherboard. The socket supersedes the earlier Socket 5, and accepts Pentium microprocessors manufactured by Intel, as well as compatibles made by Cyrix/IBM, AMD, Integrated Device Technology and others....
 ZIF socket specification. It features a 100 MHz front-side bus, support for AGP
Accelerated Graphics Port

The Accelerated Graphics Port is a high-speed point-to-point channel for attaching a :Category:Graphics cards to a computer's motherboard, primarily to assist in the acceleration of 3D computer graphics....
, and a SPGA package. Super Socket was used by AMD K6-2 and K6-III processors, and some of the final Cyrix
Cyrix

Cyrix was a Central processing unit manufacturer that began in 1988 in Richardson, Texas as a specialist supplier of high-performance math coprocessors for Intel 80286 and Intel 80386 systems....
 M-II processors. It is backward compatible
Backward compatibility

In technology, for example in telecommunications and computing, a device or technology is said to be backwards compatible if it allows input generated by older devices....
 with Socket 7, meaning a Socket 7 CPU can be used with a Super Socket 7 motherboard, but a Super Socket 7 CPU cannot operate at full speed in a Socket 7 motherboard.






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The Super Socket 7, also referred to as Super 7, is an extension of the Socket 7
Socket 7

Socket 7 is a physical and electrical specification for an x86-style Central processing unit socket on a personal computer motherboard. The socket supersedes the earlier Socket 5, and accepts Pentium microprocessors manufactured by Intel, as well as compatibles made by Cyrix/IBM, AMD, Integrated Device Technology and others....
 ZIF socket specification. It features a 100 MHz front-side bus, support for AGP
Accelerated Graphics Port

The Accelerated Graphics Port is a high-speed point-to-point channel for attaching a :Category:Graphics cards to a computer's motherboard, primarily to assist in the acceleration of 3D computer graphics....
, and a SPGA package. Super Socket was used by AMD K6-2 and K6-III processors, and some of the final Cyrix
Cyrix

Cyrix was a Central processing unit manufacturer that began in 1988 in Richardson, Texas as a specialist supplier of high-performance math coprocessors for Intel 80286 and Intel 80386 systems....
 M-II processors. It is backward compatible
Backward compatibility

In technology, for example in telecommunications and computing, a device or technology is said to be backwards compatible if it allows input generated by older devices....
 with Socket 7, meaning a Socket 7 CPU can be used with a Super Socket 7 motherboard, but a Super Socket 7 CPU cannot operate at full speed in a Socket 7 motherboard. Socket 5
Socket 5

Socket 5 was created for the second generation of Intel Pentium processors operating at speeds from 75 to 133 MHz as well as certain Pentium OverDrive and Pentium MMX processors....
 CPUs are pin-compatible with Super Socket 7, but not all motherboards designed for Super Socket 7 supported the voltages needed for Socket 5 CPUs.

While AMD had previously always used Intel sockets for their processors, Socket 7 was the last one for which AMD retained legal rights. Intel had hoped by discontinuing Socket 7 development and moving to Slot 1
Slot 1

Slot 1 refers to the physical and electrical specification for the connector used by some of Intel's microprocessors, including the Celeron, Pentium II and the Pentium III....
 that AMD would be left with an outdated platform, making their processors non-competitive. By extending the FSB from 66 to 100 MHz, Super Socket 7 gave AMD the stopgap solution they needed while developing their own independent motherboard
Motherboard

A motherboard is the central printed circuit board in some complex electronic systems, such as modern personal computers. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, or, on Apple Inc....
 infrastructure, Slot A
Slot A

Slot A refers to the physical and electrical specification for a 242-lead single-edge-connector used by early versions of AMD's Athlon processor....
.

While the architecture was cheap, and served the intended purpose, many of the third party chipsets provided by VIA
VIA Technologies

VIA Technologies is a Taiwanese manufacturer of integrated circuits, mainly motherboard chipsets, Central processing unit, and computer memory, and is part of the Formosa Plastics Group....
, SiS
SIS

The initials SIS may stand for:...
, and others, were of low quality, especially in regard to the AGP implementations. The reputation AMD gained for buggy incompatible motherboards lingered, and though an internal program in VIA
VIA

Via or VIA may refer to one of the following:...
 to raise standards for their chipsets had begun to show results in the K6-III and Pentium III
Pentium III

The Pentium III brand refers to Intel's 32-bit x86 desktop and mobile microprocessors based on the sixth-generation Intel P6 microarchitecture introduced on February 26, 1999....
 era, AMD put in place a quality assurance
Quality Assurance

Quality assurance, or QA for short, refers to planned and systematic production processes that provide confidence in a product's suitability for its intended purpose....
 program for the Athlon
Athlon

Athlon is the brand name applied to a series of different x86 Central processing unit designed and manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices. The original Athlon was the first seventh-generation x86 processor and, in a first, retained the initial performance lead it had over Intel Corporation's competing processors for a significant period of t...
 processor.