AMD's Bulldozer CPUs to Require New Socket, But Don't Fret Too Much

The hype for AMD’s new Bulldozer CPUs is gradually mounting. The Bulldozer will be an 8-core processor built with a 32nm process. For Intel, a new CPU line generally means a new socket line. This is not necessarily true for AMD. AMD tries their hardest to keep the sockets the same, and with Bulldozer they’ve fallen just short of that. Currently AMD uses the AM3 socket, but Bulldozer will use the AM3+ socket. AMD has assured backward compatibility, meaning older AM3 processors will work in AM3+ boards, and the AM3+ processors will work in AM3 boards (but performance won’t be as good as it could be). On top of the increase compatibility, AMD will release AM3+ boards early so that if you’re upgrading soon, you’ll be good when Bulldozer comes along if you want to upgrade to that. Just as a note, the Llano APUs will not use AM3+ but a new socket called FM1.