Socket G1 / Socket rPGA988A

Socket G1, or rPGA988A, is a socket for first generation of Nehalem-based mobile microprocessors. The socket was introduced in September 2009 along with the first three Core i7-branded mobile CPUs, and eventually it was used for Core 5, Core i3, mobile Pentium and mobile Celeron families. The rPGA988A works with dual- and quad-core chips, built on 45nm and 32nm technologies, and operating at frequencies up to 2.8 GHz. The socket supports DDR3 memory with data rates up to 1333 Mhz, and Direct Media Interface. Socket G1 was superceded by socket G2.

The socket has 988 pin holes, arranged as 35 x 36 grid, and with 18 x 15 section removed from the center of the grid. 2 pin holes at one corner of the socket are plugged. Similar to previous mobile sockets, the rPGA988A doesn't have a lever that locks the CPU in place. Instead, the socket has a special actuator that needs to be turned to lock or release the CPU.

Although the socket has the same number of pin holes as socket G2, they are not compatible with each other due to different position of one of the pin-holes.

Supported processors

All processors from the table below physically fit into the socket, but not all of them may be supported. Before upgrading to any CPU from this list please make sure that the CPU is compatible with your motherboard. See "Upgrading socket G1 motherboards" section below for information on how to determine what microprocessors can be supported by specific motherboard.

Model	Box part numbers	Technology (micron)	Cores	Frequency (MHz)	Turbo freq. (MHz)	L2 cache (KB)	L3 cache (KB)	TDP (Watt)
Core i3-330M		0.032	2	2133		512	3072	35
Core i3-350M		0.032	2	2267		512	3072	35
Core i3-370M		0.032	2	2400		512	3072	35
Core i3-380M		0.032	2	2533		512	3072	35
Core i3-390M		0.032	2	2667		512	3072	35
Core i5-430M		0.032	2	2267	2533	512	3072	35
Core i5-450M		0.032	2	2400	2667	512	3072	35
Core i5-520M	BX80617I5520M	0.032	2	2400	2933	512	3072	35
Core i5-460M		0.032	2	2533	2800	512	3072	35
Core i5-540M	BX80617I5540M	0.032	2	2533	3067	512	3072	35
Core i5-580M	BX80617I5580M	0.032	2	2667	3333	512	3072	35
Core i5-560M	BX80617I5560M	0.032	2	2667	3200	512	3072	35
Core i5-480M		0.032	2	2667	2933	512	3072	35
Core i7-720QM	BX80607I7720QM	0.045	4	1600	2800	1024	6144	45
Core i7-740QM	BX80607I7740QM	0.045	4	1733	2933	1024	6144	45
Core i7-820QM		0.045	4	1733	3067	1024	8192	45
Core i7-840QM	BX80607I7840QM	0.045	4	1867	3200	1024	8192	45
Core i7-620M		0.032	2	2667	3333	512	4096	35
Core i7-640M		0.032	2	2800	3467	512	4096	35
Core i7-920XM		0.045	4	2000	3200	1024	8192	55
Core i7-940XM		0.045	4	2133	3333	1024	8192	55
Mobile Celeron P4500		0.032	2	1867		512	2048	35
Mobile Celeron P4600		0.032	2	2000		512	2048	35
Pentium P6000		0.032	2	1867		512	3072	35
Pentium P6100		0.032	2	2000		512	3072	35
Pentium P6200		0.032	2	2133		512	3072	35
Pentium P6300		0.032	2	2267		512	3072	35

There are no CPUs from other manufacturers compatible with socket G1.

Compatible sockets

Socket 989 / rPGA989 (for motherboards supporting first generation of Core microprocessors, as well as mobile Celeron and Pentium CPUs based on Nehalem microarchitecture).

Compatible package types

988-pin micro-FCPGA10

Upgrading rPGA988A motherboards

To find out which microprocessors are supported by your computer you will need to determine make and model of your notebook, and then search on manufacturer's website for upgrade recommendations for that notebook model. Most manufacturers don't post CPU support information for notebooks, but sometimes you may find upgrade recommendations in manufacturer's product support forums. Also, try to send an e-mail to manufacturer's customer support, or post in other computer-related forums, but don't expect many responses. If this method doesn't work then use CPU-Z or similar program to determine chipset type in your laptop, and look for CPU support information for the chipset. CPU upgrade data for many Intel chipsets can be found on Intel chipsets section of CPU-Upgrade website, or on Intel website. Be careful because this method is less reliable.