Flip-Chip Pin Grid Array
Flip-chip pin grid array ( FC-PGA , FCPGA ) is a form of pin grid array in which the integrated circuit (IC) is attached to the top ( flip-chip , inverted, turned chip) of the carrier.
Originally, the ICs were often attached or wired on the side of the PGA facing the circuit board, but with increasing speed and increasing power dissipation of the processors, the actual processor core was attached to the top of the carrier and wired. Protected by a heat spreader , the waste heat could be released more directly to the heat sink on top .
With the introduction of the Pentium III and some Celeron models for the Socket 370 , Intel mainly referred to them as FCPGA processors regardless of the carrier material; the heat spreader was removed from these models in order to enable even more direct heat transfer to the heat sink. A heat spreader has been added to the Pentium III and Celeron processors with Tualatin core. ΜFCPGA ( socket 478 ) followed later .
In everyday language, the terms FC-PGA processor and Socket 370 processor have therefore become interchangeable and are not always used correctly in the technical sense.