Building A System from Scratch, Part 2 - Placing the processor
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Next up is the processor. The processor you bought will have a specific number of pins on the bottom of it, and your motherboard must have the same number of corresponding holes. A Pentium chip will not fit onto a motherboard intended for an AMD, so make sure you buy a compatible processor. On your processor will be a notch on one corner; there will be a corresponding notch on the socket on the motherboard, so make sure these are aligned.
There will also be a lever or flap on the processor socket on the motherboard; this will need to be in the up or open position. Simply place the processor in the correct place and close the lever or flap. If aligned correctly, it will slip gently and smoothly into place; if this does not appear to be the case, stop and check the alignment. Snapping off just one of the pins will irreparably damage the processor.
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