CPU axis perpendicular to the MB vs CPU axis parallel to the MB.
 

Hi:

In desktops, CPUs are generally horizontally mounted on the main board (that is, it's axis of simetry perpendicular to the plane of the main board). I'll call this horizontal mount. In others, instead, I've seen a socket on the MB holding a small vertical board and, on this board, CPU and fan (call it vertical mount).

Does the fact that a desktop computer uses vertical mount say anything? Thanks.

It mostly says that it is an older computer (at least in the x86-world). The vertical mounted processors are either Slot 1 (Intel Celeron, Pentium 2 and early Pentium 3) or Slot A (early AMD Athlon).

Sounds like you are describing a 'slot' CPU mount, not the standard 'socket' CPU mount.

As far as 'desktop systems, slot CPUs were used by intel ('slot 1'- pentium 2, pentium 3) and AMD ('slot a'- athlon). Intel and AMD both got rid of slot mounted CPUs due to cost. intel went back to socket 370, AMD went on to socket a.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slot_1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slot_A

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socket_370
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socket_A

About all that a slot CPU mount says is that its a fairly old system.

Intel Celeron is the case of a computer I have at home with vertical mount.

Not that many celerons with a slot 1- only the 300'A' to 433, and the original 'Covington' 266 and 300s. The 300A-433 are Ok, though a bit slow now. The 'Covington' celerons are some of the worst CPUs intel has ever made, they are slower than most Pentiums.

Its also possible that you have a 'slocket' (slot to socket adapter)-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slotket

Well, it is a printed circuit board (PCB) which is plugged into the MB slot. On this PCB, there is a socket w/ the CPU.

Thanks.

Thats a slocket. ;)

Does this look familiar ;)?

http://www.cpu-museum.de/?m=Intel&f=Celeron

It's a nice page. Thanks very much. The processor CPUID instruction gives family, model and stepping for the CPU it is running on. OTOH, in /var/log/dmesg there is the lineI think this line gives the three pieces of info: Celeron implies Family 6. 1100MHz implies Model 11 and the stepping is explicitly given.

If this is the case, one of the processors I have is family 6, model 11, stepping 6 (the one with the slocket) and the other is family 6, model 11, stepping 1. This, I think, does not uniquely defines them, cause CPUID gives other data besides these.

The model value does not relate to the speed of the CPU.

OK. But why at boot time the stepping is displayed and not the model? The model is more important than the stepping.

Nope.

Family is the CPU generation. Not really used anymore by intel as far as I know, the last time intel changed the family was when they moved from pentium (family 5) to pentium pro (family 6)

Model is the manufacturing and design.

Stepping is just for design or manufacturing revisions.

http://www.intel.com/support/process.../CS-007619.htm

OK. But can Linux or can he not give me the CPU model? For it seems it cannot. Why does he not display it at boot time?

To see the complete info of your CPU just type this into a terminal:

Because model number doesnt mean much to anybody? 'Family 6, Model 28, Stepping 2', that doesnt help anybody. 'Intel Atom 230', that means something.