"C32 is a new socket but it is based on the physical 1207 mechanics. This means that all of the tooling and development costs for the socket have been amortized and it is at a low cost. And partners know how to deal with it because they have been laying out with 1207 for years.

We swapped some pin assignments so that we could support DDR-3 and higher capacities of memory, so current DDR-2 parts will not work in the new sockets. We added some keying on the socket to ensure that 1207 fits in 1207 and C32 fits in C32, no mixing. That reduces the test matrix for customers and prevents them from having to support DDR-3 on older parts."

John Fruehe