The pins in the socket are actually more complicated. Every pin is actually a kind of spring[1], so it stays in contact with the CPU when it is pushed on them.

The pins in the socket are actually more complicated. Every pin is actually a kind of spring[1], so it stays in contact with the CPU when it is pushed on them. They are not very hard to bend if you drop the CPU on them by mistake - but instead of a (maybe) unusable CPU you can have an unusable motherboard. The odds of unusable equipment is actually low, as most of the pins are just for power. [1] https://lh3.ggpht.com/-omZKyfVo6YE/T7IiJnDdwZI/AAAAAAAAAco/WODnQlwCxBg/s1600/becnt2closeup.JPG https://lh3.ggpht.com/-omZKyfVo6YE/T7IiJnDdwZI/AAAAAAAAAco/W...