Low-infortion sockets (LIF) are literally IC sockets specially designed so the insertion force is low. As the pin count increases (e.g PGA or SPGA vs DIP) low insertion force changes from something handy for chips that are changed frequently to an almost essential feature. Package Diagram for 168-Pin PGA Embedded IntelDX2™ Processor The pin grid array or PGA is a type of packaging used for integrated circuits, particularly microprocessors. ... Staggered Pin Grid Array or SPGA is a style of socket used on some integrated circuits, usually CPUs. ... Dip has many meanings: Look up dip in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

As with an ordinary IC socket the integrated circuit is simply pushed into the socket, and levered out when removing. Most modern motherboard processor sockets are now zero insertion force (ZIF) rather than LIF. The reason many motherboards are going to the ZIF style rather than the LIF style is because the higher pin count meant that even with a low insertion force design the overall insertion force of the huge numbers of pins becomes too high for the chip to be easily inserted and removed. A motherboard, also known as a mainboard, system board, or logic boards on Apple Computers, and sometimes abbreviated as mobo (generally credited to the magazine Maximum PC) is the central or primary circuit board making up a complex electronic system, such as a modern computer. ... A ZIF socket ZIF is an acronym for Zero Insertion Force. ...