Super Socket 7

[1] Compatible motherboards and chipsets use a standard Socket 7 connection for the CPU, while adding certain features including a maximum 100 MHz front-side bus and support for AGP graphics cards.

Intel had hoped by discontinuing Socket 7 development and moving to Slot 1 that AMD would be left with an outdated platform, making their processors non-competitive.

[citation needed] By extending the FSB from 66 to 100 MHz, Super Socket 7 gave AMD the stopgap solution they needed while developing their own independent motherboard infrastructure, Slot A.

[2] While the architecture was cheap, and served the intended purpose, many of the third party chipsets provided by VIA, SiS, ALi, and others, were of low quality, especially with regard to the AGP implementations.

[citation needed] The reputation AMD gained for buggy, incompatible motherboards lingered, and though an internal program by VIA to raise standards for their chipsets had begun to show results in the K6-III and Pentium III era, AMD put in place a quality assurance program for the Athlon processor.