If your PC is having trouble booting up or recognizing installed memory, it could be caused by a bent pin that isn’t making contact with your CPU, among other potential issues. Some pins connect the CPU to memory via traces (lines of conductive metal) on your motherboard, while others are groups of power or ground pins. The memory controller lives on the CPU itself, but numerous other devices communicate with the CPU through the chipset, which controls many expansion slots, SATA connections, USB ports, and sound and network functions. Modern Intel motherboards connect CPUs directly to RAM, from which it fetches instructions from different programs, as well as to some expansion slots that can hold performance-critical components such as GPUs and storage drives.
(The name of the socket comes from the pin array: for example, the LGA 1151 socket, compatible with 9th Gen CPUs, has 1,151 pins.) Sockets vary in order to support different products based on generation, performance, and other factors by changing the pin array. When selecting a motherboard, check your CPU’s documentation to ensure the board is compatible with your CPU. (Not all motherboards have a socket, though: in systems with less space, like Intel® NUC and most laptops, the CPU is soldered into the motherboard.)
These include memory (RAM), storage, and other devices installed in expansion slots - both internal devices like GPUs and external devices like peripherals. Motherboards usually contain at least one processor socket, enabling your CPU (the PC’s mechanical “brain”) to communicate with other critical components.