setting up sockets and cores in VM

I am new to this company I now work for.   As I review their vSphere5 VM settings I came across this situation:

ESXi5 host has 2 sockets , each with 4 cores.

A VM has been created with its vProc settings at 8 sockets and  1 cores.   The VM appears to work fine but I have never come across such a setup.   In fact, as a general rule, I've always only used multiple sockets for very, very special cases.   I've normally left it at 1 socket with multiple cores.   So, I'm wondering what the ramifications are for this VM.  Any at all?

Thanks much