The Mother of All CPU Charts 2005/2006

Higher Thermal Power Loss Of Up To 130 Watts

James Watt, inventor of the steam engine, introduced power rating named after him.

In response to power related issues and high heat dissipation, Intel developed two new specifications for supplying the CPUs with power, which pertain to the fixed voltage regulators found on motherboards. This so-called Voltage Regulator Module Specification (VRM-Spec) exists in two versions for the socket LGA 775, namely 9.1 and 10.1, and the two differ with regard to maximum power drain.

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VRM SpecificationMaximum Power Drain
9 (Socket 478)68 A
9.1 (Socket 775)81 A (PRB = 0)
10.1 (Socket 775)120 A (PRB = 1)

The motherboard maker Gigabyte is the only company to offer an add-in card conforming to the VRM-Spec 9.1. Gigabyte calls this module U-Plus DPS, where DPS stands for Dual Power System.

Gigabyte's VRM-Spec 9.1 compliant U-Plus DPS module.

A technical rendering of the VRM Specification 9.1 from Intel's Design Guide.

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