Quote: "VRM 11 Required For 45-nm Processors" "One reason for varying processor support is the voltage regulator circuit of 3-series motherboards. It needs to be VRM 11.0 compliant, which is key when it comes to 45-nm processor support. Let me say that the problem isn't decreasing voltage levels, but strong power fluctuation due to millions of transistors clocking up and down, or switching on and off. Remember that future quad-core processors will be able to dynamically adjust clock speeds for each core individually, and switch cores on and off depending on the workload." "This also means that any 965 motherboard that is VRM 11 compliant can technically support 45-nm processors. VRM 11 says that the circuit is programmed using 8-bit voltage IDs (VID), allowing for 0.00625 V voltage increments. The minimum operating voltage isn't 0.8375 V (as in VRM 10), but goes down all the way to 0.5 V. VRM 11 also comes with the option to share the load across more phases, and the circuit runs so-called dual edge modulation, which means that the controllers send multiple impulses to the transistors while using smaller capacitors. The goal isn't just to provide smaller voltage increments and less voltage for the 45-nm processor generation, but also to provide sufficient power at voltage levels that may switch frequently. This can be done by specifying tight slew rates." http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/05/21/intel_intro s_3-series_chipsets_with_fsb1333_and_ddr3/page4.ht mlTom's Hardware "Intel Intros 3-Series Chipsets with FSB1333 and DDR3"