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IT Support & Hardware · Advanced

Voltage Regulator Module (VRM)

Motherboard circuitry that converts 12 V from the PSU into the low voltages needed by the CPU.

Definition

VRMs step 12 V down to around 1 V for CPU cores using multiple phases of MOSFETs, chokes, and capacitors. Better VRMs support higher sustained power for high-end or overclocked CPUs. VRMs have heat sinks and can throttle when they overheat.

Example

A budget board's VRM overheating causes a 16-core CPU to throttle under load.

Exam tip

Insufficient VRM capacity can cause throttling even when CPU temperatures look fine.

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