Voltage Identification Digital

Voltage Identification Digital or VID is a circuit concept developed to provide the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer with the appropriate supply voltage. Instead of having a power supply unit generate some fixed voltage, the CPU uses a small set of digital signals, the VID lines, to instruct an on-board power converter of the desired voltage level. The switch-mode buck converter then adjusts its output accordingly. The flexibility so obtained makes it possible to reuse the same power supply unit for CPUs with somewhat different nominal supply voltages and to reduce power consumption during idle periods by lowering the supply voltage.

For example, a unit with 5-bit VID would output one of at most 32 distinct output voltages. These voltages are usually (but not always) evenly spaced within a given range. Some of the code words may be reserved for special functions such as shutting down the unit, hence a 5-bit VID unit may have fewer than 32 output voltage levels. How the numerical codes map to supply voltages is typically specified in tables provided by component manufacturers. As of 2008 VID comes in 5-, 6- and 8-bit varieties and is mostly applied to power modules outputting between 0.5V and 3.5V.