Patent ID: 8164935

Claim:
A memory module adapted for use in a computer system having a system input voltage, the module comprising: a substrate; an edge connector on the substrate and comprising at least first and second input pins adapted to receive the system input voltage from the computer system; electrical connections on the substrate that tie the first and second input pins so that a voltage applied to one of the first and second input pins is also applied to the other of the first and second input pins; at least one memory component mounted on the substrate and electrically interconnected with the edge connector to receive a core supply voltage and an input/output supply voltage; and first and second voltage planes defined on the substrate and adapted to supply the core supply voltage and the input/output supply voltage to the memory component, the first voltage plane being connected to the first and second input pins of the edge connector for receiving the system input voltage therefrom, and the second voltage plane being connected through a voltage-altering device to the first voltage plane to receive a second voltage that is either higher or lower than the system input voltage of the first voltage plane, wherein one of the first and second voltage planes is connected to the memory component to supply the core supply voltage thereto and the other of the first and second voltage planes is connected to the memory component to supply the input/output supply voltage thereto.