!UPDATE! abit AW9D-Max (retail) arrived

[fgw]

I should be OK then. The strange thing is that I started beeing stable at 1.75, after 2 months I needed to go to 1.8 and then now I nedd 1.85 to get it stable, I don.t understand what couses this. Nothing has changed , mem is OK. Could ther be any problems with voltage regulators , are they slowly wearing down? Coused be heat. I'm watercooled and have stock cooling on NB with a 40mm fan on top of NB.

intel specifies the 975x chipset functional operating voltage up to 1.575v and the absolute maximum rating up to 1.65v.
taking voltage drop on the motherboard into account, you are leaving intel specified voltage ranges above 1.70v vmch selected in bios.

this is from intels data sheet:
At conditions exceeding absolute maximum and minimum ratings, neither functionality nor long-term reliability can be expected. Moreover, if a device is subjected to these conditions for any length of time then, when returned to conditions within the functional operating condition limits, it will either not function, or its reliability will be severely degraded.

as this chipset is around not that long, nobody (maybe besides intel itself) has experience on longterm effects running voltages outside this ranges.
some users already reported the same symptoms you are experiencing right now. they all used high voltages, either on the chipset or on the processor or most likely on both of them and had to increase voltage from time to time in order to keep their system stable.
i can't say the reason for this is the fact that they run their components at higher voltages as they are rated for, but who knows ...
don't get me wrong, i'm not telling you don't do that, it's up to you. just keep in mind, to use a dmm to check real voltages (as the readings in bios and various utilities are way off) and take care of sufficient cooling.
i myself try to stay within intel specs as long as possible, but if i want even higher clocks i won't hesitate a second and rise voltages as high as needed! currently running an e6400@3600MHz at 1,50v on the quadgt.

hey, we are on xtremesystems and i don't plan to use my processor or chipset for my whole life. it's very likely i upgrade within the next 12 months anyway, so i don't care if i kill my processor or chipset a few days earlier ...