Introduction:
With the advent of Intel releasing the LGA 1156 socket ASUS has launched nothing short of 17 different socket 1156 motherboards based on the newer P55 chipset. We decided to take this time to look at one of the more elite socket 1156 motherboards from ASUS, the P7P55D featuring SATA III, SLI and Crossfire, a remote for overclocking and a 48 Hybrid Phase cooling design. All together the P7P55D looks to be a mighty board but does it have true substance or is it just another board for ASUS to add to the market? Join me while I investigate and test the new ASUS the P7P55D Premium.
Specs:
| CPU | Intel® Socket 1156 Core™ i7 Processor/Core™ i5 Processor Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology |
| Chipset | Intel® P55 Express Chipset |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM, Max. 16 GB, DDR3 2200(O.C.)*/1600/1333/1066 Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory Dual Channel memory architecture Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) |
| Expansion Slots | 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (single at x16 or dual at x8/x8 mode) 2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 (2.5GT/s) 2 x PCI |
| Multi-GPU Support | Supports NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ Technology Supports ATI® Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ Technology |
| Storage | Intel® P55 Express Chipset built-in 6 xSATA 3.0 Gb/s ports Intel Matrix Storage Technology Support RAID 0,1,5,10 JMicron® JMB368 PATA controller 1 xUltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices Marvell® 88SE9123 SATA controller: – 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports (gray) |
| LAN | Dual Gigabit LAN controllers Realtek® 8112L / 8110SC Gigabit LAN controller featuring AI NET2 and Teaming |
| Audio | VIA® VT2020 10-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC – Absolute Pitch BD192/24 featuring ENVY HD – DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC – Supports Jack-Detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-Retasking – Coaxial / Optical S/PDIF out ports at back I/O |
| IEEE 1394 | VIA® 6308P controller supports 2 x 1394a ports (one at mid-board; one at back panel) |
| USB | 12 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 ports at mid-board, 8 ports at back panel) |
| ASUS Unique Features | ASUS Hybrid Processor – TurboV EVO – Auto Tuning, TurboV and Turbo Key – TurboV Remote ASUS 48 Hybrid Phase* – T.Probe Technology for Active Cooling – 32+3 Phase Power Design – 100% Ultra Long Life Japan-Made Solid Capacitors *48 Hybrid Phase = 32+3 Phase x T.Probe ASUS Hybrid OS – Express Gate SSD ASUS Xtreme Design ASUS Exclusive Features – MemOK! – ASUS EPU ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution – ASUS Fanless Design: Heat-pipe solution – ASUS Fanless Design: Stack Cool 3+ – ASUS Fan Xpert ASUS Crystal Sound – ASUS Noise Filter ASUS EZ DIY – ASUS Q-Shield – ASUS Q-Connector – ASUS O.C. Profile – ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 – ASUS EZ Flash 2 – ASUS MyLogo 2 – Multi-language BIOS ASUS Q-Design – ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED) – ASUS Q-Slot – ASUS Q-DIMM |
| Overclocking Features | Precision Tweaker 2 – vCore: Adjustable CPU voltage at 0.00625V increment – vIMC: Adjustable IMC voltage at 0.00625V increment – vDRAM Bus: 81-step DRAM voltage control – vPCH: 2-step chipset voltage control – vCPU_PLL: 4-step reference voltage control SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection) – PCI Express frequency tuning from 100MHz up to 200MHz at 1MHz increment – Internal Base Clock tuning from 80MHz up to 500MHz at 1MHz increment Overclocking Protection – ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall) |
| Back Panel I/O Ports | 1 x IEEE 1394a 2 x LAN(RJ45) port 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 10 -Channel Audio I/O 1 x PS/2 Keyboard port (Purple) 1 x PS/2 mouse port (Green) 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Output 1 x Optical S/PDIF Output 1 x Clear CMOS switch |
| Internal I/O Connectors | 2 x USB connectors support additional 4 USB ports 1 x IDE connector 1 x TPM connector 1 x IEEE 1394a connector 1 x CPU Fan connector 1 x Power Fan connector 1 x COM connector 6 x SATA 3.0Gb/s connectors (blue) 2 x SATA 6.0Gb/s connectors (gray) 2 x Chassis Fan connector (1×4-pin, 1×3-pin) Front panel audio connector 1 x S/PDIF Out Header 1 x CD audio in 1 x 24-pin ATX Power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector System Panel(Q-Connector) 1 x TURBO_CON header (for TurboV Remote) 1 x MemOK! button 1 x Power on switch 1 x Reset switch |
| BIOS | 16 Mb Flash ROM , AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI 2.0a, Multi-language BIOS, ASUS EZ Flash 2, ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 |
| Manageability | WfM 2.0,DMI 2.0,WOL by PME,WOR by PME,PXE |
| Accessories | User’s manual 1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable 1 x TurboV Remote 2 x Serial ATA 6.0Gb/s cables 4 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s cables 1 x 2-port USB and eSATA module ASUS Q-Shield 2 in 1 Q-connector 1 x ASUS SLI bridge connector |
| Support Disc | Drivers ASUS Update ASUS Utilities Anti-virus software (OEM version) |
| Form Factor | ATX Form Factor 12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm ) |
As you can see the new P7P55D Premium is one of the few new boards supporting 6 Gb/s on the new Marvell® 88SE9123 SATA controller.
The P7P55D Premium also plays host to an extensive list of features, ports, settings, and fine tuning software. It is quite obvious that Asus has intended this platform for enthusiasts intent upon overclocking their machine to its full potential. Given the ability for control over settings in the bios and through the added software we suspect that this is an excellent platform to accomplish just that.
What we find interesting is the combination of JMicron, Marvell, Intel, and even Via chipsets on this board. Perhaps Asus is trying a bit too hard here to extend the P7P55D Premium features to areas which it is not native to. We will see if this combination of chipsets and support affect its performance.
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