P55 On A Budget: Five Core i5/i7 Motherboards For $100-$150
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Page 1:Core i7 (And i5) For The Value Crowd?
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Page 2:Features Comparison
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Page 3:ASRock P55 Pro
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Page 4:Asus P7P55D
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Page 5:ECS P55H-A
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Page 6:Gigabyte P55-UD3R
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Page 7:MSI P55-CD53
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Page 8:Hardware And Software Configuration
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Page 9:Benchmark Results: Crysis And Far Cry 2
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Page 10:Benchmark Results: Clear Sky And World In Conflict
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Page 11:Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding
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Page 12:Benchmark Results: Productivity
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Page 13:Benchmark Results: Synthetic
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Page 14:BIOS, Overclocking, Power And Heat
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Page 15:The Perils Of Overclocking
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Page 16:Conclusion
Hardware And Software Configuration
Test System Configuration | |
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CPU | Intel Core i7-870 (2.93 GHz, 8.0MB Cache) |
CPU Cooler | Thermalright MUX-120 |
RAM | Kingston KHX2133C9D3T1K2/4GX (4GB) |
Graphics | XFX GeForce GTX 285 XXX Edition |
Hard Drive | Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS, 300GB |
Sound | Integrated HD Audio |
Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
Power | CORSAIR CMPSU-850HX |
Software | |
OS | Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 |
Graphics | Nvidia Forceware 190.62 WHQL |
Chipset | Intel INF 9.1.1.1014 |
Intel sent a sample of its highest-speed LGA 1156 processor specifically for our motherboard comparisons. Unlike earlier LGA 1366 engineering samples, these have memory multipliers unlocked up to 6x base clock, just like their retail counterparts. We enabled Intel Turbo Boost, EIST, and the highest available C-States for each motherboard, since the last two settings are required to get the most out of Turbo.
Intel also sent Thermalright’s MUX-120 CPU cooler, a part the manufacturer claims is all-new and designed specifically for LGA 1156 in spite of its subsidiary brand.
One thing we must note about the MUX-120 is that it doesn’t fit some motherboards properly. Its fan blocked the closest memory slot of ECS’ P55H-A, along with that of an upcoming higher-model board.
Similar to its previous triple-channel parts, Kingston now offers DDR3-2133 that’s pre-tested at a lower CPU Uncore frequency of 1.30 V in these dual-channel kits. We used two sets to determine each motherboard’s highest stable DRAM frequency.
Western Digital’s VelociRaptor keeps churning out good numbers. In spite of the price premium one pays for 10,000 RPM rotating speeds, this is still an economical alternative to high-performance solid-state drives (SSD).
Benchmark Configuration | |
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3D Games | |
Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool |
Far Cry 2 | Patch 1.03, DirectX 10, in-game benchmark |
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky | Clear Sky Benchmark version |
World in Conflict | Patch 1009, DirectX 10, timedemo |
Audio/Video Encoding | |
iTunes | Version: 8.2.1.6 x64 |
Lame MP3 | Version: 3.98.2, wave to MP3 |
TMPEGEnc 4.0 Express | Version: 4.7.3.292 |
DivX 6.8.5 | Encoding mode: Insane Quality |
XviD 1.2.2 | Display encoding status = off |
MainConcept Reference 1.6.1 | MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 kb/s), Mode: PAL (25 FPS) |
Productivity | |
Adobe Photoshop CS4 | Version: 11.0 x64, Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image |
Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 | Version: 11.0 x64, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV) |
Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus 8.5 | Version: 8.5.287, Virus base: 270.12.16/2094, Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files |
WinRAR 3.90 | Version x64 3.90, Dictionary = 4,096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.0.1, GPU and CPU scores |
PCMark Vantage | Version: 1.00 x64, System, Memory, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks, Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646 |
SiSoftware Sandra 2009 SP4a | Version 2009.9.15.130, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |
- Core i7 (And i5) For The Value Crowd?
- Features Comparison
- ASRock P55 Pro
- Asus P7P55D
- ECS P55H-A
- Gigabyte P55-UD3R
- MSI P55-CD53
- Hardware And Software Configuration
- Benchmark Results: Crysis And Far Cry 2
- Benchmark Results: Clear Sky And World In Conflict
- Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Benchmark Results: Productivity
- Benchmark Results: Synthetic
- BIOS, Overclocking, Power And Heat
- The Perils Of Overclocking
- Conclusion
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=P55%20Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157171
The Asrock P55 Extreme at $140 offers 8x-8x
Might have burnt out a CPU and not know the cause.
I think you're jumping to conclusions here. Tom's reviewed some boards a while back for the 1366 socket and gave ASRock first place for quality and value.
Yeah and the GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P is priced similarly and sports 8x8x configuration and more SATA ports.
I believe well-featured P55 mobos are still expensive for the mainstream market.
Intel made the memory controllers on Asus and Gigabyte P45/X48 motherboards. If it fails after two hours, there's a chance you're using inferior-quality memory.
They're already using up all the PCIe lanes, when they put a second x16 slot on a board and feed it with four of the P55's eight. Sorry, the P55 isn't designed to support a buch of high-bandwidth slots, that's what the X58's for.
"will there be a chipset made by Nvidia for 1366 socket or 1156 socket intel cpus?"
Cause Nvidia is making good chipsets with both on-board VGA for mainstream and upper mainstream cpus.
The answer is NO
Do all 3 power connectors need to be hooked up? Thanks!
I'd like one of these.