Extreme P55: Four LGA 1156 Motherboards Over $250

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With better efficiency and more aggressive Intel Turbo Boost binning, LGA 1156-based processors could be the right choice for some high-end machines. We look at a few premium motherboards that make these builds possible. Do they best Intel's X58 platform?

On-Board Features Comparison

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$250+ LGA 1156 Motherboard Features
Row 0 - Cell 0 Asus Maximus III Formula Asus P7P55D-E Premium EVGA P55 Classified 200 MSI Big Bang Trinergy
PCB Revision 1.02G 1.03G 1.0 1.1
Chipset Intel P55 Express Intel P55 Express Intel P55 Express Intel P55 Express
Voltage Regulator 19 Phases 35 Phases 12 Phase Digital 10 Phases
BIOS 1202 (12/07/2009) 0608 (12/07/2009) 080016 (10/23/2009) V1.1 (11/24/2009)
133.3 MHz BCLK 133.7 MHz (+0.28%) 133.7 MHz (+0.28%) 133.2 MHz (-0.01%) 133.7 MHz (+0.28%)
Clock Generator ICS 9LPRS140CKLF ICS 9LPRS140CKLF ICS 9LPRS139AKLF MSI LRS4116AL
Internal Interfaces
PCIe 2.0 x16 3 (x16/x1/x4, x8/x8/x4) 2 (x16/x0, x8/x8) 6 (1 x16 or 5 x8, 1 x4) 3 (x16/x16/x0, x16/x8/x8)
PCIe x1/x4 2/0 2/0 1/0 2/0
Legacy PCI 2 2 None 2
USB 2.0 3 (5-ports) 2 (4-ports) 3 (6-ports) 2 (4-ports)
IEEE-1394 1 1 1 1
Serial Port None 1 None None
Parallel Port None None None None
Floppy No No No No
Ultra-ATA 133 None 1 (2-drives) None 1 (2-drives)
SATA 3.0 Gb/s 10 9 6 10
SATA 6.0 Gb/s None 2 None None
4-Pin Fan 8 2 1 1
3-Pin Fan None 2 6 4
FP-Audio On Riser Card Yes Yes On Riser Card
CD-Audio On Riser Card Yes No On Riser Card
S/PDIF I/O Output Only (Riser) Output Only Both Output Only (Riser)
Power Button Yes Yes Yes Yes
Reset Button Yes Yes Yes Yes
CLR_CMOS Button Jumper Only Jumper Only Yes Yes
Diagnostics Panel Pass/Fail LEDs Pass/Fail LEDs Numeric Numeric
I/O Panel Connectors
P/S 2 1 2 1 2
USB 2.0 9 8 (2 Shared w/USB 3.0) 7 (1 Shared w/eSATA) 10 (2 Shared w/eSATA)
USB 3.0 None 2 None None
IEEE-1394 1 1 1 1
Network Single Dual (with teaming) Dual Dual
eSATA 1 None 2 2
CLR_CMOS Button Yes Yes Yes No
Digital Audio Out Optical+Coaxial (Riser) Optical+Coaxial Internal Only Optical+Coaxial (Riser)
Digital Audio In None None Internal Only None
Analog Audio 6 (On Riser Card) 6 6 6 (On Riser Card)
Mass Storage Controllers
Chipset SATA 6 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s 6 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s 6 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s 6 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s
Chipset RAID Modes 0, 1, 5, 10 0, 1, 5, 10 0, 1, 5, 10 0, 1, 5, 10
Add-In SATA 2 x JMB363 PCIe 2 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s 1 x eSATA 3.0 Gb/s 1 x SATA to JMB322 JMB322 to 2x SATA 88SE9123 PCIe 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s 88SE6121 PCIe 2 x eSATA 3.0 Gb/s JMB363 PCIe 2 x SATA to 2x JMB322 2 x JMB322 to 4x SATA JMB362 PCIe 2 x eSATA 3.0 Gb/s
Add-In Ultra ATA Row 43 - Cell 1 JMB368 PCIe None JMB363 PCIe
IEEE-1394 VT6308P PCI 2 x 400 Mb/s VT6308P PCI 2 x 400 Mb/s TSB43AB22A 2 x 400 Mb/s VT6315N PCIe 2 x 400 Mb/s
Gigabit Ethernet
Primary LAN RTL810SC PCI RTL8112L PCIe 88E6057 PCIe RTL8111DL PCIe
Secondary LAN Row 47 - Cell 1 RTL810SC PCI 88E6057 PCIe RTL8111DL PCIe
Audio Codec
HD Audio Codec VIA VT2020 VIA VT2020 ALC889 ALC889
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
59 Comments Comment from the forums
  • kumaiti
    I will comment the same as in the previous motherboard roundup: please add more details the CODECs on each board. There is almost nothing about the Via VT2020 and many crucial features of the ALC889 are vendor-dependant. It would be really good to know if they support Dolby Digital Live, DTS connect, Dolby Headphone and so on.
    Reply
  • notty22
    Keep spreading the love for the best platform PERIOD.
    1156 FTW !!!!!
    Reply
  • dcay
    "Already several years old, we have yet to build a system that can overcome Crysis’ system demands at 2560x1600 and 8x anti-aliasing (AA). That makes this outdated game a solid benchmark application."
    Reply
  • dcay
    "Already several years old, we have yet to build a system that can overcome Crysis’ system demands at 2560x1600 and 8x anti-aliasing (AA). That makes this outdated game a solid benchmark application."
    Reply
  • johnbilicki
    So socket 1156 is supposed to be the most awesome thing in the world?

    - No six core CPU's, EVER.
    - Requires a glued on chip for more then 16 lanes.
    - Motherboards overpriced compared to socket AM3.

    When you buy a socket 1156 system that is all the performance you're going go get out of it. The top-end CPU's won't come down in price by much and Intel made it clear it's a mainstream platform. My socket AM3 has playable FPS, the motherboard is high end and under $200, and I'll be able to continue upgrading in the future. That is what matters to me. The Intel fan boy articles are getting so old.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    kumaitiI will comment the same as in the previous motherboard roundup: please add more details the CODECs on each board. There is almost nothing about the Via VT2020 and many crucial features of the ALC889 are vendor-dependant. It would be really good to know if they support Dolby Digital Live, DTS connect, Dolby Headphone and so on.
    They don't.
    johnbilickiThe Intel fan boy articles are getting so old.
    It might surprise you that new motherboard series articles follow new chipsets. So AMD fanboy, where's the new AMD chipset?
    Reply
  • kumaiti
    CrashmanThey don't.
    1. Do you mean on these boards or in general?
    2. If it is for these boards, did you install the drivers/software from each manufaturer or used the default Windows drivers?

    Thanks for the reply
    Reply
  • Crashman
    kumaiti1. Do you mean on these boards or in general?2. If it is for these boards, did you install the drivers/software from each manufaturer or used the default Windows drivers?Thanks for the reply
    None of the manufacturers list support for DDL or DTS Connect any longer. Those technologies were most likely licensed in the past and neglected due to lack of demand and cost, because typical buyers don't know what they are and won't pay extra for them.
    Reply
  • dman3k
    Sorry, I'm not an Intel fanboy, but AMD thoroughly sucks right now. Heck, even with their top of the line 5xxx series graphics, they still can't damn write a driver.

    It may well be Intel's monopolize actions that got AMD to this point when AMD had the top processors, but the truth is AMD products suck right now.

    There are P55 mobos under $160 that you can easily find, which will still beat AM3 systems quite handily. For example, get a DFI Lanparty P55-T36. johnbilickiMy socket AM3 has playable FPS, the motherboard is high end and under $200, and I'll be able to continue upgrading in the future. That is what matters to me. The Intel fan boy articles are getting so old.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    dman3kSorry, I'm not an Intel fanboy, but AMD thoroughly sucks right now...There are P55 mobos under $160 that you can easily find, which will still beat AM3 systems quite handily. For example, get a DFI Lanparty P55-T36.
    First of all, most reviewers are begging AMD to pull a rabbit out of the hat just to get the competition moving again. Second, AMD does give you more chipset for your money.
    Reply