ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55

[cadaveca]

ASUS brings the P55 chipset an update in the form of the P7P55D-E PRO, with USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gbps. The P7P55D-E looks to rival other boards on the market, and even potentially some of the up and coming P67-based products. In the face of Intel's latest release, is it still a viable option?

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[newtekie1]

Two full-speed x1 connectors are here as well, as well as one half-speed one for those with many x1 PCIe expansion cards, although it's hard to imagine such a scenario.

I don't understand that, how is one half-speed? Do you mean two are PCIe 2.0 and one is PCIe 1.1?

Edit: Oddly enough I actually just did a build with this motherboard a few months ago so I checked the manual. I can't believe I didn't notice that. The manual says all the slots are PCIe 2.0, but the white one is 2.5GT/s and the blue are 5.0GT/s, how is that possible? I though if it was 2.5GT/s it meant it was PCIe 1.1...

 

[Kursah]

Nice review, I was eyeballing this MB hard when I recently did my i5 build, I really like the layout. I have 2 pci-e 1x cards, my Auzen Forte, and my Diamond ATI HD650 TV card. I'm much more limited with my current 55i Sabertooth than either this board or my old P5Q Deluxe P45 board. Both my 1x cards are bundled up around my HD5870. One half covering the intake...but so far heat isn't an issue. If I hadn't got the 55i deal, it would've been this board. W

 

[erixx]

I have his some months older brother without SATA/USB3. And I agree with this nice review.
I can add that with a little tweaking you can have EPU6 profiler at auto and enjoy both 4000 overclocks when needed, and then 1786 Mhz for idling, everything automatized.

Kursah: funny my PCI-E setup is the same, nearly: 1 16x videocard, 1 1x audiocard and 1 1x HD TV card. Nothing more fits after putting an Arctic cooler con the videocard.

 

[cadaveca]

Thanks, guys! I spent about a week with the board, and was really impressed with it, as at first look, I dodn't expect too much, after playing with the Gene.

The power savings are really nice! I've employed a Zalman unit to measure power consumption thought the 8-pin CPU connector(also connected one meter to each PCIe plug in the vga); It's proved quite useful, and paints a very different picture than just a killawatt!

Working on another review as I type this, so keep your eyes peeled for the next one!

 

[newtekie1]

What Zalman are you using?

 

[cadaveca]

The one in the pic?

 

[newtekie1]

A model would be nice, I can't seem to find anything like that on their site.

 

[cadaveca]

You aren't looknig in the right spots then:

CPU:
http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=417

VGA:
http://www.zalman.co.kr/Eng/product/Product_Read.asp?Idx=418

I'm hoping Zalman will send me another set so I don't ahve to buy it...alot of P67 boards have 2x8-pin.

 

[newtekie1]

Yeah, I found it right after I posted that.

Thanks!

 

[cadaveca]

NO problem, man. pretty useful unit, tried them out with various PSUs and boards now.

 

[newtekie1]

I'd be nice if they made one for the 24 pin as well.

 

[cadaveca]

I'd be nice if they made one for the 24 pin as well.

Yeah, for sure. Would be a good way to measure PSU efficiency.


I turned to the Zalman unit as while a Kill-a-Watt would give total system numbers, those numbers have very little relation to what the board is actually using, due to things liek fans and drive, and other goodies.. With one of the largest differences in boards being PWM design, I think it's a good reference point as is, but I'm always exploring new options that will bring you guys better, more accurate data.

The one thing about 24-pin connectors is that they also power PCIe too, so wouldn't really give usuable numbers on it's own, in my opinion. You might be surprised how little power gets sucked through the 6-pins of my 5870.

 

[Cold Storm]

Great review Ca!

 

[newtekie1]

Yeah, for sure. Would be a good way to measure PSU efficiency.


I turned to the Zalman unit as while a Kill-a-Watt would give total system numbers, those numbers have very little relation to what the board is actually using, due to things liek fans and drive, and other goodies.. With one of the largest differences in boards being PWM design, I think it's a good reference point as is, but I'm always exploring new options that will bring you guys better, more accurate data.

The one thing about 24-pin connectors is that they also power PCIe too, so wouldn't really give usuable numbers on it's own, in my opinion. You might be surprised how little power gets sucked through the 6-pins of my 5870.

Oh, that is exactly why I'd want a 24-pin version, to measure how much is really being pulled through the PCIe slots, since that is really the only major thing being powered by the 24 pin anymore.

I think the Kill-a-watt is an ok way to meaure how much power a board uses, because if everthing else stays the same except the board, you can see how much difference chaning the motherboard makes in power draw. But the Zalman definitely makes a great way to test PWM efficiency across various boards, which is a really cool thing to know.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

Picked up an i5-650 real cheap of off CL, so I bought one of these and it's due here on Monday! Do you think I'll see any improvement over my FX60?

About that x1 slot, I read it somewhere about why that is, but I can't remember where.

Nice review. I'm feeling more sure about my decision to go with this board all the time.

 

[cadaveca]

Good stuff! I didn't have any issues at all, so I'm sure it will work well for ya. lane situation is the same as P55, so I don't know what to tell ya guys about that one. Simply put, there is more to PCIe 2.0 than just bandwidth, I guess, so the slot conforms to all those other bits, but not for bandwidth. That's why the bridge chip on this board is there, to provide the needed bandwidth for the USB 3.0 and the Sata 6Gbps chips, and I also know that P67 very purposefully fixes this same issue as well. It's that and memory control improvements that P67 offers over P55, it's just unfortunate that the issue with those chipsets means finding boards right this moment for 1155 is a bit difficult.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

Did you happen to try SLI with a Clarksdale CPU? Asus says that you can't, but I saw another review where they did.

 

[cadaveca]

No clarkdales, sry.

 

[newtekie1]

Did you happen to try SLI with a Clarksdale CPU? Asus says that you can't, but I saw another review where they did.

Where did you see that ASUS says you can't run SLi with a Clarksdale?

 

[thebluebumblebee]

Where did you see that ASUS says you can't run SLi with a Clarksdale?

This is confusing to me: http://support.asus.com/faq/asus-faq.aspx?no=4984A0D8-1DED-7358-735F-6821BE9AF203&SLanguage=en-us

Edit: They changed that link. Now it's clear.

 

[chuchnit]

Cadaveca I just want to give you props on the motherboard reviews. They are high quality and I sure hope Wizzard keeps using you.

 

[cadaveca]

This is confusing to me: http://support.asus.com/faq/asus-faq.aspx?no=4984A0D8-1DED-7358-735F-6821BE9AF203&SLanguage=en-us

I think they are more indicating that none of the H55 boards have 8x8 PCIe lanes...and as such, do not support dual VGAS in any way. I don't even think any H55 boards can run more than one card!

 

[newtekie1]

I think they are more indicating that none of the H55 boards have 8x8 PCIe lanes...and as such, do not support dual VGAS in any way. I don't even think any H55 boards can run more than one card!

Yes, that is exactly what they are saying. They are also saying P55 boards can only do hardware Crossfire, meaning cards without a crossfire connecter won't work(why would you even bother anyway?).

 

[cadaveca]

Cadaveca I just want to give you props on the motherboard reviews. They are high quality and I sure hope Wizzard keeps using you.

Another is underway right this moment and hopefully more products arrive at my door shortly. I got this sample last Thursday or Friday, and the entire review went rather well, considering some of the crap I dealt with while working on it.

I had run out of TIM, so went to the PC store to pick some up. Like most, I couldn't help myself, and made a few other purchases. After packing them into my backpack, I went to sling it over my shoulder, and popped my shoulder right out of the socket!

So I wrote this review with just one hand, even!

That slowed me down a fair bit, but it also forced me to spend a bit more time with the board and get a better feel for what it offers.

I have been having issues with my 5870's for quite some time now too...maybe a story to tell after it's all over and done with, as it seems I may have to update my bench platform and redo a bunch of benching because of a VGA swap.

So thanks very much for the support; It's greatly appreciated! I put alot into it!