The P55 launch and LGA-1156 launch from Intel has totally redefined what the mainstream processor market is today. Intel’s new chipset has moved the Northbridge functions onto the CPU, meaning that the cost to manufacture and market the new chip is less than if they had to manufacture a NB and a SB as in previous chipsets. We’ve seen many motherboard manufacturers release boards on the new platform. ASRock was a spinoff of ASUS a few years ago and is now completely independent. They manufactured motherboards in the past with a unique feature such as an LGA-775 board with an AGP slot, or a AMD Socket 754 board with an add-on slot to support Socket 939 CPUs. Today they are more mainstream, bringing unique features to motherboards without the crazy features that they were known for in the past. They have launched three P55 chipset motherboards and today I’m reviewing the P55 Deluxe from ASRock.
- Supports the Intel Core i7 and Intel Core i6 Processors on the LGA-1156 Package
- Supports Intel Turbo Boost Technology
- ASRock DuraCap (2.5x longer life time), 100% Japan-made high quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors
- Intel P55 Chipset
- Advanced V16+2 Power Phase Design
- Supports Dual Channel DDR3-2600+ (OC)/2133 (OC)/1866 (OC)/1600/1333/1066 non-ECC un-buffered memory, 4x DIMM
- Supports ATI CrossfireX, 3-Way CrossfireX, AND Quad CrossFireX
- Supports NVIDIA Quad SLI and SLI
- 2x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (Single at x16 or Dual at x8/x8 mode), 1x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (at x4 mode 2.5GT/s), 1 PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot (2.5GT/s)
- 2x SATA3 6Gb/s connectors (including 1x external SATA3 6 Gb/s connector) supported by ASRock SATA3 card.
- 6x SATAII 3.0Gb/s connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, RAID 5 and Intel Matrix Storage), NCQ AHCI and Hot Plug functions
- 1 Powered eSATAII/USB connector
- Support 2x IEEE1394 ports (One port on back panel, one header on board)
- Dual GLAN with Teaming
- 1x Power Switch with LED
- 1 Reset Switch with LED
- 1 Clear CMOS Switch with LED
- 1x TPM Header
- Supports ASRock Instant Boot, Instant Flash OC DNA
- Supports Smart BIOS, ASRock OC Tuner, Intelligent Energy Saver
- EuP 2.0 Ready (supported by Nuvoton NCT3016 IC)
- Combo Cooler Option
- 7.1 CH Windows Vista Premium Level HD Audio with Content Protection, supports DAC with 110Db dynamic range (ALC890 Audio CODEC) DTS (Digital Theater Systems) support
- Premium Blu-ray audio support
- Windows Vista Premium 2008 Logo Ready
- Free Bundle: 1x ASRock SATA3 Card, 1x ASRock SLI_Bridge_2S Card