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Introduction and Specifications

ASUS creates new utilities for overclocking with P7P55D Deluxe

 

Courtesy of ASUS

Motherboards sporting Intel's new P55 chipset have been springing up all over the web as vendors start their holiday push for more market share in the mainstream motherboard arena. While some board manufacturers released only a few on launch day, ASUS developed an entire arsenal of P55 boards to accommodate basic end users, gamers, enthusiasts, and even hardcore overclockers. One of their higher-end mobos that was unveiled was the P7P55D Deluxe, which is the subject of our review today.

The P7P55 series is based on ASUS's new "Xtreme Design" platform that targets optimizing overall system performance and hardware reliability. It also features their latest Hybrid Technology, which includes what they call a Hybrid Processor, Hybrid Phase, and Hybrid OS working in tandem to give users "intelligent" performance enhancements, active cooling, and rapid online access. In layman's terms,  ASUS engineers have created custom programs and utilities to convert tasks like overclocking into options that are built right into the motherboard for novice users to enjoy with a simple touch of a button.  

Courtesy of ASUS

The P7P55D Deluxe features multi-GPU support for triple-GPU technologies from ATI and NVIDIA and the board also has several key accessories like the TurboV remote, which is a real-time overclocking hardware controller that mounts on the bezel of your LCD screen. ASUS also paid close attention to the board's power-saving features by incorporating a 16+3 phase design that brings 16-phase to the vCore and an extra 3-phase for the memory controller inside the CPU. All of these power features work to provide the highest power efficiency possible for the P7P55D Deluxe and also helps generate less heat, which will benefit those users looking to overclock this board.

Courtesy of ASUS

The P7P55D Deluxe also brings other features to the table including dual Gigabit LAN jacks, 10-channel high definition audio, and ASUS's own Drive XPert technology for backing up data. This motherboard can also handle up to 16GBs of dual channel DDR3 2133 (OC) memory, which can certainly help in some memory-intensive games and graphics applications. All in all, the P7P55D Deluxe has a few new twists that we haven't seen in other P55 boards so it should be interesting to see how it fairs against our LGA 1366 X58 test setup and other P55 boards in our performance roundup.

ASUS P7P55D Deluxe Specifications (taken from ASUS's website)

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 Memory
Dual Channel memory architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
*Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs. Some hyper DIMMs only support one DIMM per channel. Please refer to Memory QVL for details.
**Refer to www.asus.com or this user manual for the Memory QVL(Qualified Vendors Lists)

Expansion Slots:

- 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (single at x16 or dual at x8/x8 mode)
- 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (at x4 mode, 2.5GT/s)
- 2 x PCI Express 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® JMB363 PATA and SATA controller
1 xUltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices
1 xSATA 3Gb/s port (black)

JMicron® JMB322 (Drive Xpert Technology) :

- 2 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports (navy blue and gray)
 - Supports EZ Backup and SuperSpeed functions
*Drive Xpert function is available only when the hard disk drives are set as data drives.

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
- BD audio layer Content Protection
- 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:  

14 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (6 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 24 Hybrid Phase Design*:

- T.Probe Technology for Active Cooling
- 16+3 Phase Power Design
- 100% Ultra Long Life Japan-Made Solid Capacitors
*24 Hybrid Phase = 16+3 Phase x T.Probe

ASUS Hybrid OS:

Express Gate

ASUS Xtreme Design

ASUS Exclusive Features:

- ASUS Drive Xpert
- 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 Clr CMOS switch
1 x PS/2 Keyboard (Purple)
1 x PS/2 mouse port (Green)
1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Output
1 x Optical S/PDIF Output

Internal I/O Connectors:   

3 x USB connectors support additional 6 USB ports
1 x IDE connector
7 x SATA connectors
1 x IEEE 1394a connector
1 x CPU Fan connector
1 x Power Fan connector
2 x Drive Xpert SATA connectors (navy blue and gray)
2 x Chassis Fan connector (1x4-pin, 1x3-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:   

1 x TurboV Remote
1 x 2-port USB and eSATA module
ASUS Q-Shield
1 x ASUS SLI bridge connector
User's manual
1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable
6 x SATA cable(s)
2 in 1 Q-connector
Support Disc    Drivers
Anti-virus software (OEM version)
ASUS Update
ASUS Utilities

Form Factor:  

ATX Form Factor
12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm ) 

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