ASUS P7H55D-M EVO Motherboard Review

Intel-land is becoming a very confusing place of late. An Intel Core i7 processor might be Socket 1366, or it might be Socket 1f156. A Core i5 processor might be dual core or quad core; it might have Hyper-Threading or not, or integrated video or other features, and there's no way to tell just from the name. And to make things even more confusing, there are now four consumer-level chipsets for Core i5 processors: the original P55, as well as the new H55, H57, and Q57 chipsets. The newer chipsets are required if you want to use the integrated video feature of some of the Intel 2010 Core Processor Family CPUs, and ASUS, as always, is ready with new motherboards to support the latest technology. In this review Benchmark Reviews covers the new ASUS P7H55D-M EVO motherboard, based on the Intel H55 chipsffet.

Starting with the Nehalem architecture processors introduced in late 2008, Intel's been taking functions previously relegated to the supporting chipset and moving them onto the processor. With tfhe original Core i5 and i7 processors, we saw the memory controller and some PCI-Express lanes (in the case of the Core i5) moved from the chipset into the CPU. With the new "Clarkdale" members of the Intel 2010 Core Processor Family, we see the old Intel Graphics Media Architecture (GMA) video controller moved into the processor as well, albeit as a separate chip rather than integrated onto the processor die. Intel has started using the term "platform controller hub" or PCH to refer to these new chipsets; the H55 chipset on the ASUS EVO is part of the generation code-named "Ibex Peak". This new architecture is something enthusiasts should be familiar with, as it will affect what you can do (especially with overclocking) with this platform.

Although USB 3.0, aka "SuperSpeed USB-3.0" has emerged as a performance star with high vendor and consumer interest, Intel's chip sets won't support it directly until sometime later this year. Unlike revision 3.x SATA 6Gb/s (SATA-III), whose performance advantages remain largely theoretical (at least until the wider availability of SATA-6G SSDs), the advantages of USB 3.0 speed can be used right now, which is why ASUS uses the NEC fD720200F1 SuperSpeed USB-3.0 chip to provide two USB 3.0 ports on the P7H55D-M EVO. There are lots of enthusiast-level features for this board, too, and we'll see how well they work.

About ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

ASUS, a technology-oriented company with a global staff of more than ten thousand and blessed with one of the world's top R&D teams, is renowned for high-quality products and cutting-edge innovation. As a leading company in the new digital era, ASUS offers a complete product portfolio to compete in the new millennium.

ASUS has an unyielding commitment to innovation and quality, a fact borne out by its corporate slogan-"Inspiring Innovation - Persistent Perfection"-and the numerous media, industry and governmental accolades it receives every year. In 2008, ASUS won 3,056 awards-receiving over 8 awards on average every day. The company's revenue for the same year was 8.1 billion U.S. dollars, and it topped the IT Hardware Category of the annual league table of Taiwan's Top 10 Global Brands with a brand value of 1.324 billion U.S. dollars. ASUS also ranks among the top 10 IT companies in Business Week's "InfoTech 100", and has been on the listing for 11 consecutive years.

Inspired by the diverse needs of consumers in all areas and phases of life, ASUS' foremost mission is to deliver truly innovative solutions that in turn inspire consumers to reach for greater heights of productivity and fun. By leveraging its intimate understanding of the requirements of today's digital home, digital office and digital person, ASUS has the honor of claiming many world's firsts-such as the introduction of the groundbreaking Eee PCTM, the ingenious use of renewable materials like leather and bamboo in notebooks and the incorporation of its proprietary power-saving Super Hybrid Engine technology into its notebooks and motherboards. By pioneering many new innovations, trends and technologies that have had a genuine impact on its customers' lives and the Earth at large, ASUS hopes to garner mindshare as well as market share.

To succeed in the ultra-competitive IT industry, ASUS focuses on speed-to-market, cost and service. That is why every ASUS employee strives to master the "ASUS Way of Total Quality Management" in order to fulfill the "Persistent Perfection" promise of the brand. Guided by these precepts, ASUS has developed a strong advantage in product design, technology, quality and value/cost. These advantages in turn constitute ASUS' formula for success-allowing marketing to communicate these strengths to win our consumers' hearts. f

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