ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA1156 ATX Motherboard Review – Page 5

Motherboard Input/Output Features

We’ve seen the P7P55D-E Premium motherboard offer good SATA3 performance right out of the gate while other vendors have struggled. The latest SATA3 driver available for the P7P55D-E Pro is the 1127 while the Premium motherboard has an 1130 version on file. Since both boards utilize the same Marvell 9123 controller, both versions were tested.

Since the Intel DP55KG doesn’t support SATA3, we threw in another motherboard which does support it just for a live fire comparison. In this case, that would be the GA-P55A-UD6 board from GIGABYTE, which we’ll be grilling on its own in a review coming up really soon.

The 1127 driver provided sporadic results very similar to the P55A-UD6. However, the 1130 driver improved performance dramatically. Topping out at almost 350MB/s for SATA3 in Sequential tests, the 1130 driver is definitely the way to go. It bested both the 1127 driver results and the results from the GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD6 board. Either way, this is the driver you’ll want to use. Seek it out. Download it. Install it. FTW.

Also worth noting are the USB 3.0 results. They literally destroy the USB 2.0 results in every possible way. Both boards though are pretty much neck and neck as far as results. This is likely due to the fact that they both use the same NEC USB 3.0 chip as do all the other boards on the market.

Final Thoughts

Does the E Stand for Excellent? I’m not sure that it’s completely excellent, but it’s darn sure a much sweeter platform with USB 3.0 and SATA3 support. A little cross model driver finesse went a long way to improve the platform’s performance and we’re not sure why both boards don’t get the same driver revision on their driver pages. Perhaps it’s a way to distinguish the Premium boards from the PRO boards? I’m not sure. Either way, a driver is an easy way to upgrade so no harm no foul.

The stock performance of the P7P55D-E PRO alone is pretty nice, allowing INTEL’s i5 to stretch its legs with the Turbo feature enabled. This feature really does shine when put into the hands of a well built board. This equates to some extra overclocking room when you wish to get into the BIOS and do it yourself. Still, with the help of the MemOK! and Turbo EVO, anyone (including the novice) should be able to go from stock to hero in the press of a few buttons, making it a good board for hours of overclocking fun and experimentation.

Overall, the ASUS P7P55D-E Pro Motherboard brings a nice refresh to the LGA1156 P55 series platforms. Stability and reliability are top notch. Inexperienced users should find working with this $189 US motherboard a respectable and easy experience, but that price also places the board within the pricier enthusiast’s bracket. But then, this is a board intended for Pros who hunger for performance and it definitely delivers.

Pros