Asus P7P55D Deluxe

Asus has a number of forthcoming motherboards that are based on Intel's new P55 Express chipset, with the P7P55D Deluxe being one of the first releases.

Compared to the overclocker and enthusiast-aimed Gigabyte P55-UD6 (also reviewed in this issue) the P7P55D Deluxe is designed with high-end users in mind. As a result the Deluxe isn't exactly an overclocker's dream come true; its CPU Vcore and memory voltage maximums are 1.628- and 2-volts respectively. The Gigabyte eclipses both in terms of maximum settings, so if you're after a hardcore overclocking motherboard, the P55-UD6 is the better choice.

In terms of performance however the P7P55D regains ground as it proved a slightly quicker motherboard though by small margins. In our DivX, Lame and WinRAR benchmark tests the Asus scored times of 22-, 132- and 59-seconds. The Gigabyte in comparison produced times of 23-, 132- and 60-seconds respectively. Even on the gaming front the Asus edged ahead slightly, managing framerate results of 307.9fps and 80fps in Street Fighter IV, whereas the Gigabyte managed 307.8fps and 79fps.

Looking over the Asus' layout, the board appears quite cramped because of the mass of components strewn across its PCB. The Gigabyte has a slight edge here because whereas the Deluxe features only four DDR3 DIMM slots, the P55-UD6 has six, which gives you more flexibility when it comes to memory upgrades.