The P7P55D Premium was not actually the first P55-based motherboard from ASUS that we ever met. Previously, we were able to lay our hands on the Deluxe and Evo. Sporting a black and blue color scheme, the Premium looks very similar to the boards mentioned.

 

 

 

 Like the Deluxe, it has a relatively daunting CPU region surrounded by pointed heatsinks as well as rows of ferrite chokes and solid capacitors.

 

 

 

 Underneath, heat is further dissipated away from the processor with the help of ASUS Stack Cool.

 

 

 

 The board comes with a quadruple of DIMM slots, each having an immovable latch that acts as a guide, a convention which is becoming a standard among ASUS motherboards.

 

 

 

 For future expansion, it integrates a pair of PCI-E 2.0 x16, two PCI-E 2.0 x1, and two PCI slots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ASUS Express Gate SSD is contained on this 512MB Samsung 825 K9G4G08U0A NAND flash memory. Express Gate SSD is an ASUS-customized, Linux-based operating system that provides users with quick access to the Internet and other simple applications before entering the OS installed on the hard disk drive.

 

 

 

 Looking over at the board, we were able to identify some of the advanced onboard functions that we had already noticed on Premium’s relatives. Near the DIMM slots and the main power supply connector is the MemOK! switch which allows the board to automatically determine failsafe settings when installing or upgrading RAMs.

 

 

 

 Still adjacent to the DIMM slots, the board has a set of three CPU/IMC/DRAM overvoltage setting switches which enables users to activate or deactivate the advanced CPU, IMC (Integrated Memory Controller), and DRAM overvoltage settings in the BIOS.

 

 

 

 Below the expansion slot, there are the POWER ON and RESET buttons that are useful when one is busy working on the overclocking bench.

 

 

 

Another exclusive feature from ASUS, the TurboV EVO is a hardware-based overclocking processor that automatically runs a stability utility once the TurboV button on the interface is pushed.

 

 

 

 The Premium makes use of the ICS 9LPRS140CKLF as its programmable clock generator. One of the most essential circuits for overclocking, a clock generator allows computer enthusiasts to alter the speed of their CPU, GPU and RAM.

 

 

 Proceeding to the actual PCMark05 and PCMark Vantage results, we compared the Premium’s scores with that of the MSI P55 GD65 which we reviewed this month. All else being equal, the ASUS was able to surpass the MSI in most categories. Both boards were set at their default settings before they ran the benchmarks.

 

 

Futuremark PCMark05
Categories	ASUS P7P55D Premium	MSI P55 GD65
PCMark Score	8290	8491
CPU	9607	8663
Memory	8431	7727
Graphics	9774	9669
HDD	6710	6801

 

HardwareZone Philippines Testbed: Intel Core i7 860 (2.6GHz, 133 x 20), 2GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1066, WD Raptor X, ATI HD4850

Software: Windows XP Pro SP2, and DirectX 9.0c

 

 

Futuremark PCMark Vantage
Categories	ASUS P7P55D Premium	MSI P55 GD65
PCMark Suite	6392	6162
Memories Suite	5084	4912
TV And Movies Suite	4794	4395
Gaming Suite	8092	7774
Music Suite	5532	5082
Communications Suite	5401	5230
Productivity Suite	5162	4902
HDD Test Suite	4433	4399

 

HardwareZone Philippines Testbed: Intel Core i7 860 (2.6GHz, 133 x 20), 2GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1066, WD Raptor X, ATI HD4850

Software: Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 and DirectX 10

 

 

 

Taking into account that the Lynnfield chips, the Intel Core i5 in particular, are relatively new at the moment, you can expect more P55-based motherboards coming your way indeed. But at this point in time, ASUS is already throwing in a lot of options and one of them is the P7P55D Premium. It is an enticing choice for those who would like take a crack at the new chips.