Stephen MSI P55-GD80 Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets
“MSI launched so far five different socket 1156 motherboard models based on the new Intel P55 chipset. Today we are going to take a look on one of their high-end models, P55-GD80 (a.k.a. MS-7581), which comes with several overclocking features not found on competing products. Let’s take a look.”
ASUS Maximus II Gene @ Hot Hardware
“Up until now, when users thought of a micro-ATX board, they typically expect find a slimmed down version of a full sized product, minus some of the bells and whistles and perhaps sacrificing some of the enthusiast-friendly features of their larger brethren. Recognizing a need for high performance, yet smaller form-factor motherboard, ASUS stepped in with two offerings: the Rampage II Gene for Core i7/DDR3 owners, and the Maximus II Gene we are reviewing today, with support for Core 2 Duo/Quad processors and DDR2 memory.”
ASUS P7P55D Deluxe, EVO Motherboards @ iXBT Labs
“If you have to choose between these two models, it’s really easy. Deluxe has a tad better power supply system and a formally better audio codec. But EVO offers eSATA on the rear panel. You have to agree that the boards are very similar. The key difference is TurboV Remote that is not available for EVO.”
AMD Athlon II X4 630 Extreme Overclocking @ TweakTown
“For my first article here at TweakTown I am putting the mainstream AMD Athlon II X4 630 on the chopping block. How far can I push it with only a 14 times multiplier to play with? How will the CPU and motherboard hold up to minus 180 degrees celcius? And of course, there’s the all important benchmark numbers. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping to see a 6 GHz screenshot.”
AMD Athlon II X3 425, 435 Processors @ iXBT Labs
“As we can see, Athlon II X2 250 can still compete with the E6300. So the rollout of new triple-core processors has consolidated AMD’s positions in the market segment of below $100. But apparently this was not the only goal. Note the nearly identical results demonstrated by Athlon II X3 435 and Phenom II X3 710, the latter being more costly to manufacture.”
AMD Sempron 140 2.70 GHz @ TechPowerUp!
“AMD’s Sempron 140 is here to seal the deal in the entry level market for $39. It offers all the features of the K10.5 architecture, but comes with only a single core at 2.70 GHz. Despite its single core it offers decent performance for every day office use, media PCs and casual gaming. If you get lucky you might even be able to unlock a second core.”
USB 3.0 and SATA 6G Performance Preview @ PC Perspective
“To be sure, 150 MB/s is a HUGE gain over current USB 2.0 speeds of 35 MB/s or so and anyone that is dependent on external storage or any streaming data over USB connections is going to love the bandwidth increase we are seeing today. Keep in mind that the USB 2.0 controller on the P55 chipset has had more than 9 years to evolve to where it is at today while this is the first publicly available implementation of USB 3.0.”
Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB SATA 6 Gb/s @ TweakTown
“A few weeks ago LSI sent over their first next generation SAS / SATA controller to review with a set of Seagate 15K.7 SAS drives that were also the first SAS 6 Gb/s products to hit the market. I think it is fair to say that Seagate is leading the charge when it comes to these next generation products that will improve the productivity of our daily computing experience for years to come.”
LGA1156 Plaform and DDR3 Memory @ iXBT Labs
“It apparently makes no sense to chase after higher-frequency memory for a processor running in the nominal mode: even upgrading from DDR3 1066 to DDR3-1333 yields almost nothing. DDR3 1600 will be even less beneficial. So what’s the target audience of DDR3 1600, 1866, etc? Why do motherboard manufacturers report so proudly about such support? They apparently focus on overclockers. By the way, maximum you can get from memory without raising the base frequency is 1600.”
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R @ PCStats
“The GA-P55-UD3R is the most affordable of the ATX motherboards that Gigabyte will be launching, cutting down on some the frills that you might find on its bigger brothers in favor of a better bottom line. We like affordable PC hardware just as much as you! Fortunately a slightly smaller feature set doesn’t affect its overall performance or compatibility. Gigabyte’s GA-P55-UD3R motherboard supports all of Intel’s socket 1156 Core i5 700-series and Core i7 800-series processors.”