EVGA P55 Classified 200 LGA1156 Motherboard Preview

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<center><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/evga_logo-1.png" alt="EVGA Logo">


<b>EVGA P55 Classified 200 LGA1156 Motherboard Preview</b></center>


<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/classified_logo-1.png" alt="Classified Logo" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px"><b>Price:</b> $380+ CND <a href="http://hardwarecanucks.pricecanada.com/p.php/EVGA-P55-Classified-200-ATX-LGA1156-DDR3-160LFE659KR-627556/?matched_search=160-LF-E659-KR">Price Comparison</a>
<b>Manufacturer Product Page:</b> <a href="http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=160-LF-E659-KR&family=Motherboard%20Family">EVGA Corporation</a>
<b>TechWIKI Info:</b> <a href="http://techwiki.hardwarecanucks.com/product/0NDEyNTI0NTQ5/EVGA-P55-Classified-200/">EVGA P55 Classified 200 - TechWIKI</a>
<b>Manufacturer's Part Number:</b> 160-LF-E659-KR
<b>Warranty:</b> 3 Year Limited Warranty w/Registration

<p style="text-align: justify;">Over the course of the last few months since its release, the EVGA X58 SLI Classified has become the unanimous leader amongst Intel X58 based motherboards. This domination comes primarily from the world of competitive benchmarking - just check the motherboard used in the top 20 results for most benchmarks at HWBot.org - but the domination also stems from the enthusiast community being a leader in features offered. EVGA used the X58 SLI Classified to cement their position as a premier motherboard manufacturer offering the ultimate performance in a class leading package, at the same time launching the Classified brand as the ultimate line of products for both overclocking and innovation.

Towing a feature list longer than the specification sheet, the Classified brand was an instant hit with consumers for offering more unique features than we had ever seen before. Unprecedented aspects of the X58 SLI Classifieds design propelled it to the top of the "must have" list for all competitive benchmarkers, and put it on the short list for modders and system builders worldwide for its renowned aesthetics. Combining beauty with brawn, the Classified brand showed that it could do it all. This Classified brand recently filtered into the EVGA graphics processing division with the release of the EVGA GeForce GTX 285 Classified.

Again, the Classified heritage of offering features unheard of in a product line has made the GTX 285 an instant stand-out in its class. Built-in features designed to make the GTX 285 Classified the ultimate benchmarking video card like the X-Cool switch for extreme cooling and overkill Digital PWM design - like the Classified motherboards - make sure that the Classified brand continues to dominate with every product that receives its label. The X58 SLI Classified is surely to join the hall of fame in benchmarking circles right alongside the X48 Rampage Extreme and NF4 Ultra-D before it.

The Classified brand on a whole is poised to take on legendary status like that of the DFI LanParty series. Today, we are going to take a sneak peek at the latest from the chambers of the Classified lab, and the latest to don the Classified label, the EVGA P55 Classified 200. Will it be the ultimate Intel P55 based motherboard?</p><center><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/preview-1.jpg" alt="EVGA P55 Classified 200 Preview"></center>

 

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The EVGA P55 Classified 200 Up Close & Personal

The EVGA P55 Classified 200 Up Close & Personal

<p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/preview-2.jpg" alt="EVGA P55 Classified 200 Preview" style="float: right; margin: 4px 0px 2px 7px">With this just being a preview, we won't get too far into the board layout or any operating functions of the EVGA P55 Classified 200 today. Instead, we will briefly go over a few of the features that make this board part of the EVGA Classified family separating it from the rest of the Intel P55 based lineup.

The primary feature of the P55 Classified 200 is the ability to run 3-Way SLI + PhysX or QuadFire (quad CrossFireX) through the use of its five PCI-E 2.0 16X slots. Most P55 motherboards support two PCI-E 2.0 16X slots limiting SLI and CrossFireX to two video cards. The P55 Classified 200 gets part of its name for how this feature is possible, by way of the NVIDIA NF200 chip that resides onboard. This NF200 chip provides additional PCI-E lanes thus opening up the 3-Way SLI and QuadFire possibilities.

We will be looking at the CrossFireX performance of the P55 Classified 200 by way of 4 x HD4890 video cards in our full review. Our 3D Gaming section will be dedicated to exploring the full capabilities, and limitations, of the NF200 chip by way of testing the scaling performance of going from a single card all the way up to a four card configuration. <img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/preview-3.jpg" alt="EVGA P55 Classified 200 Preview" style="float: left; margin: 4px 7px 2px 0px">Of course the special features of this motherboard certainly don't end there. In addition to the distinctly unique layout, EVGA has done something that no other motherboard manufacturer has ever done.

For the first time ever, users will find an actual digital volt-meter integrated with the motherboard. Mounted on the upper right hand corner of the EVGA P55 Classified 200 is an actual test lead connection and digital LED display. <img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/preview-4.jpg" alt="EVGA P55 Classified 200 Preview" style="float: right; margin: 4px 0px 2px 7px">Users will no longer even need to have a digital multi-meter to check actual voltages of their motherboard or power supply. Combining this innovation with the onboard test points has given the end-user the ultimate inclusive ability to troubleshoot their system. With the supplied test probe, the end user has the ability to single handedly test the voltages being supplied to key components such as the vCORE to the CPU, vDIMM to the memory and more. The four digit display offers accuracy up to two decimal places and with the integrated test probe, only a single hand is needed to check voltages as no ground probe is required. This is taking an industry accepted feature - voltage monitoring - to the next level which is what the Classified brand signifies.

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/preview-5.jpg" alt="EVGA P55 Classified 200 Preview" style="float: left; margin: 4px 7px 2px 0px">The voltage monitoring capabilities of the P55 Classified 200 may be one of the more dramatic innovations implemented but there are a few other tricks the EVGA motherboard team have come up with to improve on the success of their X58 offerings. Another feature - although not completely unique to the motherboard world - that EVGA has added to the P55 Classified 200 is that of multiple BIOS's on the board. One BIOS chip is removable with two more soldered on. This is a feature that we have been waiting for from EVGA. What makes this feature so great is the ability to select which BIOS we want to boot from, with a switch on the motherboard.

We have only briefly touched on a couple of the more interesting features that caught our eye on the EVGA P55 Classified 200. We were so excited about the upcoming review that we simply want to give a small taste of this motherboard. You can look for our full review of the P55 Classified 200 on the front page of Hardware Canucks.com within the month. As always our review will cover every aspect of this much anticipated motherboard including the extensive BIOS EVGA has supplied it with and how the massive amount of BIOS options equate to better overclocks both on air, and under sub-zero conditions.</p>

Click on image below for full view of the EVGA P55 Classified

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