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EVGA P55 Classified 200 LGA1156 Motherboard Review

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3oh6

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EVGA P55 Classified 200 LGA1156 Motherboard Review</center>



Price: $365+ CND Price Comparison
Manufacturer Product Page: EVGA Corporation
TechWIKI Info: EVGA P55 Classified 200 - TechWIKI
Manufacturer's Part Number: 160-LF-E659-KR
Warranty: 3 Year Limited Warranty w/Registration

Buy from: NCIX | DirectCanada | BestDirect


What is black and red and full of sexy all over? Well we can't tell you because it is Classified. That's right, this is another installment of the EVGA Classified show. Our guest star is of the P55 variety sporting the latest mainstream LGA1156 socket from Intel. The term mainstream, which is what the Intel P55 chipset is billed as, doesn't exactly correlate with ultra high-end which is what the Classified name from EVGA is generally paired with. It is this sort of oxymoron that makes this board quite intriguing.

What we have here is the absolute top end of the EVGA P55 lineup. This list of motherboards includes the P55 V, up through the P55 Micro, and the penultimate P55 FTW 200 with a few more motherboards filling in the cracks. The EVGA offerings reach a crescendo with the motherboard we are looking at today, the EVGA P55 Classified 200. EVGA decided that just because the P55 chipset is considered the mainstream counterpart to the enthusiast level Intel X58 chipset, it didn't mean people wouldn't be looking for premium motherboards in this segment.

This is where the Classified steps in. Based on the P55 chipset the EVGA P55 Classified 200 supports LGA1156 i5 and i7 8xx series processors. But unlike other P55 motherboards, the P55 Classified 200 can accommodate Tri-SLI thanks to the implementation of the of the NF200 chipset. The NF200 allows the motherboard to split up some of the PCI-E lanes allowing for three, four, or technically even five video cards to be used at the same time. Typical P55 motherboards only allow two-way SLI or CrossFireX so this definitely opens doors on a platform not typical of its capabilities.

Of course there is much more to the EVGA P55 Classified 200 feature list which we plan on having a look at in full. If you are not familiar with the Classified brand, you are in for a treat. If you are familiar with previous EVGA Classified motherboards, then you know what to expect as EVGA is sure to keep the strong tradition of the Classified name with this latest installment. So sit back, relax, and grab a fresh bowl of popcorn; the show is about to begin and there is something in here for everyone.
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3oh6

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Chipset Specifications & Features

Specifications & Features

<p style="text-align: justify;">We will have a quick look at the chipset diagram supplied by Intel first, then get into the detailed specifications and features of the EVGA P55 Classified 200.</p><center><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/specs-1.png" alt="EVGA P55 Classified 200"></center><p style="text-align: justify;">The P55 Express chipset is a little bit different from that of the X58 chipset. The most notable is the lack of two hubs, more specifically, there is no hub that carries the traditional terminology of "north bridge". Instead we basically just have a "south bridge" or in this case, the P55 chipset itself, also known as the PCH (Platform Controller Hub). The P55 PCH is manufactured using a 65-nanometer process. The reason Intel has been able to reduce the chip(set) to a single chip is because the Lynnfield processors that run on the P55 chipset handle the memory controller duties - like the LGA1366 Bloomfield before it - and now handle 16 PCI-E 2.0 lanes as well.

The X58 chipset really is nothing more than a PCI-E hub and with those 16 PCI-E 2.0 lanes going directly to the CPU, the old hub could be removed. So we are left with a single P55 PCH to handle all the traditional I/O (input/output) duties. We won't really go into the chipset too much further aside from saying that P55 motherboards will offer a single PCI-E 16X lane with the option of splitting those two up into two PCI-E 8X slots for dual GPU solutions such as CrossFireX or SLI (licensing permitted). For a more in depth look at recent changes to the chipset, please reference Patrick's excellent review of the new Lynnfield processors and their P55 chipset here.

What we are about to see, however, is that the P55 Classified 200 isn't at like your typical P55 based motherboard; and why the number 200 is in the name of this motherboard.</p><center><table border="0" bgcolor="#666666" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" width="697"><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Performance</b></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> Based on Intel P55 chipset<br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> Supports Intel Socket 1156 Processors</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Memory</b></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> 4 x 240-pin DIMM sockets<br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> Dual Channel DDR3<br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> Maximum of 16GB of DDR3 2600MHz+</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Expansion Slots</b></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> 5 x PCIe x16, 1 x PCIe x4, 1 x PCIe 1x</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Storage I/O</b></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> 0 x UltraDMA133<br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> 6 x Serial ATA 300MB/sec<br>supports RAID 0, RAID1, RAID 0+1, RAID5, JBOD<br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> 2 x eSATA</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Integrated Peripherals</b></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> 8 Channel High Definition<br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> 2 x 10/100/1000</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Multi I/O</b></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> 1 x PS2 Keyboard<br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> 13 x USB2.0 ports (7 external + 4 internal headers)<br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> Audio connector (Line-in, Line-out, MIC)<br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> FireWire 1394A (1 external, 1 internal header)</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Form Factor</b></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> mATX Form Factor<br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> Length: 12in – 304.8mm<br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/x58sliclassified/sp-1.png" align="absmiddle"> Width: 10.375in – 263.5mm</td></tr></table></center><p style="text-align: justify;">The specification sheet of the P55 really doesn't have anything that jumps right out aside from the 5 x PCIe 16X slots and slightly larger than ATX width. Keep in mind, most of those slots run at 8X when multiple cards are being used but we'll go over the logistics in our extensive 3D/Gaming Benchmarks section a little later on. Where the Classified really stands out from the crowd is in the features it offers, let's have a look at a few key ones now.</p>


Features

<p style="text-align: justify;">We will now highlight some of the features that the EVGA P55 Classified offers that either make it unique from the other P55 boards on the market, or simply come across as important in our eyes.</p><table align="center" bgcolor="#666666" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" width="662px"><tr><td align="justify" valign="top" bgcolor="#ececec" width="50%"><center><b>Intel® Core i5/i7 Support</b></center><br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/feat-1.png" style="float: left; margin: 4px 5px 0 0;" />This is a basic feature but also a primary and potentially confusing one. Intel's wonderful idea to name P55 compatible processors i7 is a confusing decision for many consumers. The X58 chipset also supports i7 processors, but the two are completely different. The P55 platform only supports LGA Socket 1156 i7 processors that are labeled 8xx and all i5 processors. Get it? Exactly, way to go Intel.</td><td align="justify" valign="top" bgcolor="#ececec" width="50%"><center><b>2-Way SLI and CrossFireX Support</b></center><br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/feat-2.png" style="float: left; margin: 4px 5px 0 0;"/>A major feature that is a carry-over from the Intel X58 chipset is the continued support of both NVIDIA SLI and ATI CrossFireX support with the P55 chipset. Despite a seemingly lack of ATI CrossFireX support on the EVGA P55 Classified 200, it definitely supports the technology so all of you ATI video card fans can be rest assured your setups will work in this motherboard.</td></tr><tr><td align="justify" valign="top" bgcolor="#ececec" width="50%"><center><b>Dual 8-pin EPS Power Connector</b></center><br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/feat-3.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 4px 0 0 5px;" />As was the case with the first EVGA Classified motherboard, the P55 Classified 200 comes with dual 8-pin CPU power connectors offering up to 600W of useable power for the CPU. This feature is only of interest for extreme overclockers but one of the main features in allowing the EVGA X58 Classified to be the extreme overclocking champion it is. Adding this feature to the P55 Classified is a no brainer to help make it the ultimate P55 overclocking motherboard.</td><td align="justify" valign="top" bgcolor="#ececec" width="50%"><center><b>Individual Passive Heat Sinks</b></center><br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/feat-4.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 4px 0 0 5px;" />As we saw in the recently reviewed EVGA X58 SLI Micro, individual passive heat sinks were seen as positive evolution of the EVGA X58 platform cooling. This evolution continues with the P55 Classified 200 as EVGA has again gone with three passive heat sinks that are in no way connected. This allows individual changes of these heat sinks without having to change others. We thoroughly enjoy EVGA's decision to make this change from the heat pipe connected cooling of the X58 Classified.</td></tr><tr><td align="justify" valign="top" bgcolor="#ececec" width="50%"><center><b>On-Board Power/Reset Buttons</b></center><br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/feat-5.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 4px 5px 0 0;"/>A staple of the EVGA motherboard platform going back as far as their 680i offerings. EVGA has always supplied onboard power and reset buttons, even when onboard buttons were not the industry standard. Accompanying these buttons on the P55 Classified 200 are also onboard CMOS reset buttons on the motherboard, and at the rear I/O area for easy access, even when mounted in a case.</td><td align="justify" valign="top" bgcolor="#ececec" width="50%"><center><b>On-Board Diagnostics LED Readout</b></center><br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/feat-6.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 4px 5px 0 0;"/>Another feature that we take for granted these days is the inclusion of an onboard LED POST diagnostic readout. Again, EVGA has always offered the onboard LED readout as a feature on their motherboards and there is no reason to stop now. In the manual a list of POST codes help identify issues with the system should it not POST. Personally, I just find it easier for recognizing the quirks of a motherboard being able to see its POST routine.</td></tr><tr><td align="justify" valign="top" bgcolor="#ececec" width="50%"><center><b>On-Board Digital Multimeter</b></center><br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/feat-7.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 4px 0 0 5px;" />We consider this feature a pure luxury. One that takes on-board LED readouts to a whole new level. Not only does EVGA offer a POST LED readout, they now offer a complete on-board digital multimeter solution. With the single test probe, we are able to measure the actual voltages of the motherboard via the on-board test pads without any additional hardware required. Again, this may seem like a novelty item but we have found it quite handy to have integrated into the motherboard.</td><td align="justify" valign="top" bgcolor="#ececec" width="50%"><center><b>Multiple Selectable BIOS's</b></center><br><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/feat-8.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 4px 0 0 5px;" /> Yet another new feature has found its way onto the P55 Classified 200 from EVGA and that is the inclusion of multiple on-board BIOS chips. Not only has EVGA offered the multiple BIOS options, but has included an on-board switch to easily allow the user to select which BIOS they want the system to be running off of. This is an overclockers and enthusiasts dream as it provides multiple BIOS settings, or even completely different BIOS versions, to be selected by the flip of a switch.</td></tr></table>
 
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3oh6

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Package & Accessories

Package & Accessories

<p style="text-align: justify;">This will be an abbreviated version of our normal look at the package and contents. The reason being is that we did not actually receive the package or typical package contents when the board was shipped to us.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">The photos above are simply borrowed from the EVGA web site and is pretty much all we can offer. The package looks to be similar to the X58 Classified with the same design for the box. Here is a list of the contents that accompany retail versions of the P55 Classified.</p>
  • 6 x SATA cables (No 90 Degree connectors)
  • Flexible 2 Way SLI bridge
  • Solid 3-way SLI Bridge
  • Solid 3-way Extended SLI Bridge
  • ECP ribbon cable and PCI-E jumper enable/disable cable
  • ECP v2
  • PCI Expansion bracket with dual USB 2.0 ports and single large Firewire port
  • Test probe for onboard multi-meter
  • 3 x 4-pin Molex to dual SATA 5-pin power adapters
  • Manual & software CD
  • Clip less Rear I/O panel
<p style="text-align: justify;">As mentioned, the accessories look similar to the X58 Classified with an ECP control panel, and all the appropriate SLI bridges, including an extended bridge to accommodate 3-way SLI with a fourth card for PhysX support.

As with all other EVGA motherboards, we also see a complete lack of CrossFireX bridges. Having the amount of PCI-E slots, it would be nice to at least receive an extended CrossFireX bridge so that a pair of ATI cards could be run with a gap between them. Most video card manufacturers only provide single space bridges. As we have mentioned, we understand why EVGA promotes NVIDIA and SLI, but we find it pretty deplorable that they don't at least support CrossFireX with the appropriate bridges that should be in the package with such a high end motherboard. Otherwise end-users are left scrambling to find a long enough bridge to support Crossfire and considering there is a two slot gap between the first and second useable PCI-E 16X slot, in order to run CrossFireX, a long bridge is required. Imagine the disappointment when someone’s parts all show up only to find out that a CrossFireX bridge long enough to run two shiny new video cards isn't included.</p>
 
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A Closer Look at the EVGA P55 Classified 200

A Closer Look at the EVGA P55 Classified 200

<center><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/layout-1.jpg" alt="" border="0"></center><p style="text-align: justify;">If you are familiar with the Intel P55 chipset, something may seem slightly off at first glance in this photo above. The EVGA P55 Classified 200 appears to have brought back the north bridge, but that isn't the case. Where the north bridge has been traditionally located, sits the NVIDIA nForce 200 chipset and what puts the 200 in the name of this board. The other profound aspect of this layout is the immense gathering of PCI-E 16x slots and complete lack of PCI slots. This board is designed to be the monster of the P55 landscape so legacy devices obviously have been let as an afterthought. Of course, the Classified name brings the Classified color scheme and we couldn't be happier about it. There is a fair bit to look at here, so let's get started.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">EVGA has done a wonderful job with this CPU socket area. Heat sinks on all sides are nice and low, there is decent spacing to the DIMM slots - a little tight perhaps - and the CPU power connectors are placed exactly where they should be and orientated correctly. The addition of the nForce 200 chip in the traditional north bridge spot does add a bit of bulk to the CPU socket area but the heat sink sits low enough that it shouldn't cause any issues when it comes time to mount the CPU cooling solution. The PWM heat sink is of identical height and again, should facilitate any current CPU heat sinks without issue. The 10 phase digital PWM is the highlight of this motherboard and something we will take a closer look at in the Voltage Regulation section, but also the reason that such a small PWM heat sink can be used.

The specifications and features page has already covered it but keep in mind EVGA has gone with a higher gold percentage in the CPU socket pins with this board and included both LGA1156 and LGA775 mounting holes. Again, we'll look at this a little later on during installation. The last of the mentionables here is that in addition to the 10 phase digital PWM for the CPU power regulation, the VTT circuit which includes Uncore and PCI-E/Memory controllers has a separate 2 phase PWM. This circuit is powered by dual Renesas R2J20651 integrated MOSFETs. These MOSFETs are an all-in-one solution that have become the standard for PWM circuits on modern motherboards. These lead free integrated drivers are known - advertised by other manufacturers - as DrMOS. EVGA uses these on the vDIMM circuit as well that we will look at right now.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">Moving toward the DIMM slots we first look at the familiar - to EVGA users - voltage read points along the top edge of the motherboard. These read points have gone one step further by aligning alongside an onboard digital multi-meter, who's test probe mount can be seen in the first picture in the photos above. This combination of voltage reading hardware makes the P55 Classified 200 the only motherboard able to monitor actual voltages using hardware inclusively.

The rest of the memory area is pretty elaborate with a total of three fan headers, the 24-pin ATX connection, and of course the large LED display for the digital multi-meter. There are also the PCI-E jumpers for disabling the PCI-E ports individually and the three phase Renesas powered PWM mentioned earlier. The last item of note, or should we say lack of item, is the connecter location void of a connector - the infamous Braidwood slot. Obviously the dumping of Braidwood didn't come early enough for EVGA as they had already included it in their PCB design.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">We now make our way down to southbridge corner, which should be renamed PCH corner as it stands with P55. Along the outside edge of the motherboard down toward the major I/O hub of the motherboard we find six SATA II ports at a 90 degree angle for easy cable management that are driven by the Intel P55 PCH. Next to these ports are the front panel and ECP connection pins. Now if you look closely at the next photo above, we can see a second set of front panel pins - the color coded ones - in the very bottom corner of the motherboard. EVGA obviously listened to feedback from users of the original X58 Classified that wanted to use the ECP panel, but still maintain full front panel function on their case, the P55 Classified 200 allows this without having to modify the ECP connector cable.

Down here we also have the standard onboard headers for additional front panel USB ports as well as a 1394 onboard header and another two fan headers. If you are keeping track, we are up to six onboard fan headers already including the CPU header. The LED POST diagnostic display and CMOS battery are also nicely located down here. The last of the elements of interest are the PCH heat sink (separate from the other two heat sinks) and the three BIOS ICs. Supporting a total of three separate BIOS's is something new to EVGA boards and a very welcome addition, one BIOS chip is removable while the other two are soldered onto the PCB. So even if you manage to corrupt all three at the same time, you can replace the removable one and be back up and running.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">The bottom edge of the motherboard is home to the onboard power, reset, and clear CMOS buttons in addition to an onboard speaker. The last of the features down there is the BIOS selector switch. As we just saw, the P55 Classified 200 sports three BIOS ICs, so we need a way to pick which one we want the system to boot with; an onboard switch is the ideal choice.

The rest of the expansion port section of the motherboard is pretty self explanatory by the photos. We have a single PCI-E 1X slot right at the very top followed by six PCI-E 16X slots. The black one always runs at 4X and is linked to the PCH while the other five run either through the nForce 200 chipset. Now, this whole 8X/16X thing gets tricky so we'll just leave the explanation for the testing section a little later on. We are simply concerned with the layout for now. Obviously the choices are almost endless with this many PCI-E slots but in essence, we can run single, dual, triple, or quad crossfire - and single, dual, or triple SLI.

The last photo above simply shows the Realtek ALC889 onboard audio and dual Marvell 88E8057 gigabit network controllers in use on this motherboard.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">Moving to the rear I/O panel we can see the standard assortment of USB, audio, gigabit ethernet, and eSATA connections, but the two bonus's back here are the little red button next to the PS/2 tower on the left and the five pin connector next to it. The red button is another CMOS clear button which is nice as it allows easy clearing of the CMOS with the motherboard mounted in the case. The five pin connector next to it is a hookup for the very recently released EVBot control pad. This exciting feature will allow for hardware control and monitoring on a small device with an LCD display enabling on the fly voltage adjustments, frequency changes, and a host of other features.

The last two photos merely show the Marvell SATA controller in use for the rear eSATA ports as well as the backside of the motherboard. As with all recent EVGA motherboards, they have gone with a complete set of screws to hold the heat sinks in place, no pushpins seen here, thankfully.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of heat sinks, the last three photos we are going to look at are the three individual heat sinks on this motherboard. We use the term 'individual' because none of the three heat sinks are connected, which is something we can't stress enough. Moving away from the snaking heat pipe assemblies of years past is something we encourage as it facilitates water cooling of motherboard components without having to change every single heat sink. Needless to say, it also poses the question, can these heat sinks work passively or with limited air flow? That is something we will explore in the Heat & Acoustical testing section at the end of the review.

Let's now move on to the hardware installation section.</p>
 
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Hardware Installation

Hardware Installation

<p style="text-align: justify;">With a new socket, one would expect that hardware installation will require a new CPU cooler or at least a new mount from our standard Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme (TRUE) model. That is not going to be the case for us today as we have already seen that the EVGA P55 Classified 200 comes with both LGA 1156 and LGA 775 mounting holes. Naturally we want to see how well the TRUE fits with the 775 mounting hardware.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">The good news is that the TRUE fits with the LGA 775 mounting hardware. The center of the TRUE's base does need to sit a little high up on the CPU, but it shouldn't affect performance at all. It is the proximity to the NF200 heat sink causing the heat sink to sit slightly towards the top of the board; but the TRUE definitely will work on this motherboard without having to buy LGA 1156 mounting hardware. The best part is that both heat sinks around the CPU socket are low enough to provide plenty of space for the TRUE's outstretched wingspan. Let's see what happens with some fans and memory modules installed.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">We continue the fashion show by stuffing the DIMM slots with four sticks of OCZ Blade memory and slapping a 38mm wide fan above the modules. The fan does sit a bit high but as far as we are concerned, it is a perfect match. Towards the rear I/O panel, we mount another 38mm wide fan above the PWM heat sink. As we can see in the second photo above, this push/pull setup looks perfect, even with four memory modules mounted and dual 38mm thick fans.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">In the first photo above we have replaced the four OCZ Blade modules and mounted a pair of Mushkin Redline Ascent modules in the primary red slots. This configuration lets us sit the push fan marginally lower offering a bit more air to move through the PWM heat sink on the other side. We don't show it above but memory such as Corsair Dominator memory will force the fan to sit slightly higher up with some heat sinks.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">With the height of the heat sinks surrounding the socket, we didn't even bother twisting the TRUE as it will clearly fit with no issues. So we have moved on to mounting GPU's to look for any issues. Above we start with a single GTX 295. As expected, there doesn't appear to be any problems. With the card in the top PCI-E 16X slot there is plenty of clearance to the DIMM slots and the CPU heat sink, even as twisted as the TRUE sits using the LGA 775 holes. With a lack of any PCI slots, the single GTX 295 - as with all dual slot cards - doesn't really affect much else. There are still four PCI-E 16X slots available and with the 90 degree angled SATA ports, access to all available ports is accomplished.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">The next task was to see how many MSI HD4890 Cyclone's we could fit in the P55 Classified 200. Two and three card setups install no problem. The spacing for a dual card setup in two 16X slots is perfect, giving plenty of room for air to get in-between the cards. The three card setup above also works very nicely on this motherboard. The simple fact that we can mount and run three video cards with the P55 Classified 200 makes it in a class of its own for P55 motherboards. Well, almost, the only other board capable of three way SLI or CF is the EVGA FTW 200, which happens to be very similar to this Classified.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">The fun really begins when we add a fourth card to the mix. Obviously this setup isn't for the faint of heart as it requires an aftermarket heat sink and fan on one card and a bit of maneuvering in order to get the cards spaced for operation. Regardless of how odd it looks with the bottom two cards at the angle they are, the setup just looks lethal. We'll be exploring the scaling of 4x4890's in this setup a little later on. As we can see though, there really are endless options for setups with this motherboard. Most people aren't going to be running four or even three video cards but the option is there for ATI or NVIDIA based cards.</p>
 

3oh6

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 18, 2007
Messages
1,049
Location
Edmonton, AB
BIOS Rundown

BIOS Rundown

<center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">A new chipset, brings a whole new BIOS to the world of EVGA motherboards. Changing from Award Phoenix BIOS of old, EVGA has moved to an American Megatrend (AMI) BIOS for its entire P55 lineup. Talking with one of the engineers, Peter Tan, it was a necessary move as AMI was the only BIOS readily available for P55 support. Despite the new BIOS, however, the layout and ease of navigation familiar to EVGA users is almost the same; let's take a look.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">These first couple of sections really don't facilitate a big discussion. They are appropriately labeled and everything you expect to find in them for options are where they should be. EVGA really has done a good job making this BIOS intuitive and easy to find the settings you are looking for.</p><center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">Again, the Advanced Chipset Feature, PCI/PNP Resource Management, and Power Management sections are very self explanatory. The Advanced Chipset section is where we can enable and disable the various onboard components such as network controllers and the audio controller. The Power Management section is where those interested in S1/S3 sleep modes are going to find all of the settings accompanying that feature.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/bios-11.jpg"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/small/bios-11.jpg" style="float:right; padding: 0 0 5px 10px;"></a>The <b>Hardware Health Configuration</b> section is where we find all our voltage, fan speed, and temperature monitors. For temperatures, we are only given a CPU temperature (not core temperatures), a PWM Vreg temperature sensor, and a random System temperature reading. These are all anyone could pretty much need, considering the PCH doesn't play much if any role in the systems operation so monitoring its temp isn't even necessary.

We also have a limited number of voltages being reported in this section which gives us an indication as to which voltages will be reported in Windows in the EVGA E-LEET software. The only four worth noting are vCORE, VDIMM, VTT, and PCH. So far the reporting section of the P55 Classified is fairly limited and far from exhaustive but all the necessary values are listed.

The last job that this section satisfies is that of the onboard fan headers. In the upper portion there are only three of the seven fan headers listed indicating the fan speed of the hardware connected to them. Only three fan headers are monitored and that means only three fan headers can be controlled from the BIOS. They are the CPU fan header at the top of the board, the PWR fan header in-between the NF200 heat sink and the audio connections at the rear I/O panel, and a CHA fan header down in the lower right corner by the P55 chipset. These three fan headers are able to be controlled from this section either through RPM speed, by specifying Duty Cycle, or SmartFan which lets you set various temperature thresholds for increasing the fans RPMs.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/bios-12.jpg"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/small/bios-12.jpg" style="float:left; padding: 0 10px 5px 0;"></a>We have finally made it to the Frequency/Voltage Control section which where we will call overclock central. EVGA has done an extremely good job with the BIOS up to this point keeping everything in appropriate sections without a spider web of sub-menu's to find everything. The same holds true for the Frequency/Voltage Control section as we only have two sub-menu's, one for memory and one for the CPU settings. Everything else is in one big long page but thanks to the convenient PgUp and PgDn keys functioning in this AMI BIOS, jumping through this section is a piece of cake.

There are two sub-menus that we will look at in a minute, the rest of the list is laid down very well. The most important stuff on top with our frequency controls followed by the host of voltages we can adjust. We like the fact that the current CPU frequency and memory frequency listed right on this page and the fact that they dynamically change as we adjust settings. This lets us know what the system will be running at without having to use a calculator or, god forbid, think. This holds true for voltages as our currently set voltages is listed for each voltage that we can adjust. These are small things that really make the BIOS a dream to work in, especially for the active overclocker.

We don't have complete praise though for the BIOS, the ability to directly punch in values for BCLK is there, but no voltages. We have to manually cycle through the voltages using + or - keys. ASUS has the ability in AMI BIOS's to directly punch in the value using the keypad for voltages and we would love to see the same for the EVGA BIOS. Really though, that is about all we can complain about. This section, like the rest of the BIOS, is very well laid out and easy to work with.

The last of the options in this section is the ability to save and load complete BIOS profiles. The good part about these profiles are that they save the entire BIOS, not just this section. The downside is again the inability to label the profiles. We just have Profile 1 through 4 as seen in the sidebar. It really would be nice to label them as it is easy enough to forget what each profile is exactly. One note of caution, anytime you update your BIOS, you DO NOT want to load a profile from an older BIOS. Settings and values can change, so remember to setup a completely new profile with a BIOS update.

Here now is a chart of the voltages available from the EVGA P55 Classified BIOS.</p><center><table border="0" bgcolor="#666666" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" width="735px"><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="100"> </td><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="100"><b>Minimum</b></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="100"><b>Maximum</b></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="100"><b>Increment</b></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="335"><b>Notes</b></td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">CPU VCore</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">1.00000v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">2.30000v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.00625v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Very small increments throughout the range</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">DIMM Voltage</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">1.20v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">2.60v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.01v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Default is 1.50v</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">CPU VTT</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">1.050v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">2.000v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.025v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Default is 1.050v.</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">PCH</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">1.050v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">2.625v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.025v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Default is 1.050v</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">CPU PLL</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">1.050v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">2.400v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.025v (0.125v below 1.800v)</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Default is 1.800v</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">nForce200</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.700v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">2.600v</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">0.025v (0.125v below 1.200v)</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Default is 1.100v</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">DIMM DQ Vref</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">-640mV</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">+630mV</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">010mV</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Default is +0mV</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">DIMM CA Vref</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">-310mV</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">+310mV</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">010mV</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Default is +0mV</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">CPU PWM</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="300" colspan="3">800KHz / 940KHz / 1210KHz / 1333KHz</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Default is 800KHz</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="100">CPU PWM</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="300" colspan="3">240KHz / 634KHz</td><td align="center" bgcolor="#ececec" width="335">Default is 800KHz</td></tr></table></center><p style="text-align: justify;">Like all enthusiast level motherboards these days, the amount of voltage capable of the BIOS has all but eliminated the need for volt mods for the most part. Gone are the days of being limited by the board for the amount of volts you can send to your components. Nowadays the layout and features of the BIOS make them stand out against the others. We really like this BIOS for overclocking as the EVGA engineering squad have done a great job offering a lot of features other boards don't have that will enhance overclocking. Things like the vFREFs, and Signal adjustments can really help when pushing things to the limit.</p><center>
bios-13.jpg
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">The two sub-menus mentioned earlier are the memory timing table and the CPU Configuration page. Both pages are pretty self explanatory. The Memory Configuration page provides the vital timings for adjustment but does lack a few notables like Read To Write which can help with higher memory clocks as the board sometimes sets this value a little tight. The two big timings are available for manipulation though, Back-to-Back CAS Delay and Round Trip Latency. Both of these play a key role in performance and clocking of memory and the system.

The CPU Configuration page is simply where we can enable or disable various features of the CPU such as C-States, C1E, and Virtualization. We can also enable and disable Hyper-Threading here for CPU's that support it as well as enable or disable cores. With our i7 860 and i5 750 processors, we can choose between using all four cores or disabling two or three cores.

That about sums up the BIOS section. Like we said, overall we are quite pleased with the layout, the order of the sections, and the ease in with it is to navigate. We would just like to see direct input of voltages with the keypad, and a more robust profile save/load section.</p>
 

3oh6

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 18, 2007
Messages
1,049
Location
Edmonton, AB
Included Software

Included Software


<center>
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">Since we did not receive the full retail package from EVGA for this review, we will focus this section on the recently updated E-LEET software. It is no secret, here at Hardware Canucks, we like E-LEET. It is simple, helpful, and combines a lot of punch in a tiny little package. For those seeing E-LEET for the first time, you will not be dissapointed.</p><center>
software-2.png
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">E-LEET is modeled after CPU-Z, the industry standard software for system reporting information. It is this main reason that makes E-LEET so incredible. The layout is identical to CPU-Z making it compact and full of information. The first two tabs shown above provide up to the second CPU and memory information. They both report real time information about each component including CPU identification and the main memory timings. There are no updates to these tabs with the latest release but there is something new in the second set of images below.</p><center>
software-4.png
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">It is with the third tab that E-LEET separates itself from CPU-Z. The third tab is a monitoring tab that offers the exact same voltages we saw in the Hardware Monitoring section of the BIOS including vCORE, vDIMM, CPU VTT, and PCH voltage. In addition to voltages, the same temperatures reported in the BIOS are duplicated here alongside core temperatures on the right hand side. At the very bottom of this tab is where the three fan headers we could follow in the BIOS are also reported.

It is the second tab above that provides a small but telling update to E-LEET. In the Turbo Mode Control section, we can see an additional two sliders for a fifth and sixth core...E-LEET is already equipped to handle Gulftown, Intel's 32nm 6-core monster set for release late Q1 2010. This tab is where we can adjust BCLK and PCI-E frequency for overclocking within Windows. In addition to changing frequency, we can also enable and disable Turbo Mode of the processor. This section combined with the next makes E-LEET a very powerful overclocking tool.</p><center>
software-6.png
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</center><p style="text-align: justify;">The voltages tab is a one stop shop for adjusting all of the voltages that we have access to in the BIOS. The whole group is there including vCORE, vDIMM, VTT, PLL, even the NF200 voltage. We always encourage BIOS overclocking, but there are times when overclocking within Windows is not only helpful, but an absolute must. In our Extreme Overclocking section, we often boot at a lower BCLK and use E-LEET to reach some of the impressive frequencies we reach there.

The last tab of E-LEET is a place where we can save profiles that are hot key loadable as well as save validation files...just like CPU-Z. It is also here we see another small update that keen E-LEET users may have noticed, the addition of polling E-LEET information to the new EVBot. Unfortunately we don't have an EVBot just yet so we can't demonstrate its functionality, but one should be on the way shortly and we plan on providing a brief article outlining its uses. Essentially EVBot is a hardware controller that plugs into the motherboard capable of everything E-LEET is...without the software at a hardware level.

That will wrap things up for E-LEET software and again, despite its size and simplicity, it is still one of the best pieces of software included with a motherboard. This is especially true when it comes to overclocking and voltage adjustments, it just always works and really helps when doing sub-zero benching at the edge of stability.</p>
 

3oh6

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Joined
Mar 18, 2007
Messages
1,049
Location
Edmonton, AB
Test Setup & Methodologies

Test Setup & Methodologies

<center><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="735px"><tr><td align="left">
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</td><td align="left">
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</td><td align="right">
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</a></td><td align="right">
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</a></td></tr></table><br /><table border="0" bgcolor="#666666" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" width="735px"><tr><td colspan="4"><b><font color="#ffffff">Test Platform:</font></b></td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Motherboard:</b></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%">EVGA P55 Classified 200</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Processor:</b></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%">Intel i5 750 ES (918B255)<br/>Intel i7 860 (925B478)</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Processor Cooling:</b></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%">Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme CU<br>2 x Scythe Ultra Kaze 120MM 2000RPM 87.6CFM (DFS123812L-2000)</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Thermal Paste:</b></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%">Arctic Cooling MX-2</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>PCH Cooling:</b></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%">Stock</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>NF200 Cooling:</b></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%">Stock</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>PWM Cooling:</b></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%">Stock</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Memory:</b></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%">OCZ Blade 3x2GB PC3-17000 8-9-8-24 (OCZ3B2133LV6GK)<br>OCZ Blade 3x2GB PC3-16000 7-8-7-20 (OCZ3B2000LV6GK)<br>Mushkin Redline Ascent 3x2GB PC3-12800 6-7-6-18 (998692)<br>Corsair Dominator 4x2GB PC3-12800 8-8-8-24 (CMD8GX3M4A1600C8)</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Power Supply:</b></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%">Corsair HX1000W</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Video Card:</b></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%">4 x MSI R4890 Cyclone OC (CCC 9.10)<br/>Gigabyte GTX 260OC(NVIDIA GeForce 195.62 WHQL)</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Additional Fan:</b></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%">Scythe Ultra Kaze 120MM 2000RPM 87.6CFM (DFS123812L-2000)</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>Hard Drives:</b></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%">Seagate 7200.9 80GB SATAII 8MB cache</td></tr><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#cc9999" width="25%"><b>OS:</b></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#ececec" width="75%">Windows Vista x64 SP2 (with all updates)</td></tr></table></center><p style="text-align: justify;">Our setup for this review again consists of a couple different processors as well as kits of memory. In addition to this, we have used two different GPU setups, a single GTX 260 and four HD4890's. The reason for each will be known if the various sections but the main purpose was simply to broaden the range of hardware tested for compatibility. The CPU used primarily for this review was the i5 750 but near the time of publication, we acquired an i7 860 so added some screens to the Overclocking & Stability Testing section of the review as well as the Extreme Overclocking section.</p>

Stability Overclocking Methodology

<p style="text-align: justify;">I have made a slight adjustment to my stability testing regiment but nothing drastic. By including a 20 pass run of LinX using all available memory, it became pretty redundant to run both it and OCCT so OCCT has been cut. Needless to say, its replacement does just as fine a job at testing for stability and I feel makes the testing methodology that much stronger.

Unlike many sites that simply post a CPU-Z screen shot of an overclock and call it stable, I rigorously test the stability of the overclocks I post. The methodology of how I go about that can be seen below.</p><center><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/setup-5.jpg" alt="" border="0"></center><p style="text-align: justify;">Due to time constraints of a review, stability testing of a number of different overclocks requires a structured and concise testing methodology. It is for this reason that I rely on the virtual recipe below to ensure the overclocks posted are stable. I also use the same methodology for stability testing of certain components at stock as well, such is the case with memory:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As mentioned, this is not simply a CPU-Z screen shot stable testing methodology. This particular set of tests is all but guaranteed to provide a completely 24/7 stable computing environment no matter what you use a computer for. All overclocks are also backed up by a screen shot of the above tests completed. Keep in mind, all over clocking shown in this review is to show what our setup achieved and what is possible, but certainly not a guarantee of what a particular component is capable of. There are an endless number of variables when it comes to overclocking and guarantees can never be made.</p>

Benchmark Methodology

<p style="text-align: justify;">My benchmark methodology hasn't changed at all from the last motherboard review but a change was made for this review regarding the 3D/Gaming benchmarks.<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/method-1.png" alt="Just a sample graph outlining where the results will be coming from in the up-coming benchmarks" style="float: right; margin: 4px 0px 4px 7px"> Instead of comparing the system as has been customary with the same setup as the memory and system benchmarks, I thought it would be fun to test the scaling of CrossFireX on this motherboard. Plus, there are always some questions as to whether EVGA motherboards support CrossFireX because of their lack of advertising about it, so I thought this would lay some of those questions to rest.

Needless to say, the comparison between a single, dual, triple, and quad HD4890 setups are quite fun and exciting. For that section, we stuck with a fairly standard overclock of 4GHz as noted in the charts.

For the rest of the benchmarks, we will rely on the <b>blue</b> bars in the charts to outline the performance of the system at BIOS defaults with the memory timings slightly adjusted to replicate common memory kits. Due to the limited memory ratios of the i5 750 Engineering Sample processor used for the benchmarks, the memory is only running at DDR3-1333 or 667MHz. This should make for some interesting comparisons to the overclocked results with much higher memory frequencies.

For the overclocked results, we will use the <b>red</b> bars to plot performance in the graphs. The overclocked results originate from our Overall Stable Overclock in the Stability Overclocking section that we are about to look at right now. Before that though, have a look at the rundown of how we setup the OS for the benchmarking...

  1. Windows Vista x64 w/SP2 is installed using a full format
  2. Intel Chipset drivers and accessory hardware drivers (audio, network, GPU) are installed followed by a defragment and a reboot
  3. At time of benchmarks the latest drivers were downloaded from their official web sites as the latest drivers, most notable, NVIDIA GeForce Release 195.62 WHQL & Catalyst Control Center 9.10
  4. Programs and games are then installed followed by another defragment
  5. Windows updates are then completed installing all available updates followed by a defragment
  6. Benchmarks are each ran three times after a clean reboot for every iteration of the benchmark unless otherwise stated, the results are then averaged
</p>
 

3oh6

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Joined
Mar 18, 2007
Messages
1,049
Location
Edmonton, AB
Overclocking Results

Stability & Overclocking Results

<p style="text-align: justify;">With a couple of processors and stack of memory kits, this Stability Overclocking section is going to be a little cramped and somewhat unorganized. For that we apologize. But we figured it would be better to have more info than less, despite the confusion it may cause. So just bear with us, we will try to label everything appropriately.</p><center><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/setup-6.jpg" alt="" border="0"></center><p style="text-align: justify;">By this point, overclocking prowess of a motherboard is almost an afterthought. P55 motherboards, like their X58 brethren, are not usually the limiting factor for BCLK with a setup on air cooling. Generally the limiting factor falls on the CPU being used. With this in mind, we still seek out the maximum BCLK we can achieve, but also put more focus on compatibility in this section than before. We'll start with some memory compatibility testing and go from there.</p>

Mushkin Redline Ascent 3x2GB PC3-12800 6-7-6-18 (998692) Stability Testing

Click for full size...
<center><a href="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/ocing-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/small/ocing-1.png" alt="Mushkin Redline Ascent 3x2GB PC3-12800 6-7-6-18 (998692) Stability Testing" border="0"></a></center><p style="text-align: justify;">There was recently a discussion in one of the online forums that triple channel memory cannot be used with dual channel motherboards, such as the P55 offerings like this Classified 200 from EVGA. That is obviously nonsense because memory isn't programmed or intended to run in dual or triple channel, it runs however we tell it to run. Needless to say, we pulled out the trusty Mushkin Redline Ascent 3x2GB kit and stuck a pair of modules into the EVGA P55 Classified 200. The option to enable the XMP profile was there and as the screen shot above shows, the memory runs the XMP profile just fine.</p>

OCZ Blade 3x2GB PC3-16000 7-8-7-20 (OCZ3B2000LV6GK) Stability Testing

Click for full size...
<center><a href="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/ocing-2.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/small/ocing-2.png" alt="OCZ Blade 3x2GB PC3-16000 7-8-7-20 (OCZ3B2000LV6GK) Stability Testing" border="0"></a></center><p style="text-align: justify;">Our next kit in question is the opposite of our DDR3-1600 low latency Mushkin kit just tested, it is a DDR3-2000 7-8-7 kit of OCZ Blade memory we reviewed here at Hardware Canucks a while back. Again, this memory is a 3x2GB kit intended for running on X58 triple channel motherboards and again it runs just fine at specified settings on the P55 Classified 200. Using the i5 750 processor we were able to run right up to 200 BCLK to achieve 1000MHz or DDR3-2000 for the memory with very little VTT (1.325v). This is one of the biggest differences between X58 and P55, the uncore on P55 runs on a much lower multiplier of the BCLK. Therefore we can run 1000MHz with uncore (specified by NB Frequency in CPU-Z) of only 3200MHz. On X58, 1000MHz memory required an minimum uncore of 4000MHz requiring much greater VTT. Combined with a lower uncore at high memory clocks and running only dual channel, in theory, the P55 platform is much stronger at running high memory clocks.</p>

Corsair Dominator 4x2GB PC3-12800 8-8-8-24 (CMD8GX3M4A1600C8) Stability Testing

Click for full size...
<center><a href="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/ocing-3.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/small/ocing-3.png" alt="Corsair Dominator 4x2GB PC3-12800 8-8-8-24 (CMD8GX3M4A1600C8) Stability Testing" border="0"></a></center><p style="text-align: justify;">We now move on to a 4x2GB kit of Corsair Dominator memory that we will be using for stability testing of motherboards of the P55 platform. This kit is designed by Corsair for the P55 platform and provides a solid 8GB of memory for system use at a very respectable 800MHz or DDR3-1600. As with the Mushkin Ascent memory, we simply loaded BIOS defaults and enabled the XMP profile. With our i7 860 processor the proper 2:12 ratio was selected and the timings adjusted to the memory specifications. The only change we made was to manually lower VTT as it is set at 1.35v which is unnecessary for this CPU. In the full size screen shot we can see that with only 1.25v that we set the kit runs perfect. So keep that in mind when running XMP profiles, sometimes the VTT doesn't need to be as high as the profile sets. This will vary from CPU to CPU though so make sure to do proper testing if you lower the VTT manually. As it stands though, this kit looks to be a perfect match for the EVGA P55 Classified 200.</p>

Corsair Dominator 4x2GB PC3-12800 8-8-8-24 (CMD8GX3M4A1600C8) Maximum Overclock Stability Testing

Click for full size...
<center><a href="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/ocing-4.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/small/ocing-4.png" alt="Corsair Dominator 4x2GB PC3-12800 8-8-8-24 (CMD8GX3M4A1600C8) Maximum Overclock Stability Testing" border="0"></a></center><p style="text-align: justify;">We figured why not try overclocking these sticks since they were in the rig. So we went back to the i5 750, and started clocking the memory. We don't think the board was the limiting factor at this point because the memory was scaling with voltage and VTT was very low still. Needless to say, those that say you can't overclock with 4 sticks of memory just aren't trying hard enough. We easily reached 180BCLK with a respectable CPU frequency. We took this overclock one step further with the i7 860 and this memory in the next screen shot.

Corsair Dominator 4x2GB PC3-12800 8-8-8-24 (CMD8GX3M4A1600C8) Overclock Stability Testing

Click for full size...
<center><a href="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/ocing-5.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/small/ocing-5.png" alt="Corsair Dominator 4x2GB PC3-12800 8-8-8-24 (CMD8GX3M4A1600C8) Overclock Stability Testing" border="0"></a></center><p style="text-align: justify;">As mentioned, we also ran this memory at specified clocks with a 200BCLK and 4GHz CPU clock on the i7 860 processor and very low volts across the board. This truly goes to show that 4 stick overclocking on the P55 Classified 200 is certainly not going to be a limiting factor in your overclock. So go ahead, load up the slots with good quality memory like this Corsair Dominator kit, and overclock all you want.

Overall Stability Overclocking

Click for full size...<center><a href="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/ocing-6.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/small/ocing-6.png" alt="Maximum Overall Stability Overclocking" border="0"></a></center><p style="text-align: justify;">Normally we would now have maximum CPU frequency, BCLK, and memory overclocks; but with this setup we managed to combine all three into one. Essentially we couldn't get any higher BCLK with either our i5 750 or i7 860 processor (the i7 860 topped out around 210BCLK), and the memory clocks shown here (1075MHz or DDR3-2150) is only about 10MHz less than we could manage with this kit. We definitely have some work to do with the memory clocks but we absolutely refuse to loosen the important timing of Back-to-back Cas Latency in order to gain higher memory clocks like you see in the DDR3-2500 screen shots most often. B2B is an absolute performance killer and we are more than satisfied with a 1075MHz memory clock for this setup. We had to really pump the volts into the i5 750 to make it run 4.3GHz but it didn't seem to mind and the board handled it extremely well. Overall, this is a massive overclock and we are quite pleased with how the EVGA P55 Classified 200 handled overclocking on air.

We spent a lot of time with memory kits because we felt it important to show a few key screen shots like high BCLK 4x2GB clocking and the fact that triple channel DDR3 kits run just fine in the P55 motherboards, even the XMP profiles. These topics came up in the EVGA forums lately. So now that we have our overclock, let's get to some benching, shall we?</p>
 

3oh6

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Memory Benchmarks

Memory Benchmarks



Everest Ultimate v5.30.1965<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Everest Ultimate is a very useful tool for any and all benchmarkers or overclockers. With the ability to read most voltage, temperature, and fan sensors on almost every motherboard available, Everest provides the ability to customize the outputs in a number of forms for display on your desktop. In addition to this, the memory benchmarking provides a useful tool of measuring the changes to your memory sub-system when tweaking to measure the differences.</i></p><center><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/mem_bench-1.png" alt=""></center><p style="text-align: justify;">What's not important is the bandwidth difference, obviously we are going to see a massive increase in memory bandwidth going from DDR3-1333 to DDR3-2150. What is interesting to note is the fact that even with just dual channel memory, the P55 platform can almost reach 20K read bandwidth here in Everest. This is surely enough bandwidth to completely flood the CPU regardless of how high it is clocked. Another sign that triple channel memory really is overkill for the X58 platform...until possibly Gulftown arrives.</p>

<center><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/mem_bench-2.png" alt=""></center><p style="text-align: justify;">The latency numbers again really compare well with X58 triple channel performance and make this P55 platform really strong. With 4 core HyperThreading CPU's and feature rich motherboards, performance in a daily machine on P55 is going to closely resemble the X58 platform. Of course with motherboards like this P55 Classified 200 rivaling high end X58 motherboards in price, it really begs the question to the point of high-end P55 setups.</p>

SiSoft Sandra 2009.SP2<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>SiSoft Sandra is a popular and well used benchmark in the industry but not really a friend of serious benchmarkers. The results SiSoft Sandra produces have been suspect at times basing the numbers it comes up with on system specs and not actual testing. The latest version of Sandra seems to be one of the few programs that appear to calculate memory bandwidth consistently so we decided to include it in today’s benchmarks. Like we have always said with SiSoft Sandra though, take these results for what they are and nothing more.</i></p><center><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/mem_bench-3.png" alt=""></center><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't even know what to make of these results from SiSoft Sandra. There certainly is a jump from the stock settings up to our overclocked setup but the value isn't as high as I was expecting. Sandra must calculate more of a penalty for dual channel than Everest...oh right, Everest measures bandwidth, Sandra calculates it based on a formula.</p>

ScienceMark v2<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>ScienceMark is an almost ancient benchmark utility at this point in time and hasn't seen an update in a long time. It is, however, still a favorite for accurately calculating bandwidth on even the newest chipsets.</i></p><center><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/3oh6/evga/p55classified200/mem_bench-4.png" alt=""></center><p style="text-align: justify;">Sciencemark puts up numbers that are more similar to what we would expect based on the Everest results. Cracking 18.5K in Sciencemark is a pretty tall order so this P55 platform definitely supplies the necessary bandwidth not to starve even a four core processor with hyper-threading.

Let's move on to see how this relatively impressive bandwidth translates into system speed.</p>
 
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