Conclusion
As was the case with the Deluxe, using the ASUS P7P55D Premium was a great experience. We were able to really push the overclocking envelope of our i5 750 CPU. If you plan to watercool, this would be a great motherboard to get your hands on, as it has the capability of pushing any current 1156 CPU past the limits of air-cooling. Coupling this motherboard with an upcoming Intel i3 CPU should result in some impressive clock speeds!
The extra features of the motherboard, like the Express Gate, MemOK, and Turbo V really help add in extra value. And let¡¯s not forget the addition of SATA 6Gb/s! With all of these features, it is easy to see why the price tag is reaching the high end of the P55 spectrum. The lowest price we could find on PriceGrabber.com was $302.02, which shows that this is not an inexpensive motherboard. Newegg does have it a bit cheaper for $269.99 plus $8.50 shipping, but it still is a very expensive board. For those having a desire to use USB 3.0 then take a look at the ASUS P7P55D-E Premium for $279.99 plus $8.50 shipping. The primary existence of LGA 1156 is for mainstream performance, or value. At the price of the ASUS P7P55D Premium, you are also looking at the same cost of the ASUS P6T Deluxe, which is an excellent X58 motherboard. Many regard X58 as the superior overclocking platform (at least on air-cooling) as the on-die PCIe controller that i7 800 series CPU¡¯s posses does not handicap you. It typically requires more CPU voltage for an i7 800 series to reach the same speeds as the latest D0 stepped i7 900 series CPU¡¯s, enough so that air cooling at 4GHz on the 800 series is pushing comfortable limits of heat.
So with the value aspect of the processors and moderate overclocking, that leaves the ASUS P7P55D Premium in a precarious position. The motherboard itself is excellent and I have no problem recommending this to someone looking at a Core i3/i5/i7 800 series CPU. Getting this motherboard to push the CPU to a good overclock is not a problem if you can keep the CPU cool, and it has features like SATA 6Gbps that does not yet exist on the X58 platform. It really comes down to what you are looking for in your system. Right now, the ASUS P7P55D Premium is the better motherboard for a long-term solution.
Legit Bottom Line: The ASUS P7P55D Premium implements SATA 6 onto a P55 motherboard and gives it enough power to safely overclock your CPU to the moon! If you are looking for a high end motherboard to satisfy the gadget freak and overclocking fiend in you, then this is your stop.
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