Intel's P55 Express chipset is being geared up for the launch of Intel's new socket 1156/Lynnfield processors, which will form part of Intel's new lineup of Core i5 Processors. By now you're likely familiar with Intel's X58 Express chipset, and how much it's changed the design of socket 1366/Core i7. The Intel P55 Express chipset is an even more radical departure from Intel's traditional core logic approach.

Intel P55 Express. It replaces the P45 Express and Intel ICH10 pairing.

As a brief refresher, the Intel X58 Express chipset marked the first time Intel moved the memory controller from the Northbridge to the processor. This not only allows the processor direct access to memory, but also removes the need for the bottleneck-prone Front Side Bus. It's replacement is the QuickPath Interface (QPI).

The Intel P55 Express chipset takes this a step further, with both the memory controller and 16 PCI Express 2.0 lanes now controlled directly by the socket 1156-Lynnfield CPU. The P55 Express Northbridge will also have up to eight of its own PCI Express lanes.

The changes to the PCI Express graphics sub-system won't have a huge impact on buyers, most P55 motherboards will still have three PCI Express slots that can be run in x16/x4 or x8/x8/x4 mode, the only difference is that now the first two slots will be handled directly by the CPU, which will have the nice side effect of removing some system latency.

Plenty of 3GB/s SATA 2 on the ASUS P7P55D-Deluxe motherboard. No 6GB/s SATA 3 however...

The Intel P55 Express chipset is no longer handles memory itself, but it's still important to note that memory compatibility on socket-1156/Lynnfield-compatible motherboards is DDR3-exclusive. Expect supported memory speeds to run from DDR3-800 up to DDR3-1333, with overclocking support going all the way up to DDR3-2133 on the ASUS P7P55D-Deluxe motherboard.

Since the P55 Express Northbridge doesn't have many jobs left it actually doesn't need a very fast link to the processor. Instead of equipping the P55 chipset with a complex and expensive-to-produce QPI link, Intel has instead used a slower 2.0GB/s DMI link for the P55 core logic to communicate with the processor.

Both northbridge and southbridge have been merged into what Intel is now calling the P55 Platform Controller Hub. The storage and media interface capabilities are pretty similar to that of Intel's well-known ICH10R southbridge, with support for 14 USB 2.0 ports, six SATA 3Gb/s ports with support for RAID 0/1/5 and 10 modes, and gigabit Ethernet.

The first round of motherboards based on Intel's P55 Express chipset are scheduled for launch this fall, to coincide with Intel's launch of its new Lynnfield/Core i5 processors.

Easy open PCI Express x16 locks

Easy to access power and reset buttons make overclocking the ASUS P7P55D-Deluxe motherboard on the desktop easy.

A clear CMOS button is located on the rear I/O panel of the motherboard.

The ASUS P7P55D-Deluxe motherboard features a 16+3 phase power supply for the socket 1156 CPU. The small black squares are ferrite chokes, the MOSFETs are covered by the blue aluminum heatsinks. All capacitors on the ASUS P7P55D-Deluxe motherboard are solid-state polymer capacitors.

That concludes PCSTATS preview of the new socket 1156 Intel P55 Express ASUS P7P55D-Deluxe motherboard! Stay tuned for the full performance review, or check out a new motherboard right here.

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