Testing
We put the P55H-A through a series of synthetic tests to see how it stacks up against another P55 board, Intel’s DP55KG. For both systems we used the same hardware:
- Intel Core i7 870 2.93GHz CPU
- 2GB OCZ Platinum Series DDR3-1600 7-7-7-18 1T @1.65v
- Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB SATA HDD
- HIS Radeon HD 4850 IceQ4
- Thermalright MUX-120 heatsink
- OCZ Freeze TIM
- OCZ StealthXStream 600W PSU
- Silverstone Raven RV-02 case
Windows 7 x64 is the operating system of choice. We turned off SuperFetch, Windows Search service, Defender, Sidebar, Scheduled Defrag, System Restore and UAC so they wouldn’t throw off the results.
PCMark Vantage is an all-around test suite for Vista and Windows 7. It simulates a wide variety of tasks and is a good general indicator of overall system performance. All settings were left at the default and we ran the full gamut of tests.
In every situation except the TV & Movies test the ECS board pulled forward with a decent margin over the Intel board. In real world operation, the difference would be negligible in terms of user feel, but it’s nice to know that the ECS P55H-A has a little extra get-up-and-go tucked under those PCB layers.
Next, we tested using SiSoft Sandra. Sandra has been around forever and is a proven benchmark suite for testing individual areas of computer systems. We tested the Memory Bandwidth and CPU Cryptography and Arithmetic.
Memory bandwidth on the P55 chipset sits right around 16 GB/s. The Intel board took a slight lead here, but it’s not enough to make a definitive statement as it’s well within the margin of error we find in benchmark testing.
Again, the Intel board leads in CPU Arithmetic testing too. Again, it’s within the margin of error.
Cryptography testing shows the Intel board leading the ECS board by 5MB/s in SHA256 hashing testing. With cryptography testing, we get a general idea of how the CPU and memory work together transferring and decoding data. It’s safe to say that both motherboards perform very closely in performance terms.
Overclocking
Here’s the scoop. Turning Turbo Mode off, we pushed the Bclock to 161 mhz. The Core i7 870’s 22x multiplier gave us a solid 3.5GHz. That’s at stock voltage with the memory set to 7-7-7-18 1T at DDR3-1333. With more time and voltage tweaks, it seems like the board could go further. Lynnfields seem to hit under or right at 4GHz on air cooling right now, depending on the CPU. A good motherboard that can stably crank up the Bclock is what’s needed to get them there. The ECS board has the potential to do it, but it seems like a BIOS revision could go a long way in moving its abilities from “good” to “great.”
Conclusion
The ECS P55H-A goes for around $120 after rebates.
Newegg has it for $140 with free shipping and a $21 mail-in rebate. That’s not a shabby deal.
It’s hard to knock the ECS P55H-A. Its bundle is nice, the layout is nice, and the performance isn’t bad. The price is certainly attractive, but there are other boards in this price bracket from companies with reputations for providing more than just a bare-bones board. And that’s the problem—ECS is fighting an uphill battle on a very competitive playing field, and right now, they’re not standing out from the crowd enough. They’ve gotta step up their game just a bit more.
The game changer for ECS with the P55H-A would come in the form of a BIOS update which seems pretty likely with the just announced P55H-A Ultra. The Ultra features an upgraded socket with better pin connectivity and enhanced cooling; features overclockers are looking for. What overclockers will also need is an improved BIOS, and because both boards remain largely the same we should see the P55H-A get some love as a result.
Icrontic approves of this board and hopes ECS will continue pushing forward as a company producing enthusiast-friendly products at an attractive price.
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