Manufacturer: N/A Price: $ 105/110 US Author: Steve Date: 03/11/2010

[ Introduction ]

Today we are checking out two of the best Intel H55 based motherboards money can buy, the Asus P7H55-M Pro and Gigabyte H55M-UD2H. These are ideal motherboards for pairing with the new Intel Core i3 series, making for an excellent HTPC solution or perhaps even a modest gaming system... Right now there are a number of good quality affordable options for budget users looking to build a new computer. The AMD Phenom II X2 processor series for example is phenomenal value, with the 3.2GHz flagship part priced at just $100 US. Combine this with the affordable AMD 785G motherboards at around just $70 US and you have the makings of a seriously good value platform. However if you are willing to part with a little more cash, then the new Intel Core i3 series might be the way to go. Recently we conducted some CPU scaling tests with a pair of Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire graphics cards and were amazed by the results. The unassuming Core i3 series was in many cases able to deliver comparable gaming performance to its much bigger brother the Core i7. This is made all the more remarkable given the fact that the most expensive Core i3 processor is still half the price of the cheapest Core i7 processor. When compared to the Phenom II X2 555, consumers will pay about $20-$30 more for a Core i3 530 processor, while the Intel H55 motherboards are on average $20-$30 more as well. Still, there are a number of very impressive Intel H55 motherboards available at reasonable prices. Both Asus and Gigabyte have been very competitive with their H55 products, pricing them quite aggressively. The Asus P7H55-M Pro for example costs just $110 US, while the Gigabyte H55M-UD2H is slightly cheaper at $105 US. Despite their affordable price tags there is nothing cheap about either of these products and in fact they both appear quite high-end. In terms of features both boards are very well equipped, though there are a few aspects that vary quite differently, and with almost no difference in price we have set out to determine which company is providing consumers with the best offer.

Table of Contents >>> Introduction <<< Asus P7H55-M Pro – Features Asus P7H55-M Pro – Design Gigabyte H55M-UD2H – Features Gigabyte H55M-UD2H – Design Test: Test System Specs Memory Bandwidth Performance Synthetic Performance Application Performance Encoding Performance Gaming Performance Power Consumption Conclusion Next Page ->

Rizz	Posted on: 03/11/2010 10:58 PM Nice review. I have noticed that Gigabyte generally undercuts Asus and since they both sell products with similar features and performance I often go with Gigabyte.

ProX	Posted on: 03/12/2010 02:01 AM Gigabyte is starting to overtake Asus in shipments and this is probably because they are offering slightly better deals!

Oldie

Posted on: 04/15/2010 08:55 PM Nice boards but I prefer Gigabyte myself. Asus boards tend to be a bit pricey for my liking.

Cheddar

Posted on: 08/01/2010 03:13 PM Hello Gigabyte employees?

ProX	Posted on: 08/04/2010 04:51 AM @ Cheddar - So because a few guys commented that they agree that the Gigabyte board is better we are now employees of the company... Meh