One of the things that arguably penalizes the current P55A/H55 budget and mainstream motherboards is the sharing of the system bus that connects the PCI Express, USB 3.0, and SATA3 devices. So basically, the more video cards and devices you add to the bus the more each devices’ transfer rates take a performance hit. But, not too many folks realistically run dual graphics on those platforms nor often run both USB 3.0 and SATA3 devices simultaneously. However, some folks really are power users and really do need a solution like the ECS EliteGroup P55H-AK Motherboard to help open up all those lanes for unhindered performance. Let me show what we mean.
Features and Specifications
What frees up the ECS P55H-AK allowing it to offer full speed PCI Express performance is the integration of the NVidia NF200 controller. That’s how the board is able to offer Triple SLI support. That means full speed x16 from PCIE slot 1 with one card, and when in Triple SLI, x8 speed from slot 2 and 3. This is basically typical performance when using the controller.
Next, ECS chose to implement an extra PLX PEX 8608 PCIe Gen 2 switch (chip) to help accelerate DMI performance by adding an extra 4 PCIE lanes. This is what keeps the dual NEC USB 3.0 and Marvell SATA3 controllers moving smoothly without sharing any of the system bus. Further simplified, this allows the devices to perform as fast as they can at all times. It also adds extra USB 3.0 and eSATA3 ports for users with more ambitious storage needs.
Looking at the big list of features, ECS aimed at making the P55H-AK user friendly. Features like eBLU (a live BIOS update utility) and eDLU (a live drivers update utility) always come in handy when first setting up. Also, EOC (Easy Over Clock Utility) is their latest Windows based overclocking program designed just for overclocking along with profiles and plenty of adjustable options for the novice. For experience overclockers, the M.I.B.X. (Ultimate BIOS OC) interface offers all the options you need including the ability to save your overclocking profiles.
The full speed triple graphics and PCIe support is what separates this board from other price point boards. Feature for feature, this board seems to compete well with other similarly priced products. The $299 US price tag for the P55H-AK seems justified given all that is packed in.
Unboxing and Handling the ECS P55H-AK Motherboard
A few of the things you’ll notice is the sharp looking heat sink and color theme. Let’s take you in closer and give you a good look at what you’re getting. Check out the video below:
Like I said, it’s not your common ECS high board. This new board takes a step forward in to the higher end sector. Let’s see if its performance is higher end.
Test System and Installation Notes
This platform appears to be tuned for full performance at all times. And, given its price and features, it should be able to do a bit of overclocking. I assembled the entire test system based on these factors to see if it measures up to ECS’ new found push for producing performance motherboards. Here is the break down:
- Processor: Intel Core i5-661 Clarkdale
- Motherboard 1: ECS P55H-AK (BIOS 08/04/2010)
- Motherboard 2: GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD6 (BIOS F11)
- Memory: Patriot ViperII Sector5 4GB 2400MHz DDR3 @ 1333MHz (8-8-8-24)
- Graphics: ZOTAC Geforce GTX 280 1GB
- Storage: OS Drive – Kingston 128GB V+ SSDNow
- USB 3.0 Device: Rosewill R358-UB3 w/Western Digital 2TB Black HDD
- SATA3 Device: Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD
- Power Supply: Antec Quattro TPQ-1200
- Operating System: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
- CPU Cooler: Thermalright MUX-120
Naturally, this is a freshly patched OS installation. I’m also using the latest BIOS, chipset, audio driver, and video card software for each build. This includes each platform’s latest versions of overclocking software. If this platform can overclock, we want to know about it.
About the only operational notes worth mentioning is that there is a momentary pause before anything happens after pressing the on board power button. After flashing the BIOS, the LED function has to be turned back on so you can see it. Also, the CMOS CLR (BIOS reset) button sometimes needs held in the clearing position for a few seconds or else it doesn’t actually reset the BIOS. Not exactly major, just more of an unknown annoyance.
Benchmark Software
Since we’re testing the main performance levels of the motherboard itself, we’ll be using the following benchmark titles: PCMark Vantage, 3DMark Vantage, CineBench R11.5, SANDRA CPU benchmarks, x.264 Encoding 3.0, Unigine Heaven Demo 2.0, Games: Crysis and Bad Company 2, IO Feature Performance, and Power Consumption. This should cover the most important aspects when it comes to performance.
Overclocking Examined
The automated BIOS configurations all worked flawlessly giving me complete access to several overclocking settings. The board is very eager in supporting 4GHz frequencies without dropping the multiplier much at all. The EOC (easy overclocking utility) software was a little less agile and stable than the automated settings topping out at about 180MHz CPU bus clock. This isn’t surprising, but better than previous generation utilities.
Using the BIOS, I easily reached 185MHz with very little BIOS manipulation in terms of voltage. It’s always nice when there are settings that can help control VDroop which can really effect overclocked CPU stability. Getting to 200MHz required a heftier 1.38 volts or else the BIOS would hang. The system seemed to settle right in at 210MHz bus clock with 1.43 volts which is about the max I personally like to push with regular use.
If you’re fine with these 24/7 risks to your CPU, you should be able to hit 215MHz with 1.45 to 1.5 volts. Excellent CPU cooling would be required at those voltages of course.
PCMark Vantage
Starting off the onslaught, the P55H-AK scores higher than the P55A-UD6 in more than one way. Keep in mind that a lot of it has to do with more PCIe freeway lanes and supporting components that use them.
3DMark Vantage
There’s not a great deal of difference even with both BIOS running full Turbo mode. However, the ECS board again takes the lead mainly due to a higher CPU score.
CineBench R11.5
All of rendering here puts all of the processor cores and threads to work. But, after several passes, the P55H-AK pulls just a head in the multi-core average. These results are almost identical to my old favorite, the ASUS P7P55D-E Pro.
SANDRA Mathematical and Multimedia
Pulling a double shift here, SANDRA has proven an invaluable asset to testing generations of processors which you can experience by downloading the Lite version. Let’s take a look.
After several runs to be certain, the P55H-AK starts off pushing the capable Clarkdale processor especially in the Multimedia test. This probably due to some slight BIOS tuning. A promising start to say the least.
x.264 Encoding 3.0
This one is more for the media folks who want to know if the platform is all gaming or not. As you can see, it’s just as nimble as its competitor when it comes to being a video editing machine.
Unigine Heaven 2.0 Demo
With the exception of the Score, the average frame rates were too close to call in reality. The P55A-UD6 is a spirited platform. To see the P55H-AK keeping up is a testament to it’s build quality.
Games: Crysis and Bad Compan 2 (1920 x 1200)
There’s a small difference in performance here. The graphic card seems to have a little more room to stretch out on the P55H-AK. At these resolutions, I’ll take anything extra I can get.
IO Feature Performance
If you recall, many budget boards share the PCIe bus with certain features than can slow things down. The chances of someone using all these features simultaneously are pretty slim though. Nonetheless, I’ve been a bit curious how this would affect performance. To show you the benefits of the extra PCIe lanes in the P55H-AK, I tossed in a second ZOTAC Geforce GTX 280 video card and tested these features while running a game benchmark.
At first, I was expecting a lot more difference. As you can see, USB 3.0 took the largest performance hit more so than SATA3. The SATA2 scores are hauling butt thanks to the Kingston 128GB V+ SSDNow drive. In defense of the UD6, there was no noticeable change in frame rates. Fortunately, the AK remains full speed at all times in any scenario, realistic or not.
Power Consumption
Hey, it’s a gaming board. Power consumption tends to go right out the window even in power saving mode. Using an SLI set of GPUs also tends to get a little hungry even when idle. These aren’t horrible numbers though. We’ve seen much higher consumption on the X58 platforms.
RMAA Audio Performance
The P55H-AK utilizes a Realtek ALC889 audio codec which we know is capable of supporting 24-bit 192Hz audio frequencies. Just using the stock included audio driver software, I gave all three (48, 96, and 192Hz) frequencies a test.
Like many integrated solutions, the board scores an Average score in the tests. The thing to note is the Total Harmonic Distortion is on the poor side. More on that at the end.
Surprisingly, the board does a bit better with this higher, nicer 96Hz test. Again, the THD was on the poor side. Let’s cover that next.
And, the final 192Hz test results were Good. It just seemed there was no getting past the THD scoring poorly. The distortion could be heard at the beginning of each note in the RMAA tests. In fact, I could hear that same distortion during games where the audio levels instantly increased dramatically. As long as you don’t crank up the audio too high too quickly, it should suffice the average gamer or user.
On the same note based on our humble professional opinion, a premium priced board like this should have offer a clean integrated solution capable of being noise free and score no less than average on each of the tests. In fact, we would be more than satisfied if it scored good across the board and ecstatic with very good results.
Final Thoughts
The ECS Elitegroup P55H-AK motherboard does deliver on most every feature you can’t readily get on lesser platforms. Full speed SLI or CrossfireX performance via three NVidia or ATI video cards is just one of many. The integrated PLX PCIe chip does indeed provide a better freeway of sorts for all that SATA3 and USB 3.0 data to travel more freely. We’d all love to see some better SATA3 performance. But, we’ve pretty much seen the maximum we’re going to get from the weak Marvell controller.
Enthusiasts should find the overclocking potential more than enough to satisfy. I really can’t fault any motherboard capable of pushing 200 to 210MHz CPU bus clocks. In terms of gaming, this platform is ready to kick any game’s butt when coupled with at least a single or dual MSI Cyclone or ZOTAC GTX 46o AMP configuration. Unfortunately, the integrated audio comes up short as we noted in testing. I would expect any motherboard carrying a $299 price tag to offer better audio.
Ultimately, this is one of the few full speed gaming motherboards out there. At $299 US or less, it’s still a bit cheaper than the competition. In the end, I find myself recommending the ECS P55H-AK to gamers and budget overclockers. Just add a discrete audio solution to finish off the build.
Pros
- Great looking board and theme
- Excellent overclocking for the price
- Overclocks DDR3 up to 2500MHz
- PLX and NF200 to reduce PCIe bottlenecks
- Easy to use auto- overclocking for novices
- Abundance of SATA3 Ports
Cons
- Could do without True triple NVidia SLI or CrossfireX support to reduce price
- Audio performance is lacking
Overall Rating: 8.5 / 10.0
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ECS Elitegroup P55H-AK LGA1156 ATX Motherboard – Photo Gallery
