Right now, anyone who just bought anything with an LGA 1156 interface is probably kicking themselves. Intel’s new Core i3/i5/i7-2000-series processors have the highest per clock, per-core performance we’ve ever seen. And better yet, the unlocked K-series models support the highest air-cooled overclocks we’ve ever seen. Within “normal” cooling limits, these processors even stand a chance of outgunning Intel’s ultra-expensive six-core chips, and the performance picture isn't even a contest in games that cannot use more than four cores.
The need for a new motherboard might be a slap in the face for anyone who sank significant cash into an LGA 1156-based platform thinking it might be upgradable for a while. But those who chose to wait, holding on to an older Core 2 Quad or a slower Phenom II, did so for good reason.
Nine products will make this a long review, so rather than discuss those things already covered by Chris and Patrick, let's jump straight to a features comparison.
| Motherboard Features | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ASRock P67 Extreme4 | Asus P8P67 Pro | Biostar TP67XE | |
| PCB Revision | 1.07 | 1.01 | 5.0 |
| Chipset | Intel P67 Express | Intel P67 Express | Intel P67 Express |
| Voltage Regulator | Ten Phases | Twelve Phases | Ten Phases |
| BIOS | M1.20A (12/14/2010) | 0803 (11/23/2010) | A2 (11/12/2010) |
| 100.0 MHz BCLK | 100.4 MHz (+0.4%) | 100.0 MHz (+0.0%) | 100.1 (+0.1%) |
| Clock Generator | P67 Integrated | P67 Integrated | P67 Integrated |
| Internal Interfaces | |||
| PCIe x16 | 3 (x16/x0/x4 or x8/x8/x4) | 3 (x16/x0/x4 or x8/x8/x4) | 2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) |
| PCIe x1/x4 | 2/0 | 2/0 (Shared with x4) | 2/0 |
| Legacy PCI | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| USB 2.0 | 3 (6-ports) | 3 (6-ports) | 3 (6-ports) |
| USB 3.0 | 1 (2-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | None |
| IEEE-1394 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Serial Port | 1 | None | 1 |
| Parallel Port | None | None | None |
| Floppy | Yes | No | No |
| Ultra-ATA 133 | None | None | None |
| SATA 3.0 Gb/s | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| SATA 6.0 Gb/s | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 4-Pin Fan | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 3-Pin Fan | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| FP-Audio | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CD-Audio | No | No | No |
| S/PDIF I/O | Output Only | Output Only | Output Only |
| Power Button | Yes | No | Yes |
| Reset Button | Yes | No | Yes |
| CLR_CMOS Button | Jumper Only | Jumper Only | Jumper Only |
| Diagnostics Panel | Numeric | Pass/Fail LEDs | Numeric |
| I/O Panel Connectors | |||
| P/S 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| USB 2.0 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| USB 3.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| IEEE-1394 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Network | Single | Single | Single |
| eSATA | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| CLR_CMOS Button | Yes | No | No |
| Digital Audio Out | Optical + Coaxial | Optical + Coaxial | Optical + Coaxial |
| Digital Audio In | None | None | None |
| Analog Audio | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Other Devices | None | Bluetooth Transceiver | None |
| Mass Storage Controllers | |||
| Chipset SATA | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 3Gb/s | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 3Gb/s | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 3 x SATA 3Gb/s 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s |
| Chipset RAID Modes | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| Add-In SATA | Marvell 9120 PCIe 1 x SATA 6Gb/s 1 x SATA/eSATA shared | Marvell 9120 PCIe 2 x SATA 6Gb/s JMicron JMB362 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s | None |
| Add-In Ultra ATA | None | None | None |
| USB 3.0 | 2 x EtronTech EJ168A | 2 x NEC D720200F1 | 1 x NEC D720200F1 |
| IEEE-1394 | VT6315N PCIe 2 x 400 Mb/s | VT6308P PCI 2 x 400 Mb/s | VT6315N PCIe 2 x 400 Mb/s |
| Gigabit Ethernet | |||
| Primary LAN | RTL8111E PCIe | Intel WG82579V PHY | RTL8111DL PCIe |
| Secondary LAN | None | None | None |
| Audio | |||
| HD Audio Codec | ALC892 | ALC892 | ALC892 |
| DDL/DTS Connect | None | None | None |
| Motherboard Features | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ECS P67H2-A2 | Foxconn P67A-S | Gigabyte P67A-UD4 | |
| PCB Revision | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Chipset | Intel P67 Express | Intel P67 Express | Intel P67 Express |
| Voltage Regulator | Nine Phases | Four Phases | 14 Phases |
| BIOS | 101022BS (10/22/2010) | AF46F1016 (11/22/2010) | F2 (10/22/2010) |
| 100.0 MHz BCLK | 99.8 (-0.2%) | 99.8 (-0.2%) | 99.8 (-0.2%) |
| Clock Generator | P67 Integrated | P67 Integrated | P67 Integrated |
| Internal Interfaces | |||
| PCIe x16 | 2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) | 2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) | 2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) |
| PCIe x1/x4 | 1/0 | 3/0 | 3/0 |
| Legacy PCI | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| USB 2.0 | 3 (6-ports) | 3 (6-ports) | 3 (6-ports) |
| USB 3.0 | 1 (2-ports) | None | 1 (2-ports) |
| IEEE-1394 | None | None | None |
| Serial Port | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Parallel Port | None | None | None |
| Floppy | No | No | No |
| Ultra-ATA 133 | None | 1 (2-drives) | None |
| SATA 3.0 Gb/s | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| SATA 6.0 Gb/s | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 4-Pin Fan | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 3-Pin Fan | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| FP-Audio | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CD-Audio | No | No | No |
| S/PDIF I/O | Output Only | No | Output Only |
| Power Button | Yes | Yes | No |
| Reset Button | Yes | Yes | No |
| CLR_CMOS Button | Jumper Only | Jumper Only | Jumper Only |
| Diagnostics Panel | Numeric | Numeric | None |
| I/O Panel Connectors | |||
| P/S 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| USB 2.0 | 8 | 6 | 8 |
| USB 3.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| IEEE-1394 | None | None | None |
| Network | Dual (w/Teaming) | Single | Single |
| eSATA | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| CLR_CMOS Button | Yes | No | No |
| Digital Audio Out | Optical | Optical + Coaxial | Optical + Coaxial |
| Digital Audio In | None | None | None |
| Analog Audio | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Other Devices | None | None | None |
| Mass Storage Controllers | |||
| Chipset SATA | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 3Gb/s | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 3Gb/s | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 3Gb/s |
| Chipset RAID Modes | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| Add-In SATA | 2 x Marvell 9128 PCIe 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 2 x eSATA 6Gb/s 2 x RAID 0, 1 | Marvell 6121 PCIe 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s | Marvell 9128 PCIe 2 x eSATA 6Gb/s 2 x RAID 0, 1 |
| Add-In Ultra ATA | None | Marvell 6121 PCIe | None |
| USB 3.0 | 2 x EtronTech EJ168A | 1 x NEC D720200F1 | 2 x NEC D720200F1 |
| IEEE-1394 | None | None | None |
| Gigabit Ethernet | |||
| Primary LAN | RTL8111E PCIe | RTL8111E PCIe | RTL8111E PCIe |
| Secondary LAN | RTL8111E PCIe | None | None |
| Audio | |||
| HD Audio Codec | ALC892 | ALC888S | ALC892 |
| DDL/DTS Connect | None | None | Dolby Digital Live |
| Motherboard Features | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel DP67BG | Jetway HI08 | MSI P67A-GD65 | |
| PCB Revision | 01 | 0.1 | 2.0 |
| Northbridge | Intel P67 Express | Intel P67 Express | Intel P67 Express |
| Voltage Regulator | Eight Phases | 14 Phases | Eight Phases |
| BIOS | 1780 (11/29/2010) | T07 (11/30/2010) | 1.5B2 |
| 100.0 MHz BCLK | 99.8 MHz (-0.20%) | 99.8 MHz (-0.20%) | 99.8 MHz (-0.20%) |
| Clock Generator | P67 Integrated | P67 Integrated | P67 Integrated |
| Internal Interfaces | |||
| PCIe x16 | 2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) | 3 (x16/x0/x4 or x8/x8/x4) | 2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) |
| PCIe x1/x4 | 3/0 | 1/0 | 3/0 |
| Legacy PCI | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| USB 2.0 | 3 (6-ports) | 2 (4-ports) | 1 (2-ports) |
| USB 3.0 | None | None | 1 (2-ports) |
| IEEE-1394 | 1 | None | 1 |
| Serial Port | None | 1 | 1 |
| Parallel Port | None | 1 | None |
| Floppy | No | No | No |
| Ultra-ATA 133 | None | None | None |
| SATA 3.0 Gb/s | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| SATA 6.0 Gb/s | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 4-Pin Fan | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 3-Pin Fan | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| FP-Audio | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CD-Audio | No | Yes | Yes |
| S/PDIF I/O | Output Only | Output Only | Output Only |
| Power Button | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reset Button | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CLR_CMOS Button | Config Mode Jumper | Jumper Only | Jumper Only |
| Diagnostics Panel | Numeric | Numeric | None |
| I/O Panel Connectors | |||
| P/S 2 | None | 1 | 1 |
| USB 2.0 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| USB 3.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| IEEE-1394 | 1 | None | 1 |
| Network | Single | Single | Single |
| eSATA | 1 | None | 2 |
| CLR_CMOS Button | Back To BIOS | Yes | Yes |
| Digital Audio Out | Optical | Optical + Coaxial | Optical + Coaxial |
| Digital Audio In | None | None | None |
| Analog Audio | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Other Devices | None | None | None |
| Mass Storage Controllers | |||
| Chipset SATA | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 3Gb/s | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 3Gb/s | 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 4 x SATA 3Gb/s |
| Chipset RAID Modes | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| Add-In SATA | Marvell 6111 PCIe 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s | None | Marvell 9128 PCIe 2 x SATA 6Gb/s (RAID) JMicron JMB362 PCIe 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s |
| Add-In Ultra ATA | None | None | None |
| USB 3.0 | NEC D720200F1 | ASMedia ASM1042 | 2 x NEC D720200F1 |
| IEEE-1394 | TSB43AB22A PCI 2 x 400 Mb/s | None | VIA VT6308P PCI 2 x 400 Mb/s |
| Gigabit Ethernet | |||
| Primary LAN | Intel WG82579V PHY | Intel WG82579LM PHY | RTL8111E PCIe |
| Secondary LAN | None | None | None |
| Audio | |||
| HD Audio Codec | Realtek ALC892 | ALC888 | Realtek ALC892 |
| DDL/DTS Connect | Unspecified | None | None |
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