Choosing the Best H55/H57 Motherboard - Part 1
by Rajinder Gill on January 31, 2010 11:30 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
ASRock H55M-Pro
ASRock's H55M-Pro is available at various retailers priced in the region of $95.
ASRock H55M-Pro | |
Market Segment | H55 General Use/HTPC |
CPU Interface | LGA-1156 |
CPU Support | LGA-1156 i3/i5/i7 Series of Processors |
Chipset | Intel H55 Express Chipset |
BCLK Speeds | 100-300MHz in 1MHz increments |
DDR3 Memory Speed | 800, 1067, 1333 Frequency Ratios |
QPI Frequency | All supported mutlpier ratios available |
Core Voltage | 0.84375V ~ 1.60V in 0.00625V increments |
CPU Vdroop Compensation | On/Off |
CPU Clock Multiplier | Dependant on Processor, all available multipliers supported |
DRAM Voltage DDR3 | Auto, 1.30V ~ 2.05V in 0.05V increments (1.50V base) |
DRAM Timing Control | tCL, tRCD, tRP, tRAS, + 6 Additional Timings |
DRAM Command Rate | Auto, 1N and 2N |
PCH Voltage | Auto, 1.05V ~ 1.25V in .05V increments, 1.05V Base |
CPU VTT (Uncore) Voltage | 1.11V ~ 1.50V in 0.06V increments |
CPU PLL Voltage | 1.81V ~ 2.18V in 0.15V increments, 1.81V Base |
CPU GFX Voltage | 100mv~300mv in 100mv increments |
IGD VID | 0.85V~1.4625V in 0.01V ~ 0.025V increments |
Memory Slots | Four 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slots Dual-Channel Configuration Regular Unbuffered DDR3 Memory to 8GB Total |
Expansion Slots | 1X PCIe 2.0 16X Slot 1X PCIe 2.0 16X Slot (running at X4, 2.5GT/s) 1x PCIe X1 slot 1 X PCI slot |
Onboard SATA/RAID | 5x SATA 3.0GB/s (Support NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug) 1x eSATA (USB combo) on Rear I/O |
Onboard USB 2.0 | 12 USB 2.0 ports (6) I/O Panel (one SATA combo), 6 via brackets |
Onboard LAN | 1X Realtek 8112L Gigabit LAN (PCI/eX1) |
Onboard Audio | VIA VT1718S - 7.1 Channel HD Audio (Creative X-FI 30 day software trial included on driver DVD). |
Other Onboard Connectors | 1X IR, 1X Print Port, 1X COM, 1X S/PDIF, 1X FP Audio, 1X 1394, 1X TPM, 1X Chassis Intrusion |
Power Connectors | ATX 24-pin, 8-pin EPS 12V |
I/O Panel | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x RJ45 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 (1 X eSATA combo) 1X 1394 1 x Optical Toslink 1X DVI-D 1 x HDMI 1 x VGA/D-sub 5 Audio I/O jacks |
Fan Headers | 1 CPU + 2 Additional Headers |
Fan Control | Full temp/speed fan control for CPU header via BIOS or OS software 9 step chassis fan speed control via BIOS/OS. No speed/temp control for power fan |
Package Contents | 2X SATA cables, User Guide, 1 X Driver/software DVD, 1 X I/O Shield. |
Board/BIOS Revisions Used | Board Rev: G/A 1.04 BIOS Files Used: 1.30,1.40, 1.50, 1.60 |
Form Factor | uATX (9.6 in. X 9.6 in.) |
Warranty | 1 year standard |
At $95, you're not going to get the very cream of components on ASRock's H55M-Pro, but the feature set is vast enough to deliver adequate performance on multiple fronts. You get VIA's VT1718S audio codec (bundled with a 30 day Creative X-Fi trial), five onboard SATA ports, a TPM header, one 1394 port, a socket mounted BIOS chip, three fan headers (two are 4-pin), and polymer capacitors used throughout. There are some cutbacks in the package though: you only get two SATA cables and the rear I/O shield to complete your build. We guess it's expected at this price point.
Software
ASRock includes an array of software tools with the H55M-Pro. Most notable is the OC Tuner, with functions for increasing voltage, BCLK, and controlling two fan headers.
We tested the software and found that changing BCLK and fan speed control worked fine, but changing voltages resulted in the board locking up, requiring a power cycle to repost again - the software needs work.
Other OS level tools are ASRock's own implementation of sleep mode software called Instant Boot. Once installed the Instant Boot software overrides Windows built-in sleep mode option with its own simplified GUI and encourages the user to use sleep states and also a fast boot standby/suspend mode to decrease OS loading times. The fast boot feature works by partially reloading the OS when you opt to power down the system. Upon reboot, most of the BIOS start up routines are bypassed, taking you directly to OS resume to save a few seconds of boot up time. This feature is only of use when you're not using a windows login password though, otherwise every time you want to power down, you'll find yourself having to wait for the system to reboot and enter your login credentials before it will suspend - saving you no time at all. It's also worth noting that Windows 7's recovery times from S1/S3/hibernate states are pretty good as is to save power and time, largely negating the need for specialized software to do the job.
The Board
We think ASRock have done a commendable job in laying out the H55M-Pro. Two PCI-E x16 slots are on offer (the latter running at x4 bandwidth), allowing you to potentially use a discrete GPU and a RAID card simultaneously. SATA port placement is also good, allowing for access regardless of slot loading.
The CMOS battery placement could be better, as you won't be able to remove it if you insert a graphics card into the primary PEG slot. The CMOS clear jumper is placed intelligently enough at the lower edge of the board. We only found ourselves reaching for this on the earlier BIOS releases, which used a five reboot counter before safe mode recovery kicked in. If things progress as they have been, you shouldn't need to use it at all.
The only heatsink present on the board is for the Intel PCH; the PWM FETs for CPU Vcore and other rails are all "naked". If you decide to push the board hard, be sure to provide some form of cooling over the power FETs as it's better not to leave things solely in the hands of overheat/current/voltage protection.
Overclocking
The ASRock H55M-PRO BIOS offers a basic set of functions for moderate overclocking. Voltage control is not granular enough for fine-tuning at higher overclocks, but it's adequate enough to cater for users in search of a quick and easy 4GHz from their CPU.
Capable 4GB memory kits should see speeds in excess of 1800MHz on this board with Clarkdale CPUs requiring little user intervention. We managed to get up to 188BCLK fully stable; anything higher is hampered by the lack of QPI ratio control in the ASRock BIOS - it's locked at 24X.
Move over to 8GB of memory and you're looking at a maximum around the 1500MHz mark, because the ASRock BIOS does not provide control over the full range of memory sub-timings you'll need to adjust to get higher speeds stable on most memory kits. We don't see it as a huge deal breaker in this instance as the Clarkdale architecture does not seem to respond kindly to capacitive loading of the memory bus anyway - not to mention this is a price conscious motherboard, so expensive RAM kits are a mismatch.
Out of the four boards we're testing here today, the only one that can hold our Corsair 8GB kit fully stable at 1600MHz is the ASUS H57-EVO, a board that will cost you twice the amount of the ASRock H55M. If you are looking at running 8GB of memory on these platforms, the sensible choice would be to opt for kits that come in around CAS 8 or 9 at 1333MHz. Performance memory is wasted on Clarkdale in 8GB configurations, especially if you intend to run with the IGP active.
Automated overclocking functions are also provided in the BIOS, with a selection of speeds available up to 4.4GHz if your cooling permits. Most of the rail voltages are ramped moderately, the only notable exception being the IGP rails, which receive/require quite a bump in voltage if you opt for the higher frequency presets.
BIOS
ASRock's BIOS offers a basic set of overclocking features allied with a range of voltage control options, albeit with rather coarse selection scales. You get a limited selection of DRAM timings, so there's not a lot of room for tweaking to the nth degree. The biggest omission on ASRock's part is the absence of QPI multiplier selection; the BIOS is locked to select the highest multiplier, regardless of applied frequencies, which limits the maximum achievable BCLK. Given this board's intended audience we don't consider this a huge issue, but we do feel it would have rounded off the BIOS nicely.
The latest public release BIOS (1.70) offers good OC recovery, which has now been reduced from the required five reboots down to one by default, bringing things in line with other vendors. You also get three BIOS save profile locations, and each can be named for later reference. Built-in BIOS flashing is also offered and the utility works very well. One word of warning: you don't get prompted for approval when you select a BIOS file; as soon as you press enter once, the flash will commence, so there's no going back once you start the process.
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crochat - Wednesday, February 3, 2010 - link
In my opinion testing H5X boards should focus on IGP. Isn't that the aim of the chipset to use CPUs with IGP? Instead of the gaming benchmarks I'd be much more interested in multimedia and peripheral (firewire, esata, usb, networking) performance.Regards
thorgal73 - Tuesday, February 2, 2010 - link
Just to let you know, Massman found the solution to the IGP overclocking problem :http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&ar...">http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&ar...
Cheers!
Rajinder Gill - Tuesday, February 2, 2010 - link
Thanks for the link.That actually makes a lot of sense and explains the extra IGP voltage you have to pump - even though BIOS shows a fixed IGP freqeuncy.
Probably a good idea just to make it into an Excel calc so people can use it easily.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/2go0yotyz5z/quick">http://www.mediafire.com/file/2go0yotyz5z/quick igp calc.xlsx
later
Raja
Rajinder Gill - Tuesday, February 2, 2010 - link
This one's a bit better, easy to work out the required BCLK for and equivalent IGP frequency at various IGP multiplier ratios.http://www.mediafire.com/file/nhfnnedgzwb/quick">http://www.mediafire.com/file/nhfnnedgzwb/quick igp calc.xlsx
yuhong - Monday, February 1, 2010 - link
"If you're going to use the IGP, you don't really need the extra PCI-E lanes, which essentially means that you're paying for the option to run RAID on the H57 PCH. "Well, USB 3.0 and SATA 6GBps takes 4 PCIe lanes.
Rajinder Gill - Monday, February 1, 2010 - link
You're looking at $200 boards that offer both SATA 6G and USB 3.0 in tandem unfortunately. USB 3.0 can be had under $130, with enough PCI/e left over for upgrading IMO.Nataku - Monday, February 1, 2010 - link
Just wondering (may be I'm just being dumb)Do you know if any or all of the h55 boards support dual screen?
I've been wanting to build a HTPC and dual screen it with my TV and a touch screen, but wasn't sure if the video out can actually work in dual screen mode.(ran into one that only ran in clone long ago =.=)
Also, this is off topic but, will you guys be making some reviews on touch screen monitors? HP and Dell are selling 20"+ touchscreens at around 300CAD but Firebox and Elo are selling 15" at 4~500CAD. Just curious how that part of the industry are coming along (20" too big imo to be beside a TV...)
Rajinder Gill - Monday, February 1, 2010 - link
Hi,Yes, dual display options are offered as part of Intel's drivers for the IGP. So you should be able to setup both options. I've tried with DVI and HDMI outputs simultaneously and it recognises both fine and allows you to set them up.
Jarred's the guy for monitors and such, so I'll pass the info over to him.
Hope this helps..
Raja
Nataku - Thursday, February 4, 2010 - link
Thanks :)Rick83 - Monday, February 1, 2010 - link
I am currently looking to upgrade my server and the savings from replacing the old nv 6200 with on-chip graphics are attractive.Now, normally this would be a done decision, but I am planning on running quite a few drives in that box, 14 to be precise. Currently I have one RAID 5, one RAID 1, one root disk and one optical drive, I will add another RAID 5 and another RAID 1 as part of the upgrade. All except 5 drives are attached via SATA. I already have an IDE-controller installed via PCI, but I'd like to avoid installing an extra SATA controller, as it seems much cheaper to just go for a board with 10x SATA on board.
But due to my use of full-disk encryption, I'd really like to be able to access AES-NI, so it will have to be a clarksdale i5. There are P55 boards with 10 SATA ports, and X58 boards too, but I'd really like to go with the on-chip graphics, both to save what little pci-e I have on these boards, as well as to save the space and energy.
Does anyone reasonably expect Asus or Gigabyte or MSI (as those are the usual suspects for 10x SATA) to release such a board based on H5x? If not, I'd best grab an old Gigabyte P55 UD5 soon...