Intel P55 chipset architecture

To start out, below you can see the block diagram for the Intel P55 chipset which gives us an overview of the specification it offers.

As we've discussed previously in our Intel Core i5 review, the company's new range of Lynnfield processors sport some quite radical changes from their bigger Nehalem-based brothers, and this is of course also reflected in the design of the P55 motherboard chipset sported here.

Lynnfield does away with Nehalem's triple-channel memory controller for a dual-channel derivative, and thus P55 motherboards only require the more typical four DIMM slot configuration, while Lynnfield's on-die memory controller actually handles memory support itself of course, with support for DDR3 alone the order of the day. Also added to the CPU die itself is a PCI Express 2.0 controller with sixteen lanes of bandwidth, which also alleviates this requirement from the motherboard chipset itself from a discrete graphics perspective, although the P55 chipset still supports eight PCI Express lanes itself for additional expansion slots and devices.

The P55 chipset connects to Lynnfield CPUs via a DMI interface as per Core 2 CPUs, and as opposed to the QuickPath Interconnect used by X58 chipset parts and Nehalem CPUs - This helps to reduce cost, with QPI's hefty bandwidth capabilities not required for a single CPU system, particularly now that the majority of PCI Express traffic is handled by the CPU itself thanks to that aforementioned on-die controller.

Away from these core changes for the P55 express chipset compared to previous Intel offerings, this new part also offers support for up to twelve USB 2.0 ports, those eight additional PCI Express 2.0 lanes we've already mentioned, a Gigabit Ethernet controller, eight-channel HD audio support and six Serial ATA 3.0Gbps ports - Everything you'd expect from a current generation motherboard chipset in other words.

Packaging and bundle

So with the chipset details out of the way, let's take a look at the retail packaging for this motherboard.

The first thing that springs to mind on catching sight of Biostar's packaging here is "Oooh... shiny!".  Putting that to one side, the logos on the front of the box confirm Core i7 support (although a Core i5 logo would have been useful too), as well as multi-GPU support via both CrossFireX and SLI.

The rear of the packaging covers the motherboard's basic specification and features, while also discussing Biostar's T-Power application for software-based motherboard (and graphics board if you have a supported card) overclocking.

As well as a paper manual and driver disc, the TPower i55 bundles both an SLI connector as well as (more surprisingly) a CrossFire inter-GPU connector, which is a nice touch.  Speaking of nice touches, the motherboard's Serial ATA cables and power adapters are neatly wrapped together, making them easier to store as spares and the like, while a backplate for the board is also provided.