Conclusion

Well, let’s sum up the results of our today’s experience with ASRock P55 Deluxe mainboard. The board got an excellent mark for design and functionality and this mark stays intact. The engineers have every right to be proud of their creation. We still feel inclined to lower the good mark for BIOS functionality. It only looks good, but when you try to actually work with it, all sorts of problems emerge that is why we can only settle for a satisfactory here. We were honestly shocked with the way the board worked in nominal mode. In fact, the board is unable to provide proper nominal mode and the inadequate Optimized mode only improves its performance in really heavy tasks, while in all other applications the results appear lower than we would expect them to be. That is why it is a failure here. Overclocking on ASRock P55 Deluxe is not ideal, but the difference between this board and solutions from Asus or Gigabyte is not dramatic at all. We could give the board a good mark, but the non-operational fan rotation speed adjustment ruined it all. The joy from performance increase during overclocking is spoilt by the howling of the fan working at its maximum speed. Therefore, only a satisfactory mark for overclocking success.

So, what do we end up with? Pretty low resulting score, I should say. And it turned out decent mostly due to excellent exterior and pretty good theoretical functionality, rather than practical achievements. But we buy mainboards not for aesthetic purposes or for long list of technical specs. Mainboards should work properly, and unfortunately, it may be tricky with ASRock P55 Deluxe. Unpredictable errors and unjustified complications await us even in those places where nothing points to them.

As a result, it is hard for me to define the main target group for ASRock P55 Deluxe mainboard. We often say that the drawbacks of ASRock mainboards are compensated by their low and attractive price, but let’s think for a second. Those users who want flawless operation in nominal as well as overclocked mode, will go for Asus P7P55D Deluxe, for example. Those who have reasons to believe that $220 is way too much for an Intel P55 Express based mainboard, will buy something less sophisticated. Some Asus or Gigabyte solution for around $120-$160 or less, if the requirements are really minimal. So who will go for an ASRock P55 Deluxe mainboard for $180? What will determine this choice? An additional SATA3 card? Tomorrow similar controllers will appear on other mainboards and today there is no real use for them yet. So who will go specifically for ASRock P55 Deluxe? I think those users who already have an ASRock mainboard and have been very happy with it that’s why they would prefer to stay with the favorite brand. Well, as always, the choice is yours.