Features
ASUS has a new design philosophy that is called Xtreme Design, and it incorporates 3 elements: performance, safety and reliability. There are too many new innovations to list in this piece, but we will go over a few of the more interesting aspects.
The P7P55D Deluxe has been outfitted with the new Xtreme Phase design, which on this model is a true 16-phase power design. The benefits of implementing so many phases is the reduction of the average power load for each phase through real-time phase switching in relation to the system load. In coordination with the new T.Probe and PEM hardware controllers, this theoretically leads to lower temperatures and improved reliability, more stable power delivery at high frequencies and better power efficiency. Speaking of efficiency, this motherboard also features enhanced EPU technology, which helps improve energy efficiency by moderating power in real-time based on the system load. Needless to say the design also features high quality capacitors with 50,000-hour lifespans.
The ASUS Turbo Key is an exclusive feature that transforms the PC power button into a physical overclocking button, very much like the Turbo buttons of 386/486-era. This provides novice users a one-touch solution to boost system performance whenever they need it, even during a game. Meanwhile, the more experienced enthusiast users will instead benefit greatly from the TurboV EVO and Turbo V technology. The TurboV EVO is a new hardware controller dedicated solely to system overclocking and it can do both intelligent auto-tuning and real-time hardware overclocking. Also new with this motherboard is the TurboV remote, which is a physical controller that allows you to select between three auto-overclocking presets, permits real-time adjustments to the BCLK and system voltages and even allows manipulation of the EPU settings. Lastly, there is the TurboV overclocking utility that ASUS first introduced with their X58 motherboards, but it now been updated with more precise voltage adjustments, improved functionality and better stability.
One of the main aspects of the Xtreme Design initiative is improved safety. What this means is the reduction of potential EMI-based issues, improved static discharge tolerance and over current protection. This is achieved through better layout, design, component choice and overall design symmetry, particularly in the CPU and I/O ports area where EMI issues are most likely to occur. ASUS have also worked to reduce the likelyhood of static discharge damage which is caused by the accumulated electrical charge of your body “jumping” into the system through your fingers, by protecting each USB port on the motherboard. Last but not least is the improved the over current protection. In this case there are small circuits scattered throughout the motherboard that act like fuses and circuit breakers preventing your components and devices from getting damaged in the event of an over current condition.
On the P7P55D series, ASUS have improved upon the StackCool Technology (copper cooling + cooling design implementations) that they first introduced in 2004. The focus of StackCool has always been to consistently refine motherboard design to improve overall cooling for both the motherboard itself and the onboard components, with the ultimate aim of improving stability and reliability. This can be seen by the extensive cooling solutions for power phases, MOSFETs, chipsets and the integration of cooling via the motherboard PCB itself. With the new StackCool 3+ design, ASUS implemented an additional two 2oz copper PCB layers to their existing 6 layer PCB design which when combined with better circuit design and placement, helps to release heat from critical points more efficiently.
