Intel P67 Roundup - The Mainstream Invasion

It's the start of the Sandy Bridge era and to help you decide on which mainstream motherboard to select for this new platform, we look at six Intel P67 motherboards from the likes of ASRock, ASUS, ECS, Gigabyte, Intel and MSI.

By Vincent Chang - 28 Jan 2011

The Mainstream P67 Invasion

So far, the biggest thing in 2011, in the PC world that is, was Intel's launch of its new CPU microarchitecture. These second-gen Intel Core processors, also known as Sandy Bridge, have taken a while to arrive, but as , these processors are definitely worth overhauling your desktop PC for. In fact, that's exactly what you need to do, since the new CPU microarchitecture is on a whole new platform that is not at all backwards compatible.

Despite a performance level that even encroaches on Intel's highest end Core i7-980X Extreme Edition 6-core processor, the Sandy Bridge processors are meant for the mainstream market. After all, it's this market segment that could put its integrated graphics core to some use. However, Intel's not forgetting those who require more powerful graphics than even the improved Intel HD graphics on Sandy Bridge is capable of. For these users, the only motherboards to pair with their shiny new Sandy Bridge processors are those with Intel's P67 Express chipset onboard.

We have talked a bit about the Intel P67 Express chipset in our Sandy Bridge review, but to summarize the major changes: two native SATA 6Gbps ports from the chipset and eight PCIe 2.0 lanes with up to 5Gb/s bandwidth each. That's a significant boost in PCIe bandwidth and encourages vendors to add more onboard devices like more SATA or USB controllers to fully utilize them. Those hoping for native USB 3.0 support will be disappointed but with practically all motherboard vendors (even Intel) implementing USB 3.0 through third-party solutions from firms like NEC, there's nothing really to complain.

Manufacturers have as usual seized the opportunity to launch new refreshes of their product lines, as the mainstream prices of Sandy Bridge processors promise to bring in the bulk of CPU sales, and P67 motherboards, with their capacity for additional features, offer them the most potential for markups and profits. With this in mind, we have chosen to feature six mid-range P67 motherboards from ASRock, ASUS, ECS, Gigabyte, Intel and MSI. Remember, these are not the higher-end ones chock full of extra perks like 3-way multi-GPU support and the boards we've got in this roundup are generally affordable for the mainstream crowd. Nevertheless, they have plenty to offer and should be sufficient for many users.

Our man-made molehill made out of mainstream motherboards using Intel's P67 Express chipset.

ASRock P67 Pro3

With just one PCIe 2.0 x16 graphics slot, the ASRock P67 Pro3 is clearly a mainstream P67 board, eschewing even the native CrossFireX support that you'll find on the chipset. This is fortunately translated to the price, which at US$124, makes it the least expensive P67 board in our roundup today, and dips into the microATX price range. This ASRock however is a full ATX board, though the presence of three PCI slots may seem like a big step backwards to some users.

Continuing with its surprising support for legacy devices, there are both PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports at the rear panel; we even found a floppy and COM port onboard. IDE ports though remain missing and users will have to be content with the standard four SATA 3Gbps and two SATA 6Gbps configuration mandated by the Intel P67 Express chipset. USB 3.0 is supported, with EtronTech USB controllers preferred over the more popular NEC implementation, possibly due to cost issues.

ASRock has made some interesting decisions with the mainstream Pro3, like having only a single x16 graphics slot and support for several legacy devices.

It's quite a crowded rear panel, with both PS/2 ports, up to six USB 2.0 ports and the two blue USB 3.0 ports. Both S/PDIF outputs are available and there's even a Clear CMOS button. All in all, we have no complaints.

Despite its affordable price tag, there's no skimping on the quality of the components, as we found the usual solid capacitors that are almost standard fare nowadays. There's also ample space on the PCB, due to the lack of extra onboard controllers, from the likes of Marvell, for example, that increase the number of SATA ports. Hence, we also didn't notice anything wrong with the layout. There is plenty of allowance for third-party CPU coolers and onboard connectors generally seem to be free of cable interference.

The passive heatsinks we saw on this board are rather modest, reflecting the relatively cool thermal situation on such P67 boards. They are low enough not to pose any obstruction for CPU coolers or graphics cards.

Only the standard 4+2 SATA port configuration is found on this ASRock board, all sustained by the chipset, presumably to reduce cost. There are onboard power and reset buttons and even a debugging LED panel. Not exactly what we expected from a mainstream, cost-conscious board.

The standard dual-channel, four DDR3 DIMM configuration that you'll find on practically all P67 boards. The memory support goes up to 2133MHz, with a max capacity of 32GB. Intel's Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) is supported.

Even though most consumers are likely to stick with a single graphics card, those who are buying a P67 board may prefer the option of a second graphics card, an option that's surprisingly missing on this ASRock board.

The traditional jumper method of clearing the CMOS. We can't imagine who would use this method given the convenient Clear CMOS button at the rear panel.

As you can expect from a modern, albeit mainstream motherboard, solid capacitors and decent quality chokes are used. Consumers have a certain level of expectations nowadays and these components are now part of that.

Besides a host of proprietary technologies, from an 'Instant Flash' option for updating the BIOS with a flash drive in the BIOS, to an App Charger driver that claims to boost the speed of charging through the USB ports (for Apple devices only apparently), ASRock has also followed the crowd of including an UEFI BIOS. This is accompanied by a brand new interface which we found quite refreshing and most importantly, responsive.

While being able to use a mouse in the BIOS was much welcomed, it was the overall feel of the interface that got our approval. The various BIOS sections were sufficiently clear and ASRock even had a couple of 'Turbo', overclocking profiles that boosted our 2600K processor up to 4.8GHz.

ASRock's new UEFI BIOS looks pretty competent and user-friendly. While there are no overly fancy graphics or icons, it's rather responsive and fast. It's a nice usable interface that's pleasing to the eye.

ASUS P8P67

Among the manufacturers that have released Sandy Bridge motherboards so far, ASUS is probably one of the more enthusiastic ones. We counted eight models in its P8P67 series, ranging from mATX to full ATX. And we haven't even started on its Republic of Gamers or TUF series yet. Or its H67 motherboards. The board we were recommended for this mainstream roundup, the ASUS P8P67 (without any suffixes) is the basic P67 ATX model from the vendor.

Even then, it's not exactly short of features, as besides the standard ones inherited from the P67 chipset, we found extra controllers that give more USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps ports. There are also the numerous ASUS proprietary features like its MemOK, EPU, TPU and a host of other acronyms that may or may not be useful. There's also support for a CrossFireX setup, though not for NVIDIA's SLI. However, with the minimal four PCIe lanes of bandwidth (and it's shared among other onboard devices like the second USB controller) for that second PCIe x16 slot, we don't think ASUS is expecting its buyers to have dual graphics cards.

As you can expect from a top tier vendor like ASUS, the components are among the best quality and with the new P8P67 series, ASUS is going with a digital power delivery design. With 12 power phases, it's more than most users will ever need, though the best part is that most of the work is done automatically if you're not the overclocking type. The new feature for this series is the integration of a Bluetooth wireless module, so that users can connect to the PC using a Bluetooth device. You'll need to install the application before it can be used as intended, though personally, we aren't big fans of this extra.

Keeping to its blue color scheme, the ASUS P8P67 reminds us a lot of the manufacturer's P55 series. This 'plain' P8P67, without any suffixes, is the most vanilla and basic of its ATX based P67 motherboards.

ASUS too has kept with both PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports. The new addition is its BT GO! feature, a Bluetooth module that allows functionality like the wireless transfer of files. There's a total of eight USB 2.0/3.0 ports, with the two blue ones being 3.0 capable. FireWire too maintains a spot, though there's only optical S/PDIF output.

Besides the four light blue SATA 3Gbps ports from the P67 chipset, the two gray ones here are SATA 6Gbps ports from the same chipset and the darker, navy blue SATA ports are 6Gbps ones from the additional Marvell controller.

ASUS has as usual gone with its single-lock DIMM slots, instead of having retention clips on both ends. Up to 32GB of DDR3 memory is supported, with a maximum overclockable frequency of 2400MHz.

Layout-wise, we encountered nothing that flagged our attention. There's plenty of PCB space and the PCIe graphics slots are spaced accordingly to support dual-slot graphics cards. The SATA ports too are aligned properly and located at the edge of the board and are unlikely to conflict with any cables or other expansion cards. The same can be said of board headers e.g. the USB headers or the front panel headers. There are no onboard power and reset buttons if you're wondering.

With a listed price of around US$155 (online retailers), the ASUS P8P67 is actually very competitively priced. The local retail price of S$279 unfortunately is less attractive, but given the prices quoted for its direct competitors, we weren't surprised that ASUS is able to get away with that price tag. For the features that we have seen so far, this ASUS P8P67 board is not a bad deal.

While there are two PCIe 2.0 x16 slots for graphics cards, and this board supports up to quad CrossFireX configs, the second, black slot runs at x4 and shares bandwidth with the two PCIe x1 slots and one of the two USB 3.0 controller. It's certainly a dampener if you're thinking of dual graphics cards, for which we would suggest investing in a higher-end model with more dedicated bandwidth.

There are two such NEC 3.0 controllers onboard, giving this board a potential four USB 3.0 ports. Of course, only two are at the rear, the other two are present as onboard headers and share bandwidth with the second PCIe 2.0 x16 slot.

Some of the onboard modules on the ASUS P8P67; note that FireWire (VIA VT 6308P) is still supported.

Two of ASUS' unique technologies, MemOK! and EPU. The former to ensure the best memory compatibility and settings and the latter to regulate the power consumption for higher power efficiency.

Besides the front panel connectors, we were rather surprised to find a COM port header.

While the passive heatsinks near the CPU socket are low enough, we found that the mounting hole at the top right corner in this image is a bit too close to the heatsinks. It makes it slightly harder to remove the CPU cooler.

ASUS has an EFI BIOS for its new P67 boards and from what we have seen, it's setting a high standard. The addition of mouse support has made it more convenient and user-friendly, but we were more pleased with how responsive the interface was. A reason could be that ASUS did not go overboard with the fancy icons and animations. There's also an auto-overclocking tool included, besides the usual BIOS flashing utility and of course, it was rather straightforward to increase the multipliers with our unlocked Core i7-2600K processor. One feature that didn't make the cut is ASUS' Linux-based, quick boot interface, ExpressGate. Perhaps ASUS feels the new generation hardware should boot systems fast enough to not warrant including this facility any longer.

We have seen this very polished ASUS EFI BIOS on its Deluxe edition of this P67 series. It's similar on this non-Deluxe edition, with a responsive and easy to use interface. The relevant info can be taken in at a glance with the EZ Mode, while advanced users can play with more settings in the Advanced Mode.

ECS P67H2-A2

The ECS P67H2-A2 probably has the most number of features among the six P67 boards in our roundup today. There are numerous indications that it's meant for enthusiasts, from its support for both CrossFireX and SLI, including the all-important x8/x8 lane configuration, to the sheer number of third-party onboard controllers to enhance the existing P67 chipset. Then, there's the EFI BIOS and its host of tweaking options that are as comprehensive as anything we have seen so far on the P67 chipset.

As mentioned, there's no lack of onboard controllers on this ECS. Two USB 3.0 controllers, a Marvell SATA 6Gbps controller (including eSATA), two Gigabit LAN controllers are just some of the features you'll find. Given the heavy feature count, it's commendable that ECS has managed to fit everything nicely without incurring any layout issues. For instance, the graphics slots are dual-slot compatible and the SATA ports face outwards; other onboard headers are shunted to the edges of the board.

Black and gray, the ECS P67H2-A2 does break the monotony of all the blue color schemes preferred by the board vendors. Despite its mainstream billing, this ECS board probably has the most features among our six boards today.

Dual Gigabit LAN connections, along with eight USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports and even two eSATA ports. If we had any doubts which of the boards in our roundup is a higher-end mainstream P67 boards, they were instantly gone when we inspected this ECS board.

While it's easy to tell that the white SATA ports are SATA 3Gbps, it's harder to tell between the four darker SATA 6Gbps ports. We prefer the Intel chipset's SATA 6Gbps implementation, but it wasn't too clear looking at the color scheme used. ECS should have made an effort to distinguish between the Marvell and Intel SATA 6G. (The two adjacent to the white ports are the Intel ones).

Like the other P67 boards, it's a dual-channel memory architecture, with four DIMM slots on this ECS board. 16GB is its maximum capacity, with a maximum frequency of DDR3 2133MHz.

Unlike the ASUS P8P67, this ECS board has two graphics slots capable of x8/x8 when in CrossFireX mode (x16 when single). It is also certified for NVIDIA SLI, something that the ASUS cannot claim. Dual-slot graphics cards should fit right in too.

ECS is not a brand that's commonly seen locally, so you're more likely to get this board from an online retailer. At around US$195 however, it's the costliest board in our roundup, though one has to say that it does have some features that have undoubtedly increased the cost. It's then a question of whether you require the extra features.

USB headers galore! A Clear CMOS jumper is sandwiched here, though we obviously will be using the Clear CMOS button at the rear panel.

ECS has also provided for a power and reset button, which tells us that it's aimed more towards the enthusiast, especially if you consider its other features.

EtronTech is the provider for the USB 3.0 controller, there are two such controllers for a total of four USB 3.0 ports, of which two are present as onboard headers.

Perhaps anticipating the enthusiasts who may be overclocking their CPUs with this board, the heatsink looks a bit more heavy duty than the other boards, with a heat-pipe design linking the two.

ECS' EFI BIOS implementation looked similar to an older BIOS, except for the fact that the fonts were much sharper. It had nothing similar to the ASUS version, with its EZ mode. The settings too fit its enthusiast oriented slant with a wide range of values, though a BIOS update was required to clear up some errors in the BIOS display - values were out of range by default, generating an error when we selected it.

Almost everyone has an EFI BIOS nowadays and ECS too is joining the bandwagon. Note that the frequency is in KHz steps instead of MHz, hence the 10000 figure. This new interface looked cleaner and was responsive.

Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3R

From the UD3R designation, it's obvious to us that this Gigabyte board falls right smack in the center of its P67 motherboard lineup, making it the standard mid-range model. However, the first thing that everyone will notice and talk about, is its matte black PCB. Indeed, Gigabyte has gone all mysterious and dark on us with its new boards and the mainstream UD3R gets the same treatment.

It's something you either love or hate and although it has been done before, we don't believe it has been executed on such a scale. We have to say it does give the PCB a totally different impression with a more premium look and feel. As for the motherboard features, it doesn't seem to have changed much from the previous generation.

The usual Gigabyte technologies, like Dynamic Energy Saver, Ultra Durable 3 and DualBIOS are clearly labeled on the PCB. We didn't see any unfamiliar, new ones so we are assuming that it's the same set as the previous generation. Even the version numbers appear to be unchanged. Besides these proprietary ones, the hardware is also mainstream in nature.

You'll find six SATA ports, the same four SATA 3Gbps and two SATA 6Gbps from the Intel P67 chipset. No extras like we said. The only addition is a NEC USB 3.0 controller for two USB 3.0 ports, which are found at the rear panel. The UD3R is only certified for ATI CrossFireX judging from the logos and the manual. You can install up to two graphics cards into the two PCIe 2.0 x16 slot, but the second PCIe x16 slot actually runs at x4 and shares bandwidth with the PCIe x1 slots. So if you happen to install a PCIe x1 card, the second PCIe x16 degrades from x4 to x1. This makes it no different from the ASUS P8P67 and inferior to ECS' implementation for CrossFireX.

Finally, there's just the single Gigabit LAN and the usual Realtek ALC892 HD audio CODEC. No onboard switches of any kind and even clearing the CMOS is done by shorting a pair of pins. As we said, this is a mainstream class board so don't expect the full dose of premium features.

Black and matte. Opinions will vary over Gigabyte's new-look PCB but in the end, performance is all that matters, right?

A big missing feature at the rear panel is the absence of a Clear CMOS switch. Optical and coaxial S/PDIF are included however, along with eight USB 2.0 ports and two USB 3.0 (blue). However, there's no eSATA feature.

Of these six SATA ports, the two on the left run a risk of interfering with a long graphics card on the secondary slot. However, given the mainstream nature (and the x4 bandwidth in CrossFireX mode), we doubt that users would be getting this board for multi GPU reasons.

Even the DIMM slots are all in black - nice for aesthetics, but not great practically since you can't make out which slot corresponds to which channel at a quick glance. Especially when the system is fixed within a casing and the room lighting isn't bright.

The front panel connectors and the clear CMOS pins which you need to short when you want to reset your BIOS to its default state. Notice the empty solder points and silk-screening which dictate the same board layout is shared with its higher-end counterparts.

Plenty of PCIe x1 slots but since they share bandwidth with the second PCIe x16, CrossFireX is not really recommended.

There aren't that many onboard controllers as more premium boards. Here you can notice there's the usual audio CODEC chip, Ethernet and USB 3.0 controllers.

The heatsink is relatively small and basic, without heat-pipes, as befitting its mainstream nature.

The Gigabyte P67A-UD3R is indeed a mainstream board. We didn't agree with the layout of the SATA ports, but it should have little effect on users in real life given that it's unlikely that users will consider CrossFireX on this board.

Of more concern is Gigabyte's decision not to go with a 'modern' graphical implementation of the EFI BIOS like most of its competitors. On a visual level, you'll find the usual Gigabyte BIOS, identical to the previous generation. So from a user point of view, it seems nothing has been changed other than updating the BIOS to support 3TB hard drives, although Gigabyte says that it is using an EFI BIOS without a new GUI. In fact, Gigabyte has come out openly to explain how exactly their 'Hybrid EFI' technology works.

Given our familiarity with Gigabyte's BIOS, we had no issues with it, but the lack of a new EFI BIOS interface with all its eye candy possibilities, does give the impression that Gigabyte is not keeping up the times. Hopefully, we'll see something new with Gigabyte later this year, and not just a matte PCB makeover.

The budget enthusiasts however, should have no qualms as they should feel right at home and get to tweaking immediately. When speaking about possible EFI interface enhancements with the Gigabyte product managers, they mentioned those will definitely come to pass, but until they get the right mix of visual elements with speedy response, they will stick to the traditional interface for the time being.

Intel DP67BG

Frankly, we weren't too impressed with Intel's P55 desktop motherboard - it had an unattractive retail price and yet lacked some of the features touted by other manufacturers. This time round, with the DP67BG, Intel's highest end P67 motherboard, Intel has managed to exceed our expectations. First, you have to know that Intel, as usual, has ditched support for legacy devices and interfaces. So no PS/2 ports and of course no IDE either. What you'll get is a rather polished board in a handsome blue and black color scheme.

In case you're wondering, there is USB 3.0 support, via an NEC USB 3.0 controller and while there are just the basic six SATA ports onboard, Intel has included a Marvell controller for an eSATA port at the rear panel. There are also two PCIe 2.0 x16 slots, supporting both ATI CrossFireX and NVIDIA SLI. With a single graphics card installed, the full 16 lanes of bandwidth are available, reverting to 8 lanes each when two cards are present.

So, the Intel DP67BG comes with some decent features - the multi-GPU support in particular is commendable. The layout too looks pretty solid, with a clean design that left nothing for us to nitpick. There's more than adequate space on the PCB for all your expansion cards and cables, though some will inevitably be sacrificed if you're going for dual graphics cards.

Intel has produced a very decent looking P67 board that even enthusiasts won't mind using. The silk-screen skull head at the bottom right of the PCB can be illuminated by LEDs, and turned off in the BIOS.

With no legacy support, there's sufficient space at the rear for Intel to fit eight USB 2.0 ports, a pair of USB 3.0 ports (in blue), an eSATA port, FireWire and even a Clear CMOS button (Intel calls this Back-to-BIOS).

The DDR3 memory support officially goes up to 1600MHz on this Intel board, with a maximum of 32GB of memory. As you can see, there are power and reset buttons, along with a debugging LED.

The four black ports are SATA 3Gbps versions while the blue ones are SATA 6Gbps. All located at the edge and out of the way.

A nice blend of PCIe x1, PCI and of course the two PCIe 2.0 x16 slots. Dual-slot graphics cards will fit here with no issues and better still is the x8/x8 bandwidth of each slot when using dual graphics cards.

With companies like NEC filling in the gap for USB 3.0 controllers, no wonder Intel isn't working too hard on implementing their own.

A Marvell controller adds eSATA functionality to this board, though we would have preferred more SATA 6Gbps ports and USB 3.0 ports.

Unlike the other brands out there touting 12 phases power delivery systems, Intel sticks with just six. And you know what, we believe that's more than sufficient for most users. The heatsinks are relatively small and simple.

Intel's EFI BIOS looks almost like any non-EFI BIOS, due to its lack of mouse support and a rather bland, minimalist background that looks like an old-school BIOS. It is however responsive and it was easy enough to use, with extensive settings that are competitive with other vendors. This is a board that one can get comfortable overclocking with.

It may be an EFI BIOS but it's a very basic and plain interface from Intel. We however found it fast and with adequate settings for our needs. Less flash, more substance, we say.

MSI P67A-GD65

Going by MSI's recent naming conventions, there should be a higher-end GD80/85 in its lineup, but so far, that's not happening yet. This makes the P67A-GD65 its 'highest end' model currently. The Taiwanese manufacturer has retained its less than attractive (in our opinion) dark brown PCB with blue and black highlights but the components look to have undergone some upgrades in order for MSI to christen it 'Military Class II' and 'OC Genie II'. From what we can tell, the component upgrades include what MSI calls 'super ferrite chokes' and hi-c capacitors. OC Genie II works in the same way as the original version - press it and then restart the system - but MSI mentions that it doesn't work with Sandy Bridge Core i3 processors due to architecture issues. In any case, those processor weren't meant for overclocking.

As for this P67 motherboard, the hardware is above the average P67 board. MSI has supplemented the standard SATA arrangements with an two extra SATA 6Gbps ports with a Marvell 9128 controller. A JMicron controller then adds two more eSATA at the rear panel. There are two NEC USB 3.0 controllers present for four more USB 3.0 ports and a front USB 3.0 bracket included. Like the others before, IDE support has been removed, which means slightly more PCB space. The heatsink design, while connected with a heat-pipe, looks pretty laid back and simple.

MSI however has chosen to go with two PCIe 2.0 x16 slots, with only the first PCIe x16 slot operating at x16 bandwidth effectively. The second slot is pegged at x8 bandwidth, even if you install just one graphics card in to the system. Both SLI and CrossFireX are supported but you're likely to get a x8/x8 configuration in multi-GPU configuration. In short, it's identical to ECS' implementation and better than what's found on some of the others in this roundup.

The new board resembles the previous P55 ones, though with slightly different heatsinks. Note that while the PCB labels this board as P67-GD65, it's actually a mistake and it should be the P67A-GD65.

FireWire remains on this MSI board, but you do get two USB 3.0 ports (blue) and both optical and coaxial S/PDIF. A Clear CMOS button is much required and only a single Gigabit connector signals its more mainstream positioning.

The SATA ports in white are SATA 6Gbps capable, with two from the Intel chipset and the other two from a Marvell controller. The ones in black are standard SATA 3Gbps connectors from the P67 chipset.

The onboard power and rest buttons along with MSI's one-button OC Genie auto-overclocking functionality.

VIA provides the FireWire controller and NEC again is the main controller for USB 3.0.

There's adequate space for dual-slot graphics cards in either SLI or CrossFireX. Do note that the second PCIe x16 slot on the left is only x8 bandwidth capable. Again, note the misprint on the PCB that left out the 'A' in the board model name.

Another sign that the GD65 straddles the mainstream and enthusiast is the fact that next to the ATX power connector, you'll find voltage measuring points for voltmeters, something that only overclockers and enthusiasts will care about.

With these even more 'hardened' MOSFET and capacitor components, MSI is claiming a new Military Class II marketing term.

The 'front' USB 3.0 bracket included in the package, though we were more looking forward to a true front panel chassis solution than a bracket.

This MSI board is sort of in between that of a high-end enthusiast P67 board and a more mainstream version. It strips out some of the less useful extras (subjective to each individual), like dual Gigabit LAN while having some enthusiast friendly features like voltage check points. Overall, it's a slight evolution of MSI's previous boards, with some improvements in the use of even higher quality components. The layout too looks fine and we didn't notice any issues, which is in line with our past experiences with MSI boards.

Finally, we get to the main weakness of this board, the new ClickBIOS. The good thing is that it's colorful, with animated icons that may be a tad too cute for our taste. The bad is that all these eye candy may have contributed to its sluggish response. While we welcomed the mouse support, it's not helped by a generally slow response time to our clicks. Meanwhile, it wasn't that clear which section you have selected if you are using the keyboard to go through the icons since the interface doesn't make it very obvious. If you're one of those who prefer the old-school BIOS interface, then MSI's EFI BIOS will probably be your best example of the newer interface being a step backwards.

It may look cute and friendly, but MSI' BIOS probably was our least favorite EFI BIOS in this roundup. Sluggish and laggy with unnecessary animations.

BIOS Settings

You should know by now that there is when it comes to overclocking the base clock frequency on the P67 chipset. This clock frequency is the central 'clock' for the entire board, so despite the fact that the BIOS settings on some boards allow users to tweak by a huge amount, even the best cooling will not be able to get that frequency working. The answer is to get a 'K' processor if you intend to do any sort of serious overclocking on the new Intel P67 platform. Then, it's just a matter of pushing the multipliers and getting the right voltages to support that.

While overclocking, users can adjust the following voltages on the six P67 boards in order to ensure a higher, or more stable overclock.

Models	CPUVoltage	DRAMVoltage	Other Voltage Settings
ASRock P67 Pro3	0.725 to 1.52V (0.005Vsteps)	1.2 to 1.8V (0.015Vsteps)	CPUPLL: 1.586 to 2.349 (0.008Vsteps) PCHVoltage: 0.78 to 1.646V(0.010Vsteps)
ASUSP8P67	0.800 to 1.99V (0.005V steps)	1.20 to 2.20V (0.00625V steps)	CPU PLL: 1.20 to 2.20V (0.00625V steps) PCH Voltage: 0.8 to 1.7V (0.01V steps)
ECSP67H2-A2	+10mv to +630mV (10mV steps)	-300mV to +630mV (10mVsteps)	PCHVoltage:+10mV to +630mV(10mVsteps) IMCVoltage:+15mV to +375mV (+15mVsteps)
Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3R	0.750 to 1.7V (0.005Vsteps)	0.9 to 2.6V (0.02Vsteps)	PCHCore:0.84 to 1.94V(0.02Vsteps) QPI/Vtt:0.8 to 1.7V(0.02Vsteps)
Intel DP67BG	1.00 to 2.30V (0.0125Vsteps)	1.2 to 2.0V (0.01Vsteps)	PCHCore: 1.0 to 1.5V(0.0125Vsteps) CPUPLL: 1.5 to 2.4V(0.025Vsteps)
MSIP67A-GD65	0.8 to 1.8V (0.005Vsteps)	1.108 to 2.464 (0.008Vsteps)	PCHVoltage:0.775 to 1.724V(0.005Vsteps) CPUPLLVoltage:1.4 to 2.43V (0.01Vsteps)

Test Setup

Our test configuration was mostly similar to what we used in our . The main difference was the use of a less powerful graphics card, the GeForce 9800 GTX instead of a GeForce GTX 260. The drivers however have been updated and Windows 7 Ultimate was the operating system.

Intel Core i7-2600K @3.4GHz
2 x 1GB Kingston HyperX DDR3-1333 (CAS 7-7-7-20), *MSI P67A-GD65 was running at 8-8-8-24
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX (ForceWare 260.99)
WD Caviar Black 1TB, SATA 6G (Intel 6G)
Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit)
Intel INF 9.2.0.1015

The following benchmarks were used:

BAPco SYSmark 2007 (version 1.05)
Futuremark PCMark Vantage (1.0.3.1)
Futuremark 3DMark Vantage (1.0.3.1)
SpecView Perf 9.0
Far Cry 2

Results - SYSmark 2007 Preview

While most of the boards were clustered around a certain SYSmark 2007 score with almost identical results, there were two outliers in the form of the ASRock and the MSI board. Perhaps the slower memory timings on the MSI were holding it back, as there was a distinct 4% difference between the top performer here, the ECS and the MSI.

Results - Futuremark PCMark Vantage

Like SYSmark 2007, the overall score in PCMark Vantage saw the ASRock and MSI boards continue to be a step behind the others. The ASUS, Gigabyte and Intel posted quite similar results. From the breakdown however, most of the scores were very close, with the Intel board catching our eye for its marginal but consistent edge over most of its competitors.

Results - SPECviewperf 9.0

With the exception of a slightly anomalous performance from the ASUS P8P67 in 3dsmax-04, most of the boards were on par with each other. We did find the Gigabyte and Intel boards to be slightly behind in PRO/ENGINEER by up to 5%, but if the memory timings were affecting the MSI board, it wasn't obvious here.

Results - Futuremark 3DMark Vantage & Far Cry 2

The two gaming benchmarks showed negligible differences between the boards. Any of them will produce the same level of performance given a similar configuration. For users who are only interested in applications like games, it doesn't matter what you get.

Temperature

From our testing, it's safe to say that the modest passive heatsinks that we found on many of the mainstream P67 boards are good enough. Temperatures rarely hit the 50 degrees Celsius mark. Here, the ASRock and MSI boards showed a slight advantage over their competitors, with some of the lowest temperatures observed.

Power Consumption

The boards were also generally very similar in terms of power draw, hovering between 100 to 110W during idle and up to 177W when fully taxed. We did find the ECS to have the highest peak power consumption, no doubt thanks to its many onboard controllers.

Conclusion

With prices below US$200 for all these Sandy Bridge P67 motherboards, they are well within the budgets of mainstream users hoping to build an above average desktop system. In terms of raw performance, all of these boards are practically identical when it comes to applications like games and while our synthetic benchmarks found some to be slightly slower, it's difficult to tell in a real-world situation. Even other factors like temperature and power draw indicate a tie between these boards in most situations.

Exactly which board to choose will boil down to your actual budget and the features that you require. Before we give the individual assessments for the six motherboards, here's a breakdown of how they performed and their estimated retail price.

Model	Performance	Features	Value	Overall	Estimated Retail Price
ASRock P67 Pro3	7.5	7.0	8.5	7.5	US$124
ASUSP8P67	8.0	8.5	8.5	8.5	US$155 / S$279 (SG)
ECSP67H2-A2	8.0	9.0	8.0	8.5	US$195
Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3R	8.0	8.0	8.5	8.0	S$269 (SG)
Intel DP67BG	8.0	8.5	8.0	8.5	US$180
MSIP67A-GD65	7.5	9.0	8.0	8.0	US$180 / S$309 (SG)

The first board, the ASRock P67 Pro3 is definitely a mainstream product; there are other ASRock P67 boards with more features. At US$124, it's also the least expensive, though one does have to make do with fewer features, including a single PCIe 2.0 x16 slot. To some users, this is more than sufficient, but to others, it will feel like an option has been taken away from them. On the plus side, ASRock's EFI BIOS looks like a winner. Unfortunately, its mediocre performance and lack of features mean we won't recommend it unless you're on a really tight budget.

Next up, ASUS has gone full throttle for its new series of P67 boards. The entry model, the P8P67 comes with some interesting extras, from the new integrated Bluetooth module to the digital PWM. At US$155, it's surprisingly affordable, though the local price of S$279 dampens our enthusiasm slightly. While we felt that ASUS has had to make some compromises, like a 4-lane secondary PCIe 2.0 x16 slot, it has been done to keep it price competitive and to allow for the extra controllers onboard. The excellent BIOS with its quick response and attractive visuals seal the deal for us.

The ECS P67H2-A2 is no doubt the heavyweight in this roundup. With the most features, especially more onboard controllers than any other board here, the ECS is close to matching the specs of enthusiast oriented P67 boards. The retail price unfortunately reflects this and it's the most costly too. We had no issues with its EFI BIOS or the layout, which was nicely done considering the amount of onboard components. Overall, it's a fine board, if a tad too rich for a board positioned for mainstream users.

Gigabyte went with a new matte PCB for its new P67A-UD3R, but to our dismay, decided not to follow the trend and include a fully graphical EFI interface. It's something that the vendor is probably working on right now, but for those who have already gotten or getting this UD3R board, there's no worry, as Gigabyte's Hybrid EFI approach does still support 3TB drives. A good thing is that the BIOS interface is practically the same as older Gigabyte boards and should be a familiar sight. The bad thing is that this board is the probably the most average one we have seen, and frankly, feels like a direct 'port' of one of Gigabyte's mainstream P55 motherboards, but given a matte paint job. Despite the lack of freshness (other than the physical appearance), it is functional and reasonably priced that there's not much to fault it either.

While Gigabyte disappointed us with its conservative approach, we were also pleasantly surprised by Intel's desktop board, the DP67BG. It may lose out slightly in terms of features to some of its competitors, and at US$180, it's not the most competitively priced, but it was a very solid board with no issues and a clean design. The EFI BIOS avoided the fancy eye candy that did nothing and it booted up the fastest among the boards. Intel has even added some extra features that make it more attractive to consumers, but its consistency was its main strength.

Finally, for the P67A-GD65, MSI has built on its existing technologies, incrementally improving them with newer components and updating to an EFI BIOS. We felt that it had a nice blend of features and price. At the same US$ price as the Intel, the MSI was undoubtedly the board with more features, from voltage check points to its OC Genie II auto-overclocking tool. However, we were unable to set the board to run at our favored memory timings and the performance suffered slightly as a result. The underperforming and sluggish EFI BIOS was another major factor that caused us to lower our standings for this board. In its present state now, we would have taken the older BIOS instead of the new EFI version. Has these issues been ironed out, the board could have grabbed the top spot.