ASRock isn't short of P55 motherboards, but its latest - the P55 Deluxe3 - ups the ante with support for both USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps.
The P55 Deluxe3, pictured above, arrives in an ATX form factor designed to take advantage of Intel's LGA1156 processors - including models from the Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 brands.
Two PCIe x16 slots are available, with support for both NVIDIA SLI and ATI CrossFire configurations, and the board is able to power a single PCIe slot at x16, or two slots at x8 each. In order to ensure there's enough bandwidth for the USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps interfaces, ASRock - like most other manufacturers - has equipped its P55 board with a PLX bridge that ensures transfer speeds live up to expectations.
ASRock refers to its bridge implementation as "True 333" technology, intimating that the PLX bridge - along with controllers from Marvell and NEC - facilitates USB 3.0, SATA 3 (6Gbps) and eSATA 3 (6Gbps).
Elsewhere, four dual-channel DIMM slots are present, supporting DDR3 memory at speeds of up to 2,600MHz, and an onboard VIA VT2020 codec provides 7.1 channel audio.
Gigabit Ethernet is available via the board's I/O panel, as are a duo of colour-coded USB 3.0 ports, FireWire, and a 6Gbps eSATA port.
There's no word on pricing or availability yet, but when the P55 Deluxe3 does make an appearance, we'd expect it to fetch more than the £140 asking price for the existing P55 Deluxe.
In related news, ASRock's chairman Ted Hsu has recently been quoted by Chinese newspapers for suggesting that his company's motherboard shipments would rise to nine million in 2010 - a massive leap fom the two million shipments in 2009. It's a bold prediction, but perhaps we'll be a lot more from ASRock in the coming months.
