ASRock P55 Extreme Intel P55 LGA 1156 Motherboard Review

Installation

Test Rig:
Intel i7 870 LGA 1156 CPU
OCZ Platinum DDR3-1333 4GB Low Voltage Dual Channel Memory kit
Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Video Card
OCZ Z Series 650 Watt PSU
Titan Skalli CPU Cooler
Ikonik Zaria Midtower
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit

Installation is fairly straightforward, install your optical drive, PSU, and hard drive into the case. Observe the CPU and CPU socket to determine proper orientation of the CPU. Be extremely careful as the socket pins are very fragile. Place the CPU into the socket, gently slide the retainer under the locking lug on the motherboard. Lower and lock the locking lever…you will get some resistance just be careful.

Prep the CPU and CPU cooler with isopropyl alcohol and a lint free cloth. Apply thermal compound to the CPU surface per the manufacturer’s instructions. Be aware if you are using a CPU cooler with exposed heatpipes you need to manually spread the thermal compound with a credit card or other thin flexible object.

Install the CPU cooler and memory. The memory will be placed in the white colored slots. If you are using four memory modules, I would recommend using only two when first booting the system, once all settings are made and the system is stable, then place the other two modules in the two blue colored memory slots.

ASRock P55 Extreme Intel P55 LGA 1156 Motherboard ASRock P55 Extreme Intel P55 LGA 1156 Motherboard

Place the I/O shield into the opening. Install the motherboard into the case.

Wire up the motherboard and drives.

ASRock P55 Extreme Intel P55 LGA 1156 Motherboard ASRock P55 Extreme Intel P55 LGA 1156 Motherboard

Install the video card, double check your work, and you’re done.

ASRock P55 Extreme Intel P55 LGA 1156 Motherboard