Final thoughts and rating
So is the ASUS P7H57D-V EVO worth buying?
Using the most expensive of Intel's Core i5-supporting chipsets means there's a limit to how cheap a board like this can be, even if the price difference on the chipset is only a little extra.
In addition, instead of it being a micro-ATX design, ASUS has decided to go for a feature-laden full-ATX board. Therefore, once you've added the cost of all the additional onboard functionality as well, its pricing puts it up against higher-end P55 offerings, not only from ASUS itself, but from most of the competition, too.
Straight away, using the ASUS
P7H57D-V EVO with Core i3 models doesn't make much sense due
to this being a high-end motherboard, and it's unlikely you'll be using
the IGP built into the CPU, but rather a discrete graphics card with a
Core i5 CPU.
However, according to ASUS's website, there's a significant caveat to
using
even a Core i5 6-series CPU with a discrete graphics card. Contrary to
what Intel states on ark.intel.com,
ASUS claims a dual x8 lane PCIe configuration is only possible
with Lynnfield CPUs (Core i5 7xx/Core i7 8xx), rather than Clarkdale
(Core
i5 6xx) parts, thereby rendering the second PCIe x16 slot practically useless.
Therefore for a typical mid-range, or even a high-end system, the ASUS P7H57D-V EVO doesn't make a whole lot of sense from a value-for-money perspective.
Despite the rock-solid stability and feature-packed design, we imagine the only people likely to buy this board are early adopters who want to have the latest technology and brag about it.
Most people would be better
off getting a P55 motherboard
without onboard USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps, combined with a Core i5 750
CPU, and, if
it's a gaming system, spending the remaining cost savings on a more
powerful GPU.
For those on a more restricted budget, we'd recommend a micro-ATX
H55-based board over a H57, coupled with a Core i5 530
CPU, because for most people the few extra features aren't worth paying
the premium for.
HEXUS Rating
We consider any product score above '50%' as a safe buy. The higher the score, the higher the recommendation from HEXUS to buy. Simple, straightforward buying advice.
The rating is given in relation to the category the component competes in, therefore the motherboard is evaluated with respect to our 'high-end components' criteria.
ASUS P7H57D-V EVO
HEXUS Where2Buy
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