Gigabyte fraud? H55 as P55

[jihe]

A chinese website took apart a GA-P55-US3L and found the cheaper H55 chipset being used:

http://itbbs.pconline.com.cn/diy/11445752.html

Anyone has this board?

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm unaware of any advantages the P55 has over the H55. The H55 has more features (such as support for the IGP). I would question whether Intel was still even shipping the P55 chipset, or whether they have switched over production to the H55 completely.

Same thing with the X38 and X48 chipsets. They were literally the same silicon dies.

 

[lopri]

It can be called "fraud" in a strict sense, but this kinds of practices have been quite normal if I'm not mistaken. For example, 790X is harvested 790FX, and 770 is harvested 790GX, etc. Also in the past many P45 chips were indeed G45 chips with IGP disabled. As long as there were proper fusing and what not so that the intended final products perform as expected, I think we should except it as a fact of life. XD

In short, Intel/AMD not only bin their CPUs but also their chipsets. Sometimes because the chips don't meet the standard and sometimes just to meet the market demands.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Really, it's a surprise to actually find out P55 and H55 are the exactly the same thing? C'mon the GPU of H55 isn't even on the chipset itself! So why would Intel purposely produce two different chips when one is enough to be marketed in two ways?

 

[lopri]

Well, to be blunt both H55 and P55 originate from ICH10/ICH10R with the only difference being the existence of FDI (Flexible Display Interface) and number of USB ports. I personally think Intel shouldn't have called those P55/H55/H57/Q57/etc. to begin with.

 

[ZimZum]

I'm unaware of any advantages the P55 has over the H55. The H55 has more features (such as support for the IGP). I would question whether Intel was still even shipping the P55 chipset, or whether they have switched over production to the H55 completely.

H55 doesnt have SLI/Crossfire support, no native RAID and no Intel Rapid Storage. That and H55 mobos are generally cheaper than their P55 counterparts.

 

[Tsavo]

Gigabyte named the model P55, but also has a label on the box indicating H55 chipset.

Lame!

 

[Auric]

H55 doesnt have SLI/Crossfire support, no native RAID and no Intel Rapid Storage. That and H55 mobos are generally cheaper than their P55 counterparts.

H55 does do Crossfire but the host RAID is indeed fused off... yes, it's actually an H57. Dun dun dun!

 

[TheStigma]

The only significant difference between the P55 and H55 AFAIK is that the H55 has the support for the video output from the IGPs on the I3/i5s. Its probably the exact same chip im thinking.

-Stigma

 

[Fatbird]

Naming P55-US3L does not mean that Gigabyte must use P55 chipset for this model.
It's their naming policy and their rights...

Just like BMW F10 5-series, 523 is not using a 2.3 liter engine... you call it is a fraud too?

Better to remove the title "fraud" in case of any lawsuit happens...

 

[tcsenter]

A chinese website took apart a GA-P55-US3L and found the cheaper H55 chipset being used:

An IGP chipset is always at least equal to and usually more expensive than its non-IGP counterpart (for obvious reasons).

 

[faxon]

for those saying there's really no difference, there has been some documentation showing some H55 boards overclocking worse than their p55 counterparts would have. so long as the product is performing as one would expect i have no problem with manufacturers swapping parts out, but when it decreases the quality of the product as a result (like antec and their PSU capacitors, or dell doing the panel swap from IPS to VA or TN) then that's no good, and they are gonna get flak for it.

ed: it appears that gigabyte at least marks on their site that the board does indeed use the H55 chipset. i have yet to see where it says on the box that it does however

 

[386DX]

for those saying there's really no difference, there has been some documentation showing some H55 boards overclocking worse than their p55 counterparts would have. so long as the product is performing as one would expect i have no problem with manufacturers swapping parts out, but when it decreases the quality of the product as a result (like antec and their PSU capacitors, or dell doing the panel swap from IPS to VA or TN) then that's no good, and they are gonna get flak for it.

ed: it appears that gigabyte at least marks on their site that the board does indeed use the H55 chipset. i have yet to see where it says on the box that it does however

The only Intel H55 Chipset sticker shows its a H55 chipset. Besides the motherboard model name where on the box does it say its a P55 chipset?

While this is deceptive practice (like those ebay Xbox Box, etc, etc) its not fraud.

 

[taltamir]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2929
prices:
P55: 40$
H55: 40$
H57: 43$
Q57: 44$

AFAIK the P55 and H55 are the same, only difference is in the board layout. And IF you use a clarkdale on the H55 it will lose the ability to support both slots of GPU (1 GPU is on clarkdale, one on the PEG link... rendering the second PEG link unusable), if you use lynnfield it will still be able to do both.
However, makers seem to make more budget oriented offerings with the H55... of the boards in the above review they had 16x/4x or 16x/1x operation for the two gpu slots.