Core i7 processor launch paralleled with the X58-Express motherboard chipset in November of 2008.Ten months later and with the September of 2009 into, Intel has returned with the P55-Express chipset for mainstream users who pair it with the new LGA1156 socket. From the outside point of view little more than the processor socket and memory configuration has changed, replacing dual-channel for triple.

PCI-Express now offers only single 16 x lanes instead of two, while the number of SATA and USB ports continues to give more expansion room than the average user might need.The consumer might not know what to expect while choosing between the two products, other than one is mainstream (P55) and the other is for extreme enthusiasts (X58).