another vs. thread.. (GA-P35-DS3R vs GA-P35-DS3L)

[thegreat1]

Ive been looking at these two boards, and they both seem to have identical specifications. I want to build a cheap, decent rig. Im thinking this board, along with the a pentium dua core (the one from the tom hardsware review, 89$). Im just trying to figure out if the savings of 50$ between the R and the L are worth it... Are there huge draw backs over the cheaper board?

 

[zenmaster]

1) No Raid
2) Cooling not as good for extreme OC's.

I think the cheaper one would work good for most people.

 

[Kazzi1]

Zenmaster is right, right and right.

Personally I'm getting a E6750 in a month or so and a DS3L to go with it.
It'll take a resonable OC and shouldn't get crazy NB temps.

 

[lunyone]

DS3L: 4 SATA 3.0 ports, no RAID - $106 shipped
DS3R: 8 SATA 3.0 ports, RAID - $137 shipped (only ~$30 more)

 

[aevm]

The DS3R has a newer onboard audio chip. No idea if the difference is noticeable. If you have a sound card you don't need to care anyway.

Anyway, I got the DS3R myself because I couldn't live with only 4 SATA devices.

 

[thegreat1]

ya, thats what I was looking at too... the only difference was in the SATA devices, which for me, 4 is plenty.

ds3l looks like the best bang for back- assuming that the only difference are the amount of SATA ports/audio drive.

 

[Mugz]

DS3L is the best bang for the buck. Only diffs are more SATA ports and the extra 16X PCI-E slot on the R, so unless you want to go completely berserk on hard drive space or run Crossfire, go for the L.

 

[aevm]

Umm, the DS3R only has one 16x PCI-E slot. I know because I have one and I wish I could add a second video card for playing movies on a second monitor. You're thinking of the DS3P, I bet. By the way, they really should do something about these names, who comes up with them

 

[vonhell]

why not DS3 then ?

it has RAID (although not Intel's, this one is Gigabyte's proprietary design) and has 6 SATA ports. and is cheaper than DS3R

 

[aevm]

OK, I'm too lazy to do research now. What's the difference in price and specifications between DS3 and DS3L? I've never looked at the DS3.

 

[vonhell]

as lunyone stated:
DS3L: 4 SATA 3.0 ports, no RAID

DS3 has 6 SATA ports and Gigabyte's RAID and it has larger NB heatsink

compare those 2 pictures:
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/ViewImage.aspx?ProductID=2544
http://www.giga-byte.com.tw/Products/ViewImage.aspx?ProductID=2599

 

[MrCommunistGen]

Related question: Other than the NB heatsink does anyone know what the differences are between the DS3P v1.0, 1.1, and 2.0? I'm thinking of getting one in the relatively near future and was wondering if its important for me to get the latest revision. Also of note the NB cooler looks more capable on the v1.0.

Thanks
-mcg

 

[aevm]

as lunyone stated:
DS3L: 4 SATA 3.0 ports, no RAID

DS3 has 6 SATA ports and Gigabyte's RAID and it has larger NB heatsink

compare those 2 pictures:
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/ViewImage.aspx?ProductID=2544
http://www.giga-byte.com.tw/Products/ViewImage.aspx?ProductID=2599

Sounds pretty good. Mind you, with only $30 between DS3L and DS3R I don't think the market was crying for another model in between

 

[tlmck]

Just another to throw into the mix. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128062

 

[aevm]

I don't know about that one, it's P31 and most people seem to prefer P35... Must admit I haven't done any research on P31, is it any good?

 

[tlmck]

The main one that stick out are that the P31 does not do 1333fsb, only handles 4gb RAM, and will not do DDR3. It has a few other limitations as well, none of which above matter to me.

Here is what Intel says.
http://compare.intel.com/pcc/showchart.aspx?mmID=29001,32898&familyID=10&culture=en-US

One thing I do like about the Gigabyte P31 board is the solid caps. If I had seen this board first, I would have bought it over my P35 DS3L. Can't really complain though, the P35 has been solid for 5 months.

It really boils down to is, what features do you need? No sense paying for ones you don't. I run a basic system: E4300, 1VC, 1 HD, 1DVD/RW....so the extra features of the higher end boards are a waste for me. Some people pay over $200 for a DQ6 and uses every feature, others buy it and run a basic system like me. It's whatever floats your boat I guess.

 

[lunyone]

Found this gem just recently. It's been used for OC's up to 3.2gig on e2140/60 with stock cooling, but I wouldn't probably go north of 3 gig to keep things on the cool side.
Mobo - $98 shipped - $20 MIR (if you trust MIR’s) = $78 Hard to beat at this price.
ABIT IP35-E INTEL P35 CHIPSET ATX FORM FACTOR 1xPCI-E(X16)/2xPCI-E(X1)/3xPCI/4xDDR2 W/SATA2,LAN(Gb),USB 2.0 & AUDIO
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?&scriteria=BA23929

Edit: Forgot to mention this mobo doesn't have RAID support, but the DS3L doesn't either and it's $30 more after the MIR.

 

[tlmck]

Found this gem just recently. It's been used for OC's up to 3.2gig on e2140/60 with stock cooling, but I wouldn't probably go north of 3 gig to keep things on the cool side.
Mobo - $98 shipped - $20 MIR (if you trust MIR’s) = $78 Hard to beat at this price.
ABIT IP35-E INTEL P35 CHIPSET ATX FORM FACTOR 1xPCI-E(X16)/2xPCI-E(X1)/3xPCI/4xDDR2 W/SATA2,LAN(Gb),USB 2.0 & AUDIO
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?&scriteria=BA23929

Edit: Forgot to mention this mobo doesn't have RAID support, but the DS3L doesn't either and it's $30 more after the MIR.

Good to know. My E4300 gets a little flaky above 2700 with stock cooling on the DS3L. Unfortunately, they did not have the E2's out when I bought mine. Might just pick one up to mess around with. The last Abit I tried several years ago had a very noisy Northbridge fan, so I kind of got put off by them. This board looks pretty good though, no fan, and solid caps!