Gigabyte S3, DS3, DS3P, DS4, DQ6... what's the difference?

[nicolasb]

Can some kind soul explain the practical differences between all of the different Gigabyte P965 boards?

 

[drummerdude]

difference between s3 and ds3 - the d stand for durable, it has solid capacitors

ds3 and ds3p - p stand for pro, it has an extra pci-e slot, weaker version of dq6

dont know about the ds4.

dq6 - 12 phase (quad triple) power regulator, large heat pipe coving NB, SB, and voltage regulator transistors, firewire, 2 pci-e

some oc better than others. but heres some links if you want to check out:

ds3
s3
ds4
ds3p
dq6

 

[firemist]

You can look here:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_ComparisonSheet.aspx?ProductID=2453,2456,2454,2457,2455

and change the models to compare if I did not chose the ones you are interested in (there is a second page on the link).

 

[picho]

You can look here:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_ComparisonSheet.aspx?ProductID=2453,2456,2454,2457,2455

and change the models to compare if I did not chose the ones you are interested in (there is a second page on the link).

I went to this site, and compared DQ6, DS4, and DS3 rev 3.3s. The table shows them identical aside from the "thermal solution" which I expect is with respect to the north bridge.

DQ6: Silent-Pipe / Crazy Cool
DS4: Silent-Pipe
DS3:

 

[drummerdude]

the differences:

Here are the major differences of the revisions
Rev. 1.0: FSB 1066MHz, one system fan header, ALC883 (Vista Basic Logo)
Rev. 1.3: FSB 1333MHz, one system fan header, ALC883
Rev. 2.0: FSB 1066MHz, three system fan headers, ALC888 (Vista Premium Logo)
Rev. 3.3: FSB 1333MHz, three system fan headers, ALC888

link

 

[nicolasb]

DQ6: Silent-Pipe / Crazy Cool
DS4: Silent-Pipe
DS3:

So what exactly are Silent Pipe and Crazy Cool, and, more importantly, are they worth bothering with or not? Anyone got a link to a review that compares the actual performance of the cooling solutions on those boards?

 

[PaCanc]

S3 and DS3 are the same board, except for the capacitors, which are solid capacitors and the DS3; hence the D.

DS3P and DS4 are the same board, except for the cooling: DS4 has that heatpipe system, while the DS3P has only heatsinks.
The DS4 (and DS3P) have more USBs, more SATA connectors, 2 16xPCIe slots (the second is 8x I think) and Firewire, in comparison with the DS3/S3.

DQ6 has the most futures, and is the most expensive. Also it has a different layout than the other 2 (the DS4/DS3P layout and the DS3/S3 layout).

 

[drummerdude]

DQ6: Silent-Pipe / Crazy Cool
DS4: Silent-Pipe
DS3:

So what exactly are Silent Pipe and Crazy Cool, and, more importantly, are they worth bothering with or not? Anyone got a link to a review that compares the actual performance of the cooling solutions on those boards?

its that big heat pipe assembly on the board, take a look at the pictures of the board (back and front) and you will see it