DS3R vs DS3P

sjt269 · 15 Oct 2007 at 13:44

Can anyone enlighten me as to the difference between these two boards? As far as I can tell, the P has Firewire and the R doesn't, but considering both boards are the same price, this seems a bit bizarre. Why not make one board with Firewire, and not bother making one without? There's got to be some other difference I haven't noticed yet, right? :confused:

HHM · 15 Oct 2007 at 16:32

tTz said:
Can anyone enlighten me as to the difference between these two boards? As far as I can tell, the P has Firewire and the R doesn't, but considering both boards are the same price, this seems a bit bizarre. Why not make one board with Firewire, and not bother making one without? There's got to be some other difference I haven't noticed yet, right?

Seems like you have not read the specs, or even looked the picture

"R" has 3 PCI slots "P" has two, about the prices I dont know why ocuk
price them equal, the "P" model is normally 10-30 euros more, you must
run a genneral seach-engine before making any conclusions on prices

sjt269 · 15 Oct 2007 at 16:40

HHM said:
Seems like you have not read the specs, or even looked the picture

I didn't think looking at pictures would tell me anything.

I didn't read the blurb about the boards, fair enough, but I honestly can't even see anything about PCI mentioned in either the description or specification on the OcUk site. I admit, I could have looked at the manufacturer's website, but I just assumed OcUk would have had a direct copy 'n' paste from there, so I didn't bother. Oh, and I did read the specs. Just not very well.

And following your advice comparing the pictures, I noticed the RAM slots were different - the R can take DDR3 as well, which I didn't previously notice. Doesn't make any difference to me, but hey, now I know the difference between the boards.

RooSe · 15 Oct 2007 at 16:47

Basicaly the same boards mainly feature sets different.

post somewhere on this forum that shows most of the differences, can't find it now though.

but mainly Like has been said, the "p" has firewire + it's 2 PCI-E slots (1 @16x, 1 @ 4x) rather than the 1 PCI-E that the "R" has.

Found it a bit strange myself that OCUK were selling them both for the same price, everywhere else i looked was selling the "R" for around £10 less than the "p" which is what you'd espet, as in the "P" to cost slightly more. Considering they are basicaly the same board with just a few features different.

sjt269 · 15 Oct 2007 at 16:49

Oh no, I just found that there's a P35 and a P35C.

But this time, I am actually looking at the Gigabyte website and comparing the exact specs...the website is slow and annoying, though, and my patience may not last.

:edit:

Well, the differences between the P35C DS3R, the P35 DS3R and the P35 DS3P all seem fairly minimal. Which begs the question, 'why build three almost identical motherboards instead of one?'

I suppose I shouldn't moan - the differences are probably useful to some people. They just make my decision more difficult.

RooSe · 15 Oct 2007 at 17:53

Ask ya self are you ever going to use DDR3 within the next 12 - 18 months ?

if no then sack the P35C

Do you need built in Firewire and are you going to use two Graphics card at some point in the near future ?

If no then sack the DS3P

Do you want a board that will cost you £10 less (depending where you get it from ) than the other two because they have stuff that you'll never use, while at the same time it will overclock as well, if not better than the other two, can't confirm this of course because i only own the DS3R which i suppose kind of makes me bias

TBH m8 i don't think you can go wrong with either one of the 3 you mentioned, if your set on Gigabyte that is, i'm sure someone could point you in the direction of other brands that offer the same and maybe more for about the same price.

But then you'd be in the same boat thinking "umm" which model to get now

End of the day though Silicone is never going to be 100% certain of doing for you, what one person says it can do for them, because even though its all the same it's still different, so just do your research and go for the best bet that "YOU" feel confident about

Good luck anyway you choose m8.

Cob · 15 Oct 2007 at 17:57

Well the DS3P is the exact same as the DS4, apart from the cooling.

So strictly speaking, it's the best value.

sjt269 · 15 Oct 2007 at 19:17

Cob said:
Well the DS3P is the exact same as the DS4, apart from the cooling.

Now that you've mentioned cooling, looking at the pictures (proud of me, HHM?) the DS3P looks to have a bigger Northbridge cooler - I keep seeing that the Northbridges on these boards run hot, so would that be a benefit? Although I was planning on fitting a Freezer 7 cooler, so a larger Northbridge heatsink might get in the way...hmm.

RooSe said:
Ask ya self are you ever going to use DDR3 within the next 12 - 18 months ?

...possibly. Honestly, it's unlikely - I'm planning on going for 4Gb DDR2 at the moment if budget allows.

RooSe said:
Do you need built in Firewire and are you going to use two Graphics card at some point in the near future ?

Now, I might use two graphics cards at once sometime in the future, but only if I could get a second one for absolute peanuts. I'm not big on Crossfire, to be honest, but I can't say it'll never happen.

RooSe said:
if your set on Gigabyte that is, i'm sure someone could point you in the direction of other brands that offer the same and maybe more for about the same price.

I'm not set on Gigabyte, but a lot of people own and recommend them, and I've seen a lot of good overclocks on these boards (though that's equally as much due to the processors these days). But for the love of all that is holy, don't give me any more options.

The only thing stopping me from just getting the DS3P right now is that it's £6 more expensive. But I'm sure I can figure out a way to afford it.

:edit:

Another minor problem is that with a wireless network card and a soundcard (which I may or may not add at a later date for recording purposes), I wouldn't be able to actually use two graphics cards at the same time - there wouldn't be space. I hate choices.

jbloggs · 15 Oct 2007 at 22:42

Cob · 15 Oct 2007 at 22:52

jbloggs said:
Something Cob keeps looking for but can never find

*steals

RooSe · 15 Oct 2007 at 23:04

Nice thats the one i was thinkng about, but couldn't remember where it was

Vimes · 15 Oct 2007 at 23:32

Well just to add another flavour...

I just bought a P35C DS3 revision 2 board - the version with 8 USB ports on the back I/O plate

sjt269 · 16 Oct 2007 at 14:01

jbloggs said:

Fantastic, thanks!

Questions:

1) What's up with the ATX 12V power connectors being 4-pin and 8-pin? Which connector is this actually referring to, and am I likely to need an adapter for either type?

2) Is 'koper + silentpipe'

p) better than aluminium for cooling? I'd imagine it would be, but I know nothing about anything, so my opinion is worthless.

3) 6-phase power? What does that even mean? It's not something I've heard of, so I'm assuming it's marketing blurb, but it has an intriguing name...

pastymuncher · 16 Oct 2007 at 19:32

tTz said:
Fantastic, thanks!

Questions:

1) What's up with the ATX 12V power connectors being 4-pin and 8-pin? Which connector is this actually referring to, and am I likely to need an adapter for either type?

2) Is 'koper + silentpipe' p) better than aluminium for cooling? I'd imagine it would be, but I know nothing about anything, so my opinion is worthless.

3) 6-phase power? What does that even mean? It's not something I've heard of, so I'm assuming it's marketing blurb, but it has an intriguing name...

1. On your psu you will have either a 4 pin, 8 pin or 2x4 pin that join together. It's the cpu 12v power plugs and i suppose we will see a shift towards 8 pin more of the time now as power requirements rise.

2. Copper is better than aluminium for heat transfer.

3. 6 phase is a stbility thing i think. Somone will set you straight on that one.

If you do go with a DS3P get the rev 2.0 with the better cooling.

Deleted User 234324 · 16 Oct 2007 at 20:13

Nice link to mobo specs their, saved myself 25 quid, originally planned on the GA P35 DS4, but realised that the addition PWM cooling just doesnt justify the higher price tag, so dropped down to the GA P35 DS3P which shouldnt be any different as I have 2 120mm fans blowing directly onto the mobo anyway.

Pay day can't come soon enough tbh, Q6600 G0, mobo and 4gb

first intel based system since my old P120.

Hobgoblin · 17 Oct 2007 at 16:34

do you get a 8 pin converter with the board? ie if you only have a 4 pin on your PSU?

pastymuncher · 17 Oct 2007 at 17:19

I very much doubt it. I've never heard of it anyway. You can use a 4 pin plug in a 8 pin socket, it's just handy to have an 8 pin if you run a quad as it will draw extra power (especially if clocking).

Hobgoblin · 17 Oct 2007 at 18:48

ah, was thinking of running a Q6600. im now desperately trying to remember if my enermax has a 8pin or at least 2 x4s that join. cheers for the reply tho.

ive convinced myself to get the gigabyte DS3P so its good to know

pastymuncher · 17 Oct 2007 at 19:24

Try and get the rev 2.0 as it has better cooling amongst other things.

sjt269 · 17 Oct 2007 at 19:37

I also ended up going for the DS3P. Should arrive tomorrow or Friday, hopefully before the weekend anyway. First ever build, so I'm a bit nervous about wrecking it all, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. If. If I come to it.