Gigabyte GA_P35C_DS3R a bad egg?

tgbyhn10111

tgbyhn10111

tgbyhn10111

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I have been looking at the new range of Gigabyte P35 boards and trying to decide between them. My short list is:

P35_DS3R
P35_DS3P
P35C_DS3R
P35_DS4

I don't really need dual graphics but the option would be nice and might help me out in a few years when 1950pro's are £20.

I would like eSata if possible but it's not essential and I assume I could get it with an add on card or something - could I add a bracket and attach to existing motherboard ports?

I like the extra cooling on the DS4 and I want to be able to pretty much guarantee being able to overclock a low end c2d to around 3ghz on a permanent basis without issues. I think I will be using a e4300 c2d or a e6320. I won't go more extreme in overclocking that this so would the DS4 be a waster of money and copper for me?

The main thing is to be as futureproof as possible as money is tight and this board will be with me for a long time which is why I like the DDR3 support.

The board seems to have everything I want except eSata and the extra cooling of the ds4.

Arnie S seems to be overclocking OK and very happy
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-086-GI&tool=3

But some people seem to be concerned that the board will not overclock as well as others in the range like the GA_P35_DS3R because of the DDR3 support or that there may well be other issues. What do you guys think?

Help me decide.

Will there be issues.

Will there be much difference between the overclocking capabilities of DS3R / C_DS3P or the DS4?

PS

I will be using this memory:
2 x Corsair (CM2X1024-5400C4) 1024MB, DDR2-5300/5400 (667/675MHz)

Thanks

pete
 
Troop said:
Read clicky
Click to expand...

Thanks. The review looks good.

One question I have is, in the the future when new quad core cpus are released for thess boards, might some of them only work with ddr3?

If I got the P35_DS3R instead of the C version would I be OK because all C4D (that fit the boards) will work ok with whatever ram is installed on the board?

Thanks
 
The updated Penryn based Core 2 Duos/Quad's will work fine with DDR2 or DDR3. Intel's CPU's don't have memory controller's on the CPU itself just yet so they don't mind what memory you use with it. Wouldn't be surprised if Asrock come up with a Penryn board that takes standard DDR.

Mul
 
I wouldn't have thought so, no. That is, unless you reckon you'll want to go DDR3 later on without a motherboard change.

Mul
 
I can't see why you named this thread 'Gigabyte GA_P35C_DS3R a bad egg?' All the new Gigabyte P35 boards are really very similar, you pay the extra for boards with SLI blah blah as extras.

Have you read the reviews? For far less money this board has been compared to high end/price boards and it performs very similar. Plus due to the solid pots etc its super stable. I always read several reviews before making a buy and i've gone for the Gigabyte GA P35C DS3R along with a E6420 CPU and a Freezer 7 pro HSF and AS5. If i get 3 GHz without altering volts etc i'll be happy and leave it at that.

If you don't want SLI and your wanting decent options for the future then buy the Gigabyte GA P35C DS3R. I'm sure you'll love it. You gotta remember, your only spending about £210 on the board and chip if you get the E6420. Last year i spent that on the motherboard alone. Can't go wrong in my eyes.

....The board i bought last year was an SLI, i never did bother to fill the other slot, hence the reason why i'm not buying into the SLI thing anymore. I think at the moment only a fool with money to burn would buy a SLI board with say 2 8800 GTX's
 
wombraider said:
K , Just opened my case and checked my Gigabyte GA_P35C_DS3R

Nope have to say no bad egg smell coming from mine
Click to expand...

I'm glad to hear that wombraider, perhaps the subject was a little sensationalist but there was a question mark there you know.

I am very interested in the board; it's down to that board and the P35_DS3P for me.

I only reason I was questioning the board was because I have seen posts, one of which, I think, is on this forum, suggesting that the board might not overclock as well as others in the range because of the DDR3 support. Naturally, I wanted to know what the experts thought.

Perhaps if you have the board you woud confirm some things for us.

I have downloaded the manuals for both boards and the specs differ more than I though - which doesn't make the board a bad board - I just want to confirm what I am getting.

According to the manuals, the product specifications for the P35_DS3P/ P35C_DS3R lists the following differences:

The P35C_DS3R has a 1 x 8 Mbit flash bios and does not support dual bios, the P35_DS3P has a 2 x 8 Mbit Flash bios and supports dual bios

Is that right?


This section is missing from the P35C_DS3R manual

-start of missing section

Overclocking:
-Voltage adjustments in BIOS Setup (CPU/DDR2/PCIe/FSB/(G)MCH)
allow you to:
-Increase CPU voltage with 0.025V increment
-Increase DDR2 voltage by 0.05V to 1.55V with 0.05V increment
-Increase PCIe voltage by 0.05V to 0.35V with 0.05V increment
-Increase FSB voltage by 0.05V to 0.35V with 0.05V increment
-Increase (G)MCH voltage by 0.025V to 0.025V with 0.375V incremen Frequency adjustments in BIOS Setup (CPU/DDR2/PCI-E) allow you to:
-Adjust CPU host frequency from 100 MHz to 700 MHz with 1 MHz
increment
-Adjust DDR2 frequency
-Adjust PCI Express x16 frequency from 90 MHz to 150 MHz with
1 MHz increment

- end of missing section.

Can the P35C_DSR3 do all those things? Can you confirm that this board has all the same overclocking features of the GA_P35_DS3P and that as far as you are concerned it seems to overclock as well?

I have not read the entire manual only the specifications so far but if the above is true, I'd rather bypass the C variant.

Put me right Wombraider...
 
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