Gigabyte S3 and DS3
- Thread starter Tombo
- Start date
Herd instinct - that's all. At the moment I think the DS3 is within £2 of the S3 anyway so why not get it.
The boards are identical apart from the DS3 using solid Japanese capacitors. Why solid capacitors? Well, about 3 years ago there was a Taiwanese capacitor factory that supplied all the big motherboard manufacturers and they had a quality problem that meant motherboards made with their capacitors tended to fail in very unpleasant ways. The few manufacturers that were building 'enthusiast' motherboards with Japanese capacitors didn't have the same problem and a myth grew up that Japanese capacitors were the answer to life, the universe and everything. In the US market having solid capacitors is a major selling point, so they made 2 versions of the 'budget' motherboard - the S3 which everyone in the far east buys because it's cheap and it clocks well and the DS3 which they can sell to Westerners who'll buy anything if the marketing is right. The S3 clocks just as well, but it will only last 3-4 years whereas the DS3 will last 6-7 years.
The boards are identical apart from the DS3 using solid Japanese capacitors. Why solid capacitors? Well, about 3 years ago there was a Taiwanese capacitor factory that supplied all the big motherboard manufacturers and they had a quality problem that meant motherboards made with their capacitors tended to fail in very unpleasant ways. The few manufacturers that were building 'enthusiast' motherboards with Japanese capacitors didn't have the same problem and a myth grew up that Japanese capacitors were the answer to life, the universe and everything. In the US market having solid capacitors is a major selling point, so they made 2 versions of the 'budget' motherboard - the S3 which everyone in the far east buys because it's cheap and it clocks well and the DS3 which they can sell to Westerners who'll buy anything if the marketing is right. The S3 clocks just as well, but it will only last 3-4 years whereas the DS3 will last 6-7 years.
Sorry to hiijack the thread But......
I'm teaming the DS3 with an Antec P180 case and I'd like to be able to hook up the front two case USB ports to the DS3.
Would I need anything that doesn't already come supplied with the mobo?
I'm teaming the DS3 with an Antec P180 case and I'd like to be able to hook up the front two case USB ports to the DS3.
Would I need anything that doesn't already come supplied with the mobo?
No, you shouldn't. The case wil have one of 3 types of headers on a cable;
9 individual pins (pray it's not that)
A pair of 5-pin headers
One 9-pin header with one pin blocked off (the most common)
Then you just match up the pins on the header with the pins on the motherboard and plug it in. The 10-pin is by far the easiest as it corresponds absolutely to the motherboard headers, but the pair of 5-pin connectors are also very easy - you just line the black/-ve wires up next to the missing pin on the motherboard and plug them in. The 9 individial pins are a nightmare and you need VERY small fingers usually - or I have been know to tape them together out of the case and make my own pseudo-9-pin connector.
9 individual pins (pray it's not that)
A pair of 5-pin headers
One 9-pin header with one pin blocked off (the most common)
Then you just match up the pins on the header with the pins on the motherboard and plug it in. The 10-pin is by far the easiest as it corresponds absolutely to the motherboard headers, but the pair of 5-pin connectors are also very easy - you just line the black/-ve wires up next to the missing pin on the motherboard and plug them in. The 9 individial pins are a nightmare and you need VERY small fingers usually - or I have been know to tape them together out of the case and make my own pseudo-9-pin connector.
TheDean said:I have the case looking at me now at work - Sadly I cant really start tearing it open to have a look
I know that feeling - thankfully my current employment actually requires me to acquire new computer cases and try them out - it gets really dull after a while
TheDean said:
If you're not Irish then you'll have to edit that as it sounds VERY dodgy! Did you mean craic?
Hahaha! I got out with a girl from Northern Ireland - She's always on about the craic - Notice, that could have been a double entendre if I hadn't have spelt it right!!! 
Can you think of any other useful tips when putting the Mobo in the P180?
Can you think of any other useful tips when putting the Mobo in the P180?
I think you're a bit of a Ninja-editor! Girls from NI are class. Actually - make that the whole of Ireland. Anyhoo - no, I'm not a great lover of Antec, but if you ask the question in Case Central there are several users who have been there, done that, got the t-shirt with the P180 and they'll be only too glad to help out I'm sure.