Gigabyte S3 or DS3

fat_wife · 27 Nov 2006 at 11:02

Just about to order myself a gigabyte board.

I am on a budget so as many pennies I can save the better!

Is the difference between the S3 and the DS3 that great? All's I understand is that the DS3 is meant to last longer. Is there any difference in BIOS?

I plan on switching to crossfire when I have the cash, but I wont be switching till well into next year, so the longevity of the DS3 doesn't really bother me.

Ordered myself a Geil 6400 kit, C2D E6300, AC7 pro, X1950XT and a Hiper 580w PSU!

Thanks gang!

easyrider · 27 Nov 2006 at 11:05

DS3 without doubt.

Better clocker and should get you close to 7x500 =3.5ghz.

fat_wife · 27 Nov 2006 at 11:09

Out of interest, how is the DS3 a better clocker when the only difference is meant to be that the DS3 has solid caps ?

easyrider · 27 Nov 2006 at 11:10

fat_wife said:
Out of interest, how is the DS3 a better clocker when the only difference is meant to be that the DS3 has solid caps ?

Gigabyte GA_945PL_S3 this mobo is based on the 945PL chipset.

The DS3 is based on the 965 chipset.

the 965 chipset is a mtch made in heaven for the 6300 and overclocks better.

fat_wife · 27 Nov 2006 at 11:15

easyrider said:
Gigabyte GA_945PL_S3 this mobo is based on the 945PL chipset.

The DS3 is based on the 965 chipset.

the 965 chipset is a mtch made in heaven for the 6300 and overclocks better.

Gigabyte GA_965P_S3 iP965
Gigabyte GA_965P_DS3 iP965

?

ants83 · 27 Nov 2006 at 11:21

DS3 all the way

easyrider · 27 Nov 2006 at 11:26

I see that there is a S3 945 version too.

The DS3 is 10 quid more its a no brainer!

fat_wife · 27 Nov 2006 at 11:32

Like I say, the more pennies I save the better, I'm already spending over 150 more than I can afford atm - and it's more like 20 quid more after postage

As I say, I plan on switching to Crossfire within the next few months so will be switching boards (again) then. I should have perhaps asked if the S3 will perform aswell as the DS3 in the meantime till I can afford a Crossfire Master and a Crossfire board - instead of asking "which should i go for ?"

It's not like I'm big on overclocking either, I'll perhaps attempt to push my 6300 upto 2.6 max and leave everything else stock.

easyrider · 27 Nov 2006 at 11:39

fat_wife said:
Like I say, the more pennies I save the better, I'm already spending over 150 more than I can afford atm - and it's more like 20 quid more after postage

As I say, I plan on switching to Crossfire within the next few months so will be switching boards (again) then. I should have perhaps asked if the S3 will perform aswell as the DS3 in the meantime till I can afford a Crossfire Master and a Crossfire board - instead of asking "which should i go for ?"

It's not like I'm big on overclocking either, I'll perhaps attempt to push my 6300 upto 2.6 max and leave everything else stock.

Ok the DS3 will hold its value better when you come to re sell it.

There lies your answer.

VeNT · 27 Nov 2006 at 11:40

ds3 is nice, better clocker, but I like the cooling on the DS4 if you can afford it.

fat_wife · 27 Nov 2006 at 12:17

Thanks guys!

p4radox · 27 Nov 2006 at 18:24

Gigabyte say that the only difference is that the DS3 has better capacitors. Overclocks should be exaclty the same.

jNive · 27 Nov 2006 at 21:43

people are gettign confused and talking about 3 or 4 boards here.

I have an S3-965 myself, its runs stable with 470FSB with E6300 and Corsair TwinX 2x1GB 5400C4 ( running them at 4-5-5-12 @ 2.1V and 1:1)
In terms of performance and features, they are identical, same design, same components except that the capacitors used are solid state and as such are less prone to leakage ( meaning it will last longer before failing )

if youa re intending to switch within 2 years, and are happy with 3GHz clocks on a E6300, no reason to go for anything more than the 965-S3

RadoX · 27 Nov 2006 at 21:59

ok calm down after looking at g00gle i found out the ds3 has mutch more fsb potential

Big.Wayne · 27 Nov 2006 at 22:24

GA_965P_S3 (£88.11 inc) . . . . . . . . GA_965P_DS3 (£99.86 inc )

Hmmm where is the heatsink gone from the DS3?

easyrider · 28 Nov 2006 at 01:09

Wayne,

shut up

Big.Wayne · 28 Nov 2006 at 01:28

jNive said:
In terms of performance and features, they are identical, same design, same components except that the capacitors used are solid state and as such are less prone to leakage

[email protected] said:
The Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 mainboard uses a three-phase processor voltage regular circuitry built with pretty up-to-date components. However, there are huge capacitors right next to it and later on one of them will cause us some trouble during Tuniq Tower 120 cooler installation. And here is this dramatic difference between the two boards: DS3 mainboard model doesn’t use these huge capacitors. All capacitors there are small and boast better characteristics.

Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 Mainboard: Budget Leader for Core 2 Duo Overclocking

easyrider · 28 Nov 2006 at 01:34

so..

save yourself a tenner get a S3

save yourself 17 quid get pc 4200

wayne....

please

Snapshot · 28 Nov 2006 at 07:35

I'd echo the comments about the large capacitors on the 965P-S3. There's one I was sure was going to get pushed over when I installed an AC7Pro. The extra tenner for the DS3 is worth it just for this.

Jonathan

jNive · 28 Nov 2006 at 23:45

ive installed my Scythe Ninja Plus Rev.B onto my 965p-S3 and there is absolutely no problem with it