GA-P35-DQ6 vs. GA-P35-DS3R - Which to get?

GA-P35-DQ6 is good if you want to use 2 ATI cards in Crossfire. Since you already have an nVidia card, it's not your case. Go for the GA-P35-DS3R and save some cash. The DS3R will also let you install a big CPU cooler with less trouble.

DQ6 all the way. Best feature -- SLI. I got the DS3 for a mobo because, at the time, I wanted to keep my computer in a certain budget. However I now regret it. My dad just got the DQ6 and I envy him for it. Never skimp on a Motherboard. get the best you can afford.

The DQ6 is a little tight with the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, my HS of choice, but it does just barely fit. I got the DQ6 because of the extra regulator cooling, although I don't know how important that really is. I think it also has better voltage regulation, but that is not very clear, probably intentionally.

SLI with a P35 motherboard??? Really?

I know the P35 is only for crossfire but I was only planning on running 1 GTX and when the 9800 GTX comes out, whenever that is, I would upgrade to that. 2 8800's at my resolutions, 1680x1050 and 1280x1048 doesn't seem worth it. Any other insight would be appreciated.
P.S. I had the P5N32-E 680i but had to RMA it bkz the damn thing just died a week after I got it, so I'm gonna give Gigabyte a shot.
Also, I have Patriot Xtreme PC-6400 2x2gb which isn't on their qualified list for memory, is this gonna be a big issue?

Thanks for the help, all you guys are really great for noobs like me.

SLI right off the bat isn't worth it in my opinion. It is better for upgrading down the road. If your going to get one 8800gtx now, keep it and when the 9800's do come out the 8800 will drop in price. Then it will be cheaper for you to drop a second one in. You definetly don't need it now at the resolutions you are gaming at buy you could upgrade in the future. You never what you will buy and when.

Ok, well I don't whether to post another topic but I have another question for you guys. If i had to choose between the Gigabyte DQ6 or the Abit IP35 Pro or the Asus Blitz Formula, which should I go for.

I'm a big Gigabyte fanboy but I would have to say IP35Pro here. That's one of the best motherboards out there and IMO better value for the money than the other two you mentioned.

Go with the DQ6. The IP35 Pro doesn't offer a SLI solution because the second PCIe x16 slot will only run at x4.

For the blitz, the website says that it has dual x16 slots but says
"Support ATI CrossFire™ graphics cards (both at x8 mode)"

I don't know if this is only for crossfire and not for SLI but I would imagine that it is for both. If that is the case, then x8, x8 is not enough to run 2 8800GTX's you need all 16 lanes for the cards to be fully effective. The DQ6 offers this

Don't know when you are planning on building but PCIe 2.0 will be released soon and it will be backwards compatible. That may be something worth waiting for.

NONE OF THEM PROVIDE SLI!

They will run Crossfire! not SLI

If you're only running one video card get the P35-DS3R

If you plan on running CF with 2 ATI cards, or if you need to run another PCI-E 4x card like a SCSI/SAS controller card then go with the P35-DQ6

I just bought a p35-DS3R and it runs great. This was my first build and it was really easy. If you just want to have the best graphics card of the day, you don't really need the SLI, even if it is supported in the other boards. Save yourself some cash and get the DS3R. Its not cheaper because its made poorly, its cheaper because it doesn't offer you things you don't need. 1333 fsb, 1066 for memory, it will last you plenty long and with good performance and it won't leave a crater in your wallet.

Not sure if you can get a Blitz Formula anymore. I read it somehwere that it has been discontinued. Can someone confirm this?

How about GA-P35-DS4?

My Mistake.
The DQ6 Doesn't support SLI

According to gigabyte's website, the second pcie is only x4. I swear I remember reading somewhere that it was a full x16

I suspect you've been reading about the upcoming X38 chipset. For example, there will be a GA-X38-DQ6 soon, and it will have 2 PCI-E slots, both running at 16x.  

but thats only for CrossFire not SLI ,

Thanks, I think Im gonna go with the DSR3.

Which mb do you (anyone reading) recommend out of:
* DS3R
* DQ6
* IP35 Pro

I wasn't going to care about getting firewire but I might want to add a sound card in the future (not a gaming sound card but one from a music store). I might not need firewire but it depends. I need at least two pci slots, probably 3. I'll need it for the sound card, tv tuner card and I might want one extra slot. I need a USB slot for a wireless adapter.

The cpu will be a G0 stepping Q6600 with the Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120 and 2GB of Crucial Ram. I don't know if that criteria and hardware should influence my decision but I added that just in case.

I liked the DS3R for the price but it doesn't have firewire but I read you can add it (sort of).

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

My dad got the DQ6. It is a great board. good performance and has all the ports you need.

They're all excellent boards. I'd get the DS3R + a $20 PCI card for FireWire (or a GA-P35-DS3P, which has FireWire), since it is cheaper.
I can guarantee that the 8800 GTX does not block any of the 3 PCI slots of the DS3R. No idea about the others but I'm sure you can find out.

I just put a DQ6 in a build... it's a great board!! Could be a bit of overkill for anyone not considering OC. It does come with some very nice bells and whistles, such as firewire and full Vista 64 support (only driver issue I had was an add-on wifi card), though I'm sure the DS3 would have Vista support too.

I loaded this into a Cooler Master Cosmos (nice case but BIG), and what I liked about it was that the mobo has headers for all 4 case fans. A great thing to allow you control fan speed through bios ro windows apps. I'm not sure how many fan headers the DS3 has, but I'm dl the manual now and will get back.

Can't go wrong with Gigabyte. I think the decision comes down more to features... if the DS# has everything you need, buy it. If you needs the extras on the DQ6, buy it. If you have money to burn, no contest, buy the better board - DQ6.

Per the manual, the DS3 (all versions) has 4 fan headers total. One will be taken by the CPU fan. One is for the powersupply fan, if you have a PSU fan that can be controlled by the mobo (I don't knwo how common that still is, my PSU does not have one). That leaves two more.

So probably you have 3 usable fan headers on the DS3. Important consideration if you have more fans that you want to control with the mobo.

What about the DS4? It's now available in my area. It's similar to the DS3P but I think it's a better board. I think it was mostly a board available in Europe but it's now available in Canada and perhaps, the U.S.? It's the rev. 2.0 board that has the extra USB ports. It is almost the same price as the Abit IP-35 Pro, though. Would the Abit be a better buy?

Hey, should I factor in the number of PCI slots? Some have two, some have three... I want the option of using a TV tuner card and maybe a sound card. I want a professional/"musician's" soundcard as it doesn't have to be one 'built' for gaming.

That would take up two and if I went with an add-on of wireless, I'd have to go with a USB or router/bridge convertor?

The DS4 is expensive but sounds like a good board. The DS3R is still rev. 1 or whatever. I don't need the 'legacy' ports.

The Rev. 2 is already out. No legacy ports.