Differences between Gigabyte GA-P35's?

[Jeffro]

My apologies if this is already posted somewhere, I did check the FAQ, did some searches and checked the Gigabyte site but I was wondering if someone had a reference site that detailed the differences between all the Gigabyte P35 boards.. DS3L vs DS3R etc etc.

I'm looking to make my purchase tonight, getting an E8400 and was going to get a GA-P35-DS3L but want to make sure before I buy it. (Looking to get 4GHz or better with a Tuniq Tower 120mm.. any other feedback in this area is appreciated too)

 

[zenmaster]

I would recommend the DS3R unless you are on a tight budget.

The DS3R has added chipset cooling which makes hitting higher FSB speeds a litte easier/safer on this board. You may need to a chipset cooler fan on the DS3L otherwiste.

The DS3L is great for the 800FSB chips which do not need to clock the FSB as high to reach extremely high speeds.

The DS3R along with better chipset cooling, adds RAID support and support for more sata drives.

The Higher boards add more items such as IEEE, External Sata etc....

 

[Shadow703793]

DS3R = 8 SATA ports, RAID,8 USB, better cooling
DS3L = 4 SATA, no RAID, 4 USB

If on a budget get the P35-DS3L. Both boards OC the same. See below for OCing how to on the DS3L:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=29&post=245679&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=3&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

PS: Stay away from the P35C-DS3R. It has both DDR2 and DDR3 but only one can be used at a time (no DDR3 while DDR2 is being used) and the cipset is not as good at OCing compared to the normal P35.

from the manual

Before installing a memory module , make sure to turn off the computer and unplug
the power cord from the power outlet to prevent damage to the memory module.
DDR2 and DDR3 DIMMs are not compatible to each other or DDR DIMMs. Do not
install DDR DIMMs on this motherboard.
Populating DDR2 and DDR3 memory modules simultaneously is not supported

 

[Jeffro]

Thank you both, going to go with the DS3R for the cooling.. I heard the northbridges on these boards can fry eggs.. still suggest a fan on the NB on the DS3R?