GAP35DS3L or GAEP35C-DS3R

[zplugger]

Not sure what is best for me, I will be running the New Q9450 or Q9550 cpu. I want too run 2 dvd burners, 1 Hard Drive, 8800 Gt Video Card. I need a 9Pin serial connector witch is on one board, guess I just add a pci card for the other. Do not game much, just looking for long term system. Looking at the Antec Server tower with the True Power 2.0 550 watt psu. Just lost on which board, only about 50.00 difference. I will be running windows XP Pro. Not sure hom much mem, I think 2 Gig should do. I read where if your running 32 bit that it will only see 3 gig. Not sure what XP is 64 or 32. Looking for some help from younger Pro's. Building a system every 10 years and did not do a good job keeping up with the times.
Thanks I hope this will be my last post.

 

[west467]

The DS3L will certainly meet your needs, and you will not have to add a serial card. I recently built a system based on this board with a E8400. I have no complaints!! My old system, which is still in use, is a Socket A Sempron 2GHZ. with 2GB of RAM. What a difference. I started F@H: two clients running, CPU's @ 100%, and I can still use the PC for regular tasks. I have 4GB running 32 bit Vista, my system shows 3.5 GB available. Go for 4GB! Mem is cheap. I BIOS boot to XP Pro, and Ubuntu 64..works great..no heat problems...

On the other hand; the DS3R will give you more features, for $60+...

Don't let this be your last post, we want to know how the build goes!!

 

[geofelt]

The main limitation of the DS3L is that it only has 4 sata ports.

You do not want the P35C board, you pay more for the "C" which gives it the DDR2 and DDR3 capability which it is uneconomical to use.

The one I think you meant is the P35-DS3R which I happen to use. The latest revisions remove some of the old type connectors(like the com port) from the back panel. It does, however have a connector for the com port on the mobo, so all you need is a com port cable. It has 8 sata ports, and 8 usb rear panel connectors. For the extra $35, I thought it was worth it.

With memory so cheap, it does not cost much more to get 4gb. $67.99 after rebate for patriot 4gb kit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220227

For a new build, I would not invest in an old OS, get Vista. Vista thrives on memory.
What serial port device do you have? Are there vista drivers for it? A 32 bit OS will see about 3.3gb, a 64 bit os will see 4gb. Still 3.3gb is much better than 2gb.

Is a server tower really what you need?