Can someone please help me with the differences between these two?
 
Look like the DQ6 has a connected heat pipe to the SB and a couple more USB ports.  Not really worth the extra $$$ IMO.
 
Thoughts/Opinions?
 
I'm putting a Q9450 in it.  Plan a moderate Overclock.  Thanks!

It also has 2 more SATA ports. But yeah, it's not worth it.

I also understand that the heat pipes are different, although I am not sure which is more efficient.  It might have less usb 2.0 connections as well.  There is a way to compare the specs of related boards on the gigabyte websites.
 
I am planning on building a system in a couple of weeks and I was planning on building the system around the dq6 or the ds4.  I will not be needing the extra SATA ports, so I am planning on going for the ds4.  I have yet to discover any information that is so negative about the board that I would not want to buy.
 
If anybody knows of any serious bugs, flaws, or design errors, please let me know.
 
Good luck.

I just completed a build with the DS4 2 weeks ago. It is a fantastic mobo with some great features. PLEASE NOTE the default dimm slot voltage is quite low at 1.8v considering some of the requirements of new ram. I had to use an older stick of ram to enter bios to up the voltage.

Isn't 1.8v the default for every motherboard?

 
I don't recall? I drink a lot

GA-X48-DQ6 with Quad BIOS and Gigabyte SATA chip provide Raid function while GA-X48-DS4 without Gigabyte SATA chip only provide IDE port and only dual BIOS but no matter Quad or dual BIOS, the physical BIOS are only 2 x 8Mbit flash ROM. It is not worth to pay almost USD$100 more for a bit difference.

The GA-EX38-DS4 I use has Raid function. Shouldn't it be safe to assume the X48 version does too?

 
Yes, GA-X48-DS4 with Raid function but the Raid function from ICH9R instead of Gigabyte SATA controller. That means GA-X48-DQ6 with 2 SATA Raid onboard; 1 from ICH9R and 1 from Gigabyte SATA controller. Also just found typo on price difference, it should be only around USD$50~75 different between DQ6 and DS4.