I upgraded one of my computers from Abit IP35-Pro + e4400 to Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 2.0 + Q6600 primarily because I needed another machine not because I thought I would get more performance from Q6600.
First the motherboards. The layout of the Abit IP35-Pro is better for cable management. With the Abit and an Antec P182 case w/ Corsair HX520 PSU I can basically hide all the cables or route them around the edge of the board.
My disappointements with GA-P35-DS4:
1) no fan header near the front of the board
2) front audio header is in the rear
3) sata ports are not on the edge of the board like IP35-Pro (if you don't have an Antec P182 then the sata ports on the edge are a con for the IP35 Pro)
4) the eSata ports are on a bracket which connect to internal sata ports. on the abit, these are built into the i/o panel. no cable mess.
5) i had to run the power cable for the CPU across the Gigabyte moterboard. I can route through the cable from the back of the motherboard panel with the Abit.
6) no easy way to clear the cmos. if you have a large graphic cards it's tricky to short the CMOS pins. aargh.
7) no command rate setting for memory
8) EasyTune does not work as well as Abit uGuru. uGuru saves me a lot of time quickly stess testing different bios settings.
I should have taken pictures but believe me the Aibt IP35 Pro is a great motherboard for cable management. It's a perfect match for the Antec P182 case.
My disappointments with IP35 Pro.
1) The NIC controller is PCI. There was a noticeable speed difference when I transferred many large file across the network. For browsing the net there is no perceivable difference.
2) No boot menu hotkey on bios post. You have to go into the BIOS if you want to boot from another device.
3) Firewire connector is at the rear of the board
As for performance both motherboards overclock effortlessly The Abit is known to overclock just a little higher but I never run 24/7 at the max overclock anyway. I was surprised to find little real world difference between an e4400 @ 3.0Ghz vs Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz. Windows feels the same as do most of my applications. I did notice a difference in VMWare sessions. I assigned two processors to the virtual machine. Visual Studio 2005 with Resharper feels more responsive. That alone is enough reason for me. Still, I think the Q6600 is overkilll for most people when an overclocked e4400 ($130) gives you the same real world performance.
First the motherboards. The layout of the Abit IP35-Pro is better for cable management. With the Abit and an Antec P182 case w/ Corsair HX520 PSU I can basically hide all the cables or route them around the edge of the board.
My disappointements with GA-P35-DS4:
1) no fan header near the front of the board
2) front audio header is in the rear
3) sata ports are not on the edge of the board like IP35-Pro (if you don't have an Antec P182 then the sata ports on the edge are a con for the IP35 Pro)
4) the eSata ports are on a bracket which connect to internal sata ports. on the abit, these are built into the i/o panel. no cable mess.
5) i had to run the power cable for the CPU across the Gigabyte moterboard. I can route through the cable from the back of the motherboard panel with the Abit.
6) no easy way to clear the cmos. if you have a large graphic cards it's tricky to short the CMOS pins. aargh.
7) no command rate setting for memory
8) EasyTune does not work as well as Abit uGuru. uGuru saves me a lot of time quickly stess testing different bios settings.
I should have taken pictures but believe me the Aibt IP35 Pro is a great motherboard for cable management. It's a perfect match for the Antec P182 case.
My disappointments with IP35 Pro.
1) The NIC controller is PCI. There was a noticeable speed difference when I transferred many large file across the network. For browsing the net there is no perceivable difference.
2) No boot menu hotkey on bios post. You have to go into the BIOS if you want to boot from another device.
3) Firewire connector is at the rear of the board
As for performance both motherboards overclock effortlessly The Abit is known to overclock just a little higher but I never run 24/7 at the max overclock anyway. I was surprised to find little real world difference between an e4400 @ 3.0Ghz vs Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz. Windows feels the same as do most of my applications. I did notice a difference in VMWare sessions. I assigned two processors to the virtual machine. Visual Studio 2005 with Resharper feels more responsive. That alone is enough reason for me. Still, I think the Q6600 is overkilll for most people when an overclocked e4400 ($130) gives you the same real world performance.