GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L

[Fardor]

Will the GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L be compatible with the latest stuff for a long time or no?

 

[MustISO]

Nothing is future proof. Can you be more specific? Do you mean memory, CPU's, Video Cards?

 

[covert24]

Originally posted by: MustISO
Nothing is future proof.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: Fardor
Will the GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L be compatible with the latest stuff for a long time or no?

It is a DDR2 motherboard whereas the industry is already migrating to DDR3. So I would not consider the board futureproof with respect to RAM, it isn't even "now" proof.

There are dual-RAM compatible mobos out there, they will take DDR2 or DDR3 (just not both at the same time) so you can use your existing (or cheaper but new) DDR2 for now and then migrate to DDR3 when it becomes cheaper or necessary for your performance expectations.

Everything else on the board is not going to be outdated anytime soon to my knowledge, it supports 45nm Wolfdale and Yorfield (unlike i680 boards).

However all currently available motherboards will be outdated and non-upgradeable to Nehalem when it is released Q4/08 or Q1/09. Nehalem will require new chipset and new socket.

 

[Cheex]

Originally posted by: Idontcare

Originally posted by: Fardor
Will the GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L be compatible with the latest stuff for a long time or no?

It is a DDR2 motherboard whereas the industry is already migrating to DDR3. So I would not consider the board futureproof with respect to RAM, it isn't even "now" proof.

There are dual-RAM compatible mobos out there, they will take DDR2 or DDR3 (just not both at the same time) so you can use your existing (or cheaper but new) DDR2 for now and then migrate to DDR3 when it becomes cheaper or necessary for your performance expectations.

Everything else on the board is not going to be outdated anytime soon to my knowledge, it supports 45nm Wolfdale and Yorfield (unlike i680 boards).

However all currently available motherboards will be outdated and non-upgradeable to Nehalem when it is released Q4/08 or Q1/09. Nehalem will require new chipset and new socket.

Yeah...Idontcare what he said...lol...

I agree with Idontcare....

 

[Fardor]

Thanks idontcare.

Are there any cheaper boards with the DDR2/DDR3 thing or are they expensive?

 

[Idontcare]

This sticky thread in the mobo forum by renethx is a great resource for these questions, I am only saying that because it was from this sticky thread that I got sold on the DS3L to begin with. http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2067695&enterthread=y

To answer your question the best I can, from Renethx's thread the following boards can do what you are asking:

GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R...$160 at Newegg
GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3
GIGABYTE GA-P35C-S3
ASUS P5KC
Foxconn P35AP-S
MSI P35 Neo Combo-F
MSI P35 Platinum Combo
.
.
.
...and a whole crapload more

Personally I don't foresee DDR3 ever making a substantial improvement to the performance of anything you would be put into an LGA775 socket versus powering it with DDR2.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Fardor
Thanks idontcare.

Are there any cheaper boards with the DDR2/DDR3 thing or are they expensive?

There's no reason to bother. The move to DDR3 wouldn't provide any noticeable performance increase to your system. By the time your computer would make use of DDR3, you'd be better off replacing your motherboard and CPU anyway.

 

[dingetje]

i would stick with a ddr2 board, you dont need a ddr3 setup now.
also, getting a ddr2+ddr3 supporting mobo is bad choice (it's just a temporary "boarddesign-hack")

 

[Cheex]

Originally posted by: DSF

Originally posted by: Fardor
Thanks idontcare.

Are there any cheaper boards with the DDR2/DDR3 thing or are they expensive?

There's no reason to bother. The move to DDR3 wouldn't provide any noticeable performance increase to your system. By the time your computer would make use of DDR3, you'd be better off replacing your motherboard and CPU anyway.

I agree.

You should be thinking....

Conroe/Penryn now with loads of DDR2

Then....

Nehalem and some DDR3 next year this time

 

[tallman45]

I still have a 478 socket MB running with RDRAM and it runs ok for what I have it set up for, depends on what you need to do in the future, but who ever really know

At one time Token Ring was the way to go, look how future proof that turned out to be

 

[AsusGuy]

I agree go with DDR2. DDR3 is not worth the extra money for mobo and board. With a dual core 1333Mhz FSB you will saturate your bus with 667Mhz ram at stock speed. So if you plan to OC buy good DD2 800Mhz or 166Mhz RAM. Don't bother with DDR3 even with Quads.

 

[emenk]

I've been looking at the Gigabyte boards, too. Just a couple of data points:
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R $126.99 + shipping Newegg size: 30.5*21.0 CM
GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R $159.99 + shipping Newegg size: 30.5*24.5 CM

The P35C is identical to the P35, as far as I can tell, except it adds 2 DIMM slots for the DDR3 memory. That makes the board a little larger and about $35 more expensive. (I didn't see the "C" at first, and it had me confused for a while.)

Pictures:
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Fil...a-p35-ds3r_2.0_big.jpg
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Fil...-p35c-ds3r_2.0_big.jpg
That shows how they had to make the board bigger to allow for the extra DIMM slots, but it's the same otherwise. (Based on Renethx's spreadsheet, the P35 might have an additional S/PDIF coax in, but I'm not sure about that.)

Of course, the real difference in price you will pay is in the cost of the memory.

Here is an AnandTech article about not seeing any difference between high-performance DDR2 and DDR3 with the P35 chipset: http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2989 . You might want to read the review of the Gigabyte GA-P35T-DQ6, too.

In case you haven't caught on yet (you probably have), the P35 series is DDR2, the P35C series is DDR2/DDR3, and the P35T series is DDR3 only. Nobody seems to be carrying the P35T series, though.