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Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Review
[Abstract]
IntroductionEver since word spread about the incredible overclockability, performance and power efficiency of the Intel Core 2 - especially the entry-level Core 2 Duo E6300 and its modest prici...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
Introduction
Ever since word spread about the incredible overclockability, performance and power efficiency of the Intel Core 2 - especially the entry-level Core 2 Duo E6300 and its modest pricing - we've been seeing more and more interest in strong mainstream components.
The GA-965P-DQ6 might be Gigabyte's top-end enthusiast motherboard for Intel's new Core 2 processors, but not everyone is willing to fork over nearly US$280 for a motherboard - even if it has a 12-phase power supply, fancy heat-pipe cooling and other 'exclusive' features. Lucky for us, Gigabyte's P965 motherboard lineup is anything but lacking.
Filling the mainstream segment for the new chipset, Gigabyte's GA-965P-DS3 sports a similar configuration to the MSI P965 Neo (reviewed here). Following their new S-series motherboard lineup, Gigabyte actually has two versions of the board, which you can identify by its naming suffix. There is the regular 'S3' and the Durability Enhanced 'DS3' model that is in all essence exactly the same board except that it sports the new All-Solid Capacitor design. What we've got humming along in our labs is the 'DS3' edition.
The Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 motherboard. |
4 x SATA data cables
1 x 80-conductor Ultra ATA data cable
1 x floppy drive data cable
I/O shield
Driver CDs
User's guide and manual
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Technical Specifications
| CPU Support | - Supports90nm/65nm LGA775processor package
- Supports Intel Core 2 Duo /Core 2 Extreme
- Supports Intel PentiumD / PentiumProcessor Extreme Edition
- SupportsIntel Pentium4 / Pentium 4 Extreme Edition
- IntelVirtualization Technology ready
| | Chipset | - Northbridge:Intel P965
- 533 / 800 /1066MHz front side bus
- PCI Express x16graphics
- Southbridge:IntelICH8
- Intel HighDefinition Audio
- Supports six PCIExpress x1 lanes
- Supports up to ten USB 2.0 ports
- Supports four SATA 3.0Gbps ports
- Integrated10/100/1000Mbps MAC
- Intel Quiet System Technology
| | Memory | - Supportsfourunbuffered DIMM of 1.8 Volt DDR2 SDRAM
- Supports 800/677/533dual channelDDR2 memoryarchitecture
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| Storage | - Intel ICH8Southbridge
- 4 x SATA 3.0Gbpsinterface
- GigabyteSATAII (JMicron JMB363) SATA/IDE Controller
- 1 x UltraATA33/66/100/133 (data transfer rate up to133MB/sec.)
- 2 x SATA 3.0Gbps interface
- Supports AHCI and NCQ
- SupportsSATA RAID 0,1,0+1,JBOD
| | Audio | - Intel High DefinitionAudio (Azalia)
- Realtek ALC883 8-channel HDAudio CODEC
- Optical and coaxial S/PDIFsupport
| | Networking | - Marvell 88E8053 PCI ExpressGigabit Ethernetcontroller
| | I/O Interface | - 1x Floppy connector
- 1 x Ultra ATAIDE connectors
- 6 x SATAconnectors
- 10 x USB 2.0ports (4 x rear, 6 x header)
- 1 x RJ45LANport
- 8-Channel Audio I/Oports
- 1 x Optical S/PDIF Output
- 1x Coaxial S/PDIF Output
- 1 x 9-pin serial port
- 1 x parallel port
- 1 x mini-DIN-6 PS/2mouse port
- 1 x mini-DIN-6 PS/2keyboard port
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| Expansion Slots | - 1 xPCIe x16slots,PCI Express Bus specification v1.0acompliant
- 3 x PCIe x1slots, PCIExpress Bus specification v1.0acompliant
- 3 x 32-bitPCI slots,PCI 2.3 compliant
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| Special Features | - GigabyteS-series - 'Safe', 'Smart', 'Speed'
- DurabilityEnhanced - All-Solid Capacitor Design
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| PCB | - ATX Form Factor, 12"x 8.26"(30.5cm x 21cm)
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The DS3 comes with full 8-channel analog audio, optical and coaxial S/PDIF, four USB 2.0, RJ45 and the usual legacy ports. |
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