X-bit labs

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L (rev. 1.0) Mainboard Review (page 10)

Category: Mainboards

by Doors4ever

[ 01/04/2008 | 04:36 PM ]

Conclusion

We were very pleased with Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L mainboard: smart PCB design, pretty rich set of connectors, features and functions. We admired easy and quick processor overclocking procedure. We certainly noticed that Gigabyte did a great job trying to eliminate the existing issues and add more functionality to its solution. Overall, it seems that most inexpensive Gigabyte mainboards turn out very successful solutions. Of course, they have a few flaws as well, just like that high-end boards, but no one is ideal.

Moreover, everyone knows that Asus and Gigabyte are direct competitors these days. Gigabyte lost in the last round, because their Intel 965P Express based solutions had too many problems, and we even had to give up Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 that received great feedback from us at first. However, this time, the situation is completely different. None of the three Asus mainboards on Intel P35 Express chipset that we have tested so far left such a favorable impression as Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L.

However, mainboards from the same manufacturer based on the same chipset are usually very similar to one another. As a rule, they have the same BIOS features and functionality, and differ only by the number and variety of connectors, additional controllers and accessories bundle. So, we intend to continue discussing the Gigabyte mainboard lineup, but this time we will stick with the mainboards featuring 8-pin ATX12V power supply connector. And from now on we will consider a 4-pin connector to be a drawback and will make sure that we check the connector temperature, just to play safe :)