Is the Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 a good mobo?

[wolfram]

Hi guys,

I'm really interested on the GA-965P-S3 mobo.
It is considerably cheaper than the DS3 version. I know that the DS3 version has solid capacitors, but are they really worth the extra $$$?
I also know that solid capacitors last a lot longer than electrolytic ones, but all the mobo's I have around here have normal capacitors (I still have a working socket 7 mobo, full of BIG electrolytic ones ), and are very reliable.

Would it be a bad purchase? I'm really trying to save some $$$, because I still need to buy some RAM.

Thank you for any advice given.

Regards :wave:

 

[Jesse_hz]

If it's much cheaper than the DS3, then the S3 is a good buy, but if the difference is only a few $, you should get the DS3.
I'm going for the DS3 though, since the price difference very little where I'm buying it.

 

[wolfram]

Thanks for the response.

The s3 costs $108 at Newegg, and the DS3 costs $145. That's almost 40 bucks (S&H included). That's too much for me. A teenager without a job

And I can invest those 40 on the RAM

 

[Grafficks]

When I was looking at Gigabyte boards, one of the best dual PCI-E boards with Core 2 Duo support was the GA-965P-DQ6: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128323
A review on the holiday edition of Maximum PC brought this piece of work to my attention.

I know, it's way beyond your budget, but it's interesting thus worth consideration.
They took a new, very clever approach to dual video cards. The P965 chipset doesn't support running dual videocards, so Gigabyte plumbs four PCI-E lanes to the second x16 slot from the ICH8R southbridge (where a normal dual-videocard solution usually splits the single x16 slot in the northbridge into two x8's for balanced reliability). Now that's smart, but I'm curious on how it actually works.

You guys looking for 2xPCI-E or SLI support for the motherboards? It would be a good option to leave open for the future, though it's certainly not compulsory.

And finally, which products did you have in mind for the RAM upgrade?

 

[wolfram]

That's a great mobo. I think it supports Crossfire only?
But, again, it's too expensive I already have to pay 193 bucks for the CPU, 123 for the RAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145566&ATT=20-145-566&CMP=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r), and 108 for the mobo.

It is a VERY expensive upgrade...

That RAM looks good for the price right? Also, it uses just 1.9 volts, so that picky gigabyte mobo should like it.

Regards :wave:

 

[Grafficks]

I would guess that the $193 is for an E6300 Conroe?

In my opinion, that RAM would be a superb choice. It is possibly the most popular product in the XMS2 line of Corsair's memory. It has high timings but it should still be fast. I considered getting that exact kit myself, but my Mobo only supports up to DDR2-667MHz.

I know what you mean by a costly upgrade. A CPU and a Mobo and RAM. It gets quite expensive, around $400-$450 if I've been counting correctly.

Just one nice & quick over-hand smash with a sledge hammer on your piggy-bank labeled "Lifetime Savings" should do the trick.

 

[wolfram]

Yeah, unfortunately I broke it a long time ago

And yes, the E6300 costs $193. Some months ago it costed $183 but now $193?!?!
I just saw that there will be an E4300 CPU, but with a 800 Mhz FSB. Looks interesting, but I may get the Conroe-based CPU anyway.

And that RAM looks great!! I may try to lower those timings, and increase the speed.
I plan to overclock my future E6300 to 2.2 Ghz (hopefully keeping a 1:1 ratio). I hope that the RAM can keep up, but if not, I can increase its voltage a bit

Thank you a lot Grafficks. Now I'm gonna get the S3 mobo. Should work great.

Regards :wave: