Hi!
I'm currently planning on getting a Gigabyte P35 motherboard along with an E8400 CPU (as it seems the IP35 Pro lacks full support for the latter) and a mid-range to lower high-end gaming graphics card (probably 9600GT/3850 to 8800GT(S) range). It's all going to be installed in a P182 case. And I'm looking to run the whole thing as quietly as possible (obviously). I may OC some, but not to the max as it's not worth the sacrifice in noise.
So, I'm deciding between these three versions: DS3 (base), DS3R (+$10 over DS3) or DS3P (+$30 over DS3).
A) Is the very limited stock cooling of the DS3 and DS3R boards enough? Or should one really consider the improved cooling of the DS3P (called "Silent Pipe") and dish out an additional $30 for it? How much of a difference is it?
B) For an additional $20 I can convert any of the above into the EP version, whatever that's supposed to mean? Is getting a GA-EP35 over a GA-P35 worth an extra $20? Exactly what makes this magical E worth the $20 or rather what does the E do/add? (Prices roughly taken from Komplett.se.)
C) With this build I'm going for 4GB of RAM. Any suggestions? I really don't know anything about the DDR2 sticks out there. 2x2GB? 4x1GB? I'm not on a supertight budget, but I'm not set at spending half a G in order to get "the very best possible" either. As long as spending more makes sense and good value I'm all for it. OC'ing the RAM is OK with me, but I won't spend endless hours fine-tuning timings and other advanced settings (my favorite computer game is not SuperPi or 3DMark). So what should I be looking at?
Big Thanks!
~ Kris
edit: OH CRAP! Just noticed I posted in the wrong forum (section). I'm going to try to PM a mod about it. Sorry!
Gigabyte P35 heatsinks? E? RAM?
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
A. I got the DS3R because I wanted the extra SATA connectors but didn't need the extra PCI x16 slot. The cooling on the DS3R is good enough imho.
B. When I bought my motherbord (from Komplett.se actually), the EP was still not available. I took a chance, hoping for at least rev 2.0 since I wanted the extra USB connectors in the back and got rev 2.1, which if I understand correctly is the same thing as the EP.
C. I got a pair of these. I don't know much about DDR2 memory. I knew I wanted 2x2GB and the Corsair sticks were inexpensive and Corsair is a brand I can trust. I run them at stock speed so I can't say much about them really.
A picture of my system, perhaps it can give you inspiration or something.
B. When I bought my motherbord (from Komplett.se actually), the EP was still not available. I took a chance, hoping for at least rev 2.0 since I wanted the extra USB connectors in the back and got rev 2.1, which if I understand correctly is the same thing as the EP.
C. I got a pair of these. I don't know much about DDR2 memory. I knew I wanted 2x2GB and the Corsair sticks were inexpensive and Corsair is a brand I can trust. I run them at stock speed so I can't say much about them really.
A picture of my system, perhaps it can give you inspiration or something.
Last edited by Vicotnik on Sun Feb 24, 2008 12:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
A) I don't know, I got the DS3P because of the pipes but have no experience with the others...
B) http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3206 Here's an anandtech review of "Dynamic Energy Saving", which is the main difference with the new boards. I didn't get much from that review, but maybe you can find some better info elsewhere. As Vicotnik said, I think the 2.1 boards will support the DES software as well.
[Edit: this article seems to explain it better http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1272/ ... index.html
]
C) I would get 2x2GB PC2-6400; if you want to overclock, any ram of this speed should get up to 800mhz within its specs, getting your E8400 to 3.6ghz (which it should do easily, with no increase of voltage).
Also, in general, it sounds like E8400's are being limited by the voltage you can safely deliver to the cpu rather than the heat that it generates, so maxing your overclock may not increase noise.
Regarding memory configuration, 2x2gb allows room for future expansion. I've also heard rumors of 4x1gb possibly not being as reliable for some motherboards
B) http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3206 Here's an anandtech review of "Dynamic Energy Saving", which is the main difference with the new boards. I didn't get much from that review, but maybe you can find some better info elsewhere. As Vicotnik said, I think the 2.1 boards will support the DES software as well.
[Edit: this article seems to explain it better http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1272/ ... index.html
]
C) I would get 2x2GB PC2-6400; if you want to overclock, any ram of this speed should get up to 800mhz within its specs, getting your E8400 to 3.6ghz (which it should do easily, with no increase of voltage).
Also, in general, it sounds like E8400's are being limited by the voltage you can safely deliver to the cpu rather than the heat that it generates, so maxing your overclock may not increase noise.
Regarding memory configuration, 2x2gb allows room for future expansion. I've also heard rumors of 4x1gb possibly not being as reliable for some motherboards
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- SPCR Reviewer
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A) I find the DS3R to have perfectly adequate chipset cooling. The large NB heatsink does not get very hot.
C) Depends on whether you're going to overclock the CPU or not. I'm using a set of G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2-1000 as DDR2-800 would've restricted me to 3.6Ghz on my E8400. If you're running at stock speeds, just get the cheapest DDR2-667/800 4GB kit you can find.
C) Depends on whether you're going to overclock the CPU or not. I'm using a set of G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2-1000 as DDR2-800 would've restricted me to 3.6Ghz on my E8400. If you're running at stock speeds, just get the cheapest DDR2-667/800 4GB kit you can find.
I got the DS3P rev 2.0. The NB heatsink doesnt link to the power regulators though.
Its the same size as that one minus all the pipe leadin to the other parts and the silentpipe cover covers the whole length instead of getting cut off like that one. But I think it would work better that the DS3P v2.1 if you don't have a topdown cooler.
The heatsink still gets pretty hot though when overclocking so I wouldn't be comfortable with the smaller heatsink from the DS3R if overclocking.
EP is the energy saver stuff (I think) which is pointless when overclocking.
So really it depends on if you wanna overclock or not. If not just get the cheaper boards. If you are then just for peace of mind get the one with better cooling.[/img]
Its the same size as that one minus all the pipe leadin to the other parts and the silentpipe cover covers the whole length instead of getting cut off like that one. But I think it would work better that the DS3P v2.1 if you don't have a topdown cooler.
The heatsink still gets pretty hot though when overclocking so I wouldn't be comfortable with the smaller heatsink from the DS3R if overclocking.
EP is the energy saver stuff (I think) which is pointless when overclocking.
So really it depends on if you wanna overclock or not. If not just get the cheaper boards. If you are then just for peace of mind get the one with better cooling.[/img]