Can't decide on a Gigabyte board

[sochee]

I've lurked for a while on these forums, decided to finally post a question, since I cannot find an answer that satisfies me. I'm building a rig after running for 4 years on the same one, good bye DDR and AGP I've tried my best to do my research, but I cannot pick a motherboard. I am not interested in Crossfire or SLI, I'll be using an E8400, won't be doing too much overclocking. That said, I've been out of it for a while, and read that Gigabyte boards have issues with BIOSes/cold boots/DPC latencies...If there is a better alternative, please suggest it. I trust Gigabyte, but I'm always willing to look at another product (under $150, preferably). Now, my choice is currently between these boards:

EP35-DS3R

EP35-DS4

EP45-DS3R

Now, from what I know, the P45 offers PCI-E 2.0 (not sure how important this is, will be using a 4870), and is made on a different process (65nm instead of 90nm if I'm correct). Other than these differences, I cannot find a reason for going P45, except maybe longetivity. The P35-DS4 was reviewed as almost perfect by Xbitlabs. I am thinking of grabbing a EP45-DS3L all together, would that fit my needs?

Thanks in advance,

sochee

 

[akhilles]

L doesn't have RAID. R does. Go with P45 since you're upgrading from DDR & AGP. The P45 will be the last s775 chipset.

 

[cactusdog]

Ya go with a P45. Either the Gigabyte or P5Q from Asus.

 

[sochee]

Ah okay...Thanks for the replies, I decided on the P45 too. Might look into ASUS though.

 

[GMon]

I just recently picked up the ASUS P5Q Deluxe and it's a fantastic board. I had a real tough time deciding between it and the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS4P. I think you would be safe with either. I have been reading some very good things about the MSI P45 Platinum as well.

Here is a run down on the Gigabyte lettering/labeling:

middle 3 or 4 digits:
E = energy efficient
P35 = chipset
C = combo (the P35C boards can use DDR2 or DDR3 which is generally discouraged due to lower performance of both types of memory)


last 3 or 4 digits:
DS = Durable and Stable (gimmicky terminology)
3 = series 3 of their boards
4 = series 4 of their boards
Q = quad core compatible (rarely used anymore since all P35 chipsets should handle quad cores natively)
L = basic model or "Low end"
R = RAID onboard
P = Pair of PCIe slots for ATI Crossfire options (plus onboard RAID)

 

[Spicedaddy]

GA-EP45-DS3R would be my current choice.