Difference between Gigabyte X48 DQ6 and DS4 DDR2 models?

[anindrew]

Hi all! I'm planning out my new Q9450 build. See my other thread HEREhere for details. I really like what I've read and see about the Gigabyte X48 (DDR2) boards. The two models I'm interested in are the GA-X48-DQ6 and the GA-X48-DS4.

I notice only a couple differences. The DQ6 has some heatsinks on the underside of the board and 8 SATA ports while the DS4 doesn't have the heatsinks on the underside and has 6 SATA ports. If that's the ONLY difference, I'd be tempted to go with the DS4 and save a little money. As I'm going to use an after market CPU cooler, I'd have to remove the heatsinks on the underside of the DQ6 anyway. I can't see myself using more than 6 SATA ports. I currently have 2 HDDs and 1 DVD burner that use SATA. When I eventually replace my (other) EIDE DVD burner, I'd get SATA. That's just 4 total, so I'd still have 2 extras.

Thanks for helping!

 

[bigsnyder]

Aside from your observations, the only other difference is the DQ6 features the QuadBIOS vs the DS4's DualBIOS. I have the GA-EX38-DS4 and love it. Do a search on the GA-EX38-DS4 here in the forum for a more detailed rundown of the DS4 boards. It is practically the same board as the X48 version.