Looking for AT'er with experience with Gigabyte x38 boards

[nefariouscaine]

I've been debating on getting p35 or x38 boards for a few months now - I love to overclock and mess with everything under the sun for settings. Especially for a new build

I like the GIGABYTE GA-X38-DS4 but haven't found too much besides the newegg reviews on it. So really looking for users experienced with that board.

Also I'd been looking at different boards from Abit, Asus, MSI, Gigabyte and DFI

here is my short list

Asus P5K (I know there are many different varieties) / P5E
Abit IP35 or IP35 (NOT THE IP35-E)
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R / GA-P35-DS4 & the above mentioned GA-X38-DS4
MSI P35 Neo2-FR / P35 Platinum
DFI LP LT P35 T2R / LP UT P35 T2R

I am not anywhere close to making up my mind but seriously am looking at all options listed above

I'm going for a DDR2 only board for the time being and would like to avoid boards that have elaborate backplates already installed as I want to use this TRUE 120 I have sitting around / really looking to keep my cost to 200 or less - raid isn't an option needed but I need flush bios memory options and full control over all latency options

I'm only going to get a new mobo if I go quadcore as I can still OC duals like mad on my current one

 

[bigsnyder]

I have started a similiar thread at Hardforum:

Link

So far, I have not received any definitive feedback on this specific board. I will probably
hold off and see what the market does when the P45 chipset boards come out. If I had to
buy something now, I would probably buy GA-X38-DS4 since it is not much more than the
P35-DS3P.

 

[nefariouscaine]

anyone???

 

[newschool]

my point:

you get absolutly no performance improvement with x38, so just save some money and get P35.

 

[GoaGas]

Hi, I've had the new Gigabyte GA-X38-DS5 running for a month with no problems. Especially with the F5 Bios. I can't be the only one running this board & I've yet to see anyone reporting any problems with it - so they must all be happy with it. Basically its a DQ6 without the unessesary gimmicks & a vastly improved DS4. The price is reasonable as well.
With a couple of new BIOS revisions I reckon it could become a great board......
.......well; that probably just doomed this board forever!

 

[nubian1]

Originally posted by: newschool
my point:

you get absolutly no performance improvement with x38, so just save some money and get P35.

I can't agree. In particular if you are going to use a dual card setup there is a difference between P35 & X38 based boards. See below.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardwa...intel_x38_versus_p35/1

P.S. I have an Asus P5E (X38 Based Board) and really like it.

 

[bigsnyder]

Originally posted by: GoaGas
Hi, I've had the new Gigabyte GA-X38-DS5 running for a month with no problems. Especially with the F5 Bios. I can't be the only one running this board & I've yet to see anyone reporting any problems with it - so they must all be happy with it. Basically its a DQ6 without the unessesary gimmicks & a vastly improved DS4. The price is reasonable as well.
With a couple of new BIOS revisions I reckon it could become a great board......
.......well; that probably just doomed this board forever!

I haven't seen the DS5 from any North American retailers, just the DS4.
As far as I can tell, the DS4 only differs in the number of SATA slots and the
chipset cooling.

 

[GoaGas]

bigsnyder;
Hi, You've just put a smile on my face - it's not often us old folk in Europe get any new tech equipment before our young cousins in the New World! Wow! your dollar must be really bad. It has been on sale in the UK since Christmas.
There doesn't appear to be many reviews available; however the few that do come from very reputable reviewers & are generally very favorable. Our beloved Anand compared it with a DQ6 in mid-Dec & came out in favour of the DS5 even though it still had a very early Bios. Bittech compared it with a mature P35 & the early Biosed DS5 came out ahead. Benny Lodewijk performed some remarkable feats with this board @ The Hardware Labs (incidently his board showed up on CPU-z as a DQ6 - supporting my claim that it's a DQ6 stripped of all the gimmicks).
I did a check & its still readily available in the UK - however I did note that the price had risen by c10% - my smile just got bigger! (sorry!).
I'm no expert with mobos - I just want them to do what they say they do - but this board is a dream compared to all my previous boards especially after a disasterous encounter with a GA-N680i-DQ6 (I think the $100 OLPC would have been better than that!). I'm running 7 Satas (3+TB); 2Gb of HQ Ram, 2 DVDs, 2 printers (large & normal formats); 2 scanners (film & flat); & occasionally 2.5Tb of external Back-up USB drives. Often many of these are all working at once. Most days the computer is on for 16+ hours. It works; I don't have to worry - so I have time to smile & gloat on AnandTech!

 

[nefariouscaine]

Originally posted by: GoaGas
bigsnyder;
Hi, You've just put a smile on my face - it's not often us old folk in Europe get any new tech equipment before our young cousins in the New World! Wow! your dollar must be really bad. It has been on sale in the UK since Christmas.
There doesn't appear to be many reviews available; however the few that do come from very reputable reviewers & are generally very favorable. Our beloved Anand compared it with a DQ6 in mid-Dec & came out in favour of the DS5 even though it still had a very early Bios. Bittech compared it with a mature P35 & the early Biosed DS5 came out ahead. Benny Lodewijk performed some remarkable feats with this board @ The Hardware Labs (incidently his board showed up on CPU-z as a DQ6 - supporting my claim that it's a DQ6 stripped of all the gimmicks).
I did a check & its still readily available in the UK - however I did note that the price had risen by c10% - my smile just got bigger! (sorry!).
I'm no expert with mobos - I just want them to do what they say they do - but this board is a dream compared to all my previous boards especially after a disasterous encounter with a GA-N680i-DQ6 (I think the $100 OLPC would have been better than that!). I'm running 7 Satas (3+TB); 2Gb of HQ Ram, 2 DVDs, 2 printers (large & normal formats); 2 scanners (film & flat); & occasionally 2.5Tb of external Back-up USB drives. Often many of these are all working at once. Most days the computer is on for 16+ hours. It works; I don't have to worry - so I have time to smile & gloat on AnandTech!

actually IIRC the P965 based DS4 didn't make its way state side for a while or period - while we had the DQ6 and DS3 boards on that chipset

don't quote me on that info as its a little old in me brain but there is usually a board or two that make it there and not here - add in a couple of Europe only video card, PSU, and RAM makers

you guys get some nice shinny stuff we gotta pay extra to see

I'm still in debate over this board but would pass on the DS5 due to the CrazyCool plate I'm pretty sure it has on the back side

 

[GoaGas]

No Crazy-cool on the DS5 - so you can add any cooler you like!

Like I say its a stripped down DQ6 without all the nonsense - Just what everyone has been calling for. All the Quad cr-p has gone! Just a great board with what looks like a great chipset & almost enough Sata & USBs.

 

[bigsnyder]

I wish they would have left the 12-phase power alone on both these boards, but 6-phase is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[nefariouscaine]

Originally posted by: bigsnyder
I wish they would have left the 12-phase power alone on both these boards, but 6-phase is nothing to sneeze at.

not sure why you say that as the DQ6 doesn't have a 12 phase set up - just 12 "virtual power phases"

IIRC its just running the power phase in parallel or with 2 chokes per phase - not saying that isn't increasing performance (stability) at all but as stated in their own literature its "virtual"

 

[GoaGas]

No 12-phase power on the DS5! (unless they are keeping very quiet about it- no mention on the website or manual). Another gimmick stripped away!

After my N680i-DQ6 disaster I didn't want another Gigabyte mobo. Then I saw that they had listened & learnt to produce a top quality; well laid board with plenty of expansion possibilities & very few pointless gimmicks. The only Quad you'll find on this board is the Processor support!

 

[GoaGas]

p.s. A good tip for doing a bit of market research (it may not be scientific; but its usually quite effective) is to start right here on AnandTech forums. Read through all the threads relating to your interests. Note the problems that others are having if their set up is similar to yours.
I haven't seen any posts about major problems with any X38 board since the last Intel Bios update: I'm not sure I could say the same about the P35 (I admit I havn't been following the P35 threads closely).
Good Luck in your choice!

 

[babcom]

Could anybody here with a Gigabyte GA-X38-DS4 or Gigabyte GA-X38-DS5 please tell me how much space there is between the Northbridge cooler and the nearer PCI-E x16 slot. I'm considering buying a Sapphire HD3870 passive card that's being released soon and the space looks tight what with the cooler being on top of the card. It looks like there's more room on the DS5 than the DS4 and the card would probably fit on the DS5 but I'd like to buy the cheaper DS4 as I wouldn't need the extra SATA ports. I've just e-mailed Sapphire to request the dimensions.
Thanks.

 

[GoaGas]

Hi babcom,
Without pulling out my graphics card & measuring the DS5 i can't be sure; But this is a very well laid out board & I'd expect you'll have no problems - Just!
I'm sure my fingers were designed as toes & my eyesight is failing; however this mobo was the easiest to set up. There always seemed to be Just enough room to access & park things (except the CPU 8plug power supply).

BTW - Gigabyte's System Information software also shows this mobo to be a DQ6 - so we propably have the truth - this is a DQ6 stripped of all the junk - Just like a true racing car!

 

[Mystiqq]

Originally posted by: GoaGas
Hi, I've had the new Gigabyte GA-X38-DS5 running for a month with no problems. Especially with the F5 Bios. I can't be the only one running this board & I've yet to see anyone reporting any problems with it - so they must all be happy with it. Basically its a DQ6 without the unessesary gimmicks & a vastly improved DS4. The price is reasonable as well.
With a couple of new BIOS revisions I reckon it could become a great board......
.......well; that probably just doomed this board forever!

Good you to mention this board. I was just looking at the bit-tech.net review on the board and at least the older bios version (F3a something...) which they used had bit "dissappointing" memory performance. Do you know if this any better on the current bioses?

The DS5 seems kinda good option for me, but im slightly "worried" about the memory performance.

 

[GoaGas]

Hi Mystiqq - The first few days with this mobo I had some memory problems; I wouldn't like to totally blame that BIOS as I still hadn't fully got to grips with my memory settings on the board. However since the new F5 BIOS & me getting my settings right I've had no problems. It looks to be the same with all X38 boards as there are very few recent posts with problems with this chip.
I am running 4 sticks of 1gb Corsair Dominator 9136C5D (rated at 1142Mhz) at 1066Mhz 5-5-5-15. I havn't tried pushing them as these sticks were bought for the defunct N680i-DQ6 & I still have a few lingering doubts about them (which are rapidly disappearing). I know 4 sticks is a waste of time whilst I'm with XP but the mobo seemed the safest place to store them! & I may foolishly get tempted back to Vista 1 day! (& probably for 1 day).
The rest of the board is a joy to work on; as long as you wear dark glasses (& close the case quickly before the Drug Squad are after you!). In my view if you can nearly afford this mobo - beg, borrow, or steal the extra & go for it.