The P35 chipset enhancements include support for up to 12 USB ports, a faster 1333MHz frontside bus, support for the aforementioned next-generation Intel Penryn processors, and support for DDR3 memory. From this list of possible features the DS3R includes 8 USB ports, the speedier frontside bus, but Gigabyte does not include support for DDR3 memory to save on costs. On top of these standard features the DS3R adds support for two extra SATA ports making fora total of eight, and the addition of a Parallel ATA controller.
Intel's chipset can support AMD/ATi's Crossfire technology allowing for multiple graphics cards to work together. However, the inclusion of only one PCI Express x16 slot in the DS3R does not allow for a Crossfire setup. On the audio side Gigabyte uses the ALC889A audio controller that can drive a 7.1 system, and includes native processing for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD audio formats.
Targeted towards the enthusiast market the BIOS contains many options for configuring and manipulating the various timings and voltages necessary in overclocking. Two standout features in this regard are the ability to flash the BIOS without booting into the operating system, and the BIOS resetting itself to default values if the overclocking gets too extreme. Some configuration options are only available by pressing CTRL-F1 in the BIOS screen, which is an undocumented feature by Gigabyte.
Specifications (rev. 2.0)
| Form Factor |
- ATX form factor, 305 x 210mm
|
| BIOS |
- Supports Virtual DualBIOS
- 1 x 8 Mbit flash
- Use of licensed AWARD BIOS
- PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, ACPI 1.0b
|
| Chipset |
- Northbridge: Intel P35 Express Chipset
- Southbridge: Intel ICH9R
- Gigabit Lan Controller
- 8 Channels ALC889A Audio controller
|
| Processor |
- Supports Intel Core2 Extreme Quad-Core / Core2 Duo / Intel Pentium Extreme/ Intel Pentium D processors
- Supports 1333/1066/800 MHz FSB
|
| Internal I/O Connectors |
- 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
- 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector
- 1 x floppy disk drive connector
- 1 x IDE connector
- 8 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
- 1 x CPU fan header
- 2 x system fan headers
- 1 x power fan header
- 1 x front panel header
- 1 x front panel audio header
- 1 x CD In connector
- 1 x S/PDIF In header
- 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 connectors (supports 4 ports)
- 1 x chassis intrusion header
- 1 x power LED header
|
| Rear Panel I/O |
- 1 x PS/2 keyboard port
- 1 x PS/2 mouse port
- 1 x parallel port
- 1 x coaxial S/PDIF Out connector
- 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
- 1 x serial port
- 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
- 1 x RJ-45 port
- 6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone)
|
| Expansion Slots |
- 1 PCI Express X16 slot
- 3 PCI Express X1 slots
- 3 PCI slots
|
| Memory |
- Supports DDR2 1066/800/667 memory
- Dual Channel architecture supports up to 8GB by 4 DIMM slots
|
| Unique Features |
- Ultra Durable 2 Motherboard
- All Japanese manufactured solid
- Over-clocking Enhanced
|
| Remarks |
- Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors' website or 3rd party website.
- Due to most hardware/software vendors no longer offer support for Win9X/ME.
- Duo to chipset limitation, Intel ICH9R RAID driver does not support Windows 2000 operating system.
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