Gigabyte EP45 DS3R or UD3P?

[Dark-Colonel]

I'm upgrading a few parts of my PC. Mainly the motherboard, because I want to go Crossfire (I already have a 4850).

My question for you guys is which motherboard should I go with? I read both reviews, and went over a lot of the stuff written in the reviews but the motherboards are thought of very highly by HC so I'm not sure which motherboard to go with.

Pricing (cheapest I could find)

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P - $183 at Canada Computers

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R - $149.99 at CC (after $20 rebate)

Not that big of a price difference, but is it worth paying around $30 more for the UD3P?

I'll also be getting the G.Skill HK 4GB 4-4-4 12 from newegg priced at $68 Newegg.ca - G.SKILL HK 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

If there is better ram for the same price or even cheaper I'd take the suggestion :)

Thanks for any input you guys give me.

[ImmaPC]

From what I can tell, the DS3R is just a cheaper version of the UD3P. I checked the reviews for both of these motherboards and the main differences I could find were:

-The UD3P has DDR2-1366, while the DS3R has DDR2-1333
-The UD3P has 2 power phases for both MB and RAM, DS3R does not
-The UD3P has the Ultra Durable spec (2 oz. copper layer, etc), while DS3R does not
-The UD3P will overclock better when a new BIOS is released, the DS3R will as well, but not as well as the UD3P with the new BIOS

Other than those, there isn't much more. I would personally get the UD3P because it will last you longer and will overclock better inthe long run, esepcially with new BIOS releases.

I'm A PC!

[joeperson]

What new bios updates? links?

[Dark-Colonel]

Originally Posted by ImmaPC

From what I can tell, the DS3R is just a cheaper version of the UD3P. I checked the reviews for both of these motherboards and the main differences I could find were:

-The UD3P has DDR2-1366, while the DS3R has DDR2-1333
-The UD3P has 2 power phases for both MB and RAM, DS3R does not
-The UD3P has the Ultra Durable spec (2 oz. copper layer, etc), while DS3R does not
-The UD3P will overclock better when a new BIOS is released, the DS3R will as well, but not as well as the UD3P with the new BIOS

Other than those, there isn't much more. I would personally get the UD3P because it will last you longer and will overclock better inthe long run, esepcially with new BIOS releases.

I'm A PC!

Yeah seems like that extra 2 oz. copper layer is the main difference. How about the ram that I am choosing? I'm confident that it is a good price since the performance and specs are quite good.

[CactusJoe]

Canadian Prices: G.Skill - G.SKILL F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ PC2-8000 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1000 CL5-5-5-15... - F28000CL5D4GBPQ

G.SKILL 8000 is @ 56.46$

[Dark-Colonel]

Originally Posted by CactusJoe

Canadian Prices: G.Skill - G.SKILL F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ PC2-8000 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1000 CL5-5-5-15... - F28000CL5D4GBPQ

G.SKILL 8000 is @ 56.46$

So the only difference is the stock speeds?

[superj]

The DS3R boards are Ultra Durable 2, while the UD3P is Ultra Durable 3.
UD3 has the 2oz copper option,but I have really figured out what UD2 has.

I have a p35 ds3r which is UD2, I got the impression it was more marketing than anything, and the same quality as any other name brand board.

Personally I would go with the cheaper one and spend the $30 on something that will noticebly increase your performance (better/more RAM, bigger HD, better CPU cooler, etc). I don't think the DS3R will hold you back in any way compared to the UD3 board.