Gigabyte GA-965P-DS4 Rev 2.0 (Intel P965)

Conclusion

Conclusion

The GA-965P-DS4 (Rev 2.0) is a motherboard that sits right smack in the center of Gigabyte's P965 family. It is however ironically the lesser-known model of the three. This is mostly because of the notorious reputation of the lower end GA-965P-DS3 for being an overclocking monster that goes for a shoestring and of course, when one wants to splurge on exuberance, the GA-965P-DQ6 becomes the obvious choice. This leaves the poor GA-965P-DS4 out of the limelight whenever Gigabyte P965 boards are discussed.

However, since the board shares the same design as the rest of Gigabyte's P965 boards, we were pretty sure that it would be able to deliver when put to the test. You could say that the board is 'cut from the same cloth' and after playing around with the GA-965P-DS4 for a week, we can confirm that it is as overclockable as the GA-965P-DS3, as feature-packed as the GA-965P-DQ6 and as stable and well engineered as the entire S-Series Ultra Durable lineup.

In all our tests, the GA-965P-DS4 has shown consistently strong CPU and memory subsystem performances that matches the results from both the GA-965P-DS3 and GA-965P-DQ6 boards. We've noticed that the board may have a slightly underpowered graphics subsystem in comparison, but its overall platform performance in real world applications isn't compromised. The board was also able to match the GA-965P-DS3 and GA-965P-DQ6 in the overclocking department. Actually, at 485MHz, the GA-965P-DS4 is the slightly better overclocker here. We still haven't been able to get an Intel P965 chipset to reach to coveted 500MHz yet on standard cooling, but maybe the upcoming ASUS Commando may change that.

The new Revision 2.0 PCB for the GA-965P-DS4 is not much different from the original. Gigabyte optimized the new PCB for improved quad-core support and in the process, updated the networking and audio components of the board as well, but not significantly enough to warrant a different BIOS. This doesn't mean the Revision 1.0 boards cannot handle quad-core processors as they actually support them just fine. If you have a Rev 1.0 board, there is nothing to worry about; it's just that the Rev 2.0 is better tweaked. The GA-965P-DS4 can be found for around US$220 today and if you plan to get a GA-965P-DS4 now, you may come across a mix of Rev 1.0 and Rev 2.0 boards in stock. Make sure you check with your retailer, but unless you care about the ALC883 vs. ALC888, don't lose too much sleep over it.

The Gigabyte GA-965P-DS4 is an obvious choice for enthusiasts as a feature-packed and powerful motherboard. It delivers outstanding overclocking, great performance and everything you've seen or heard from the GA-965P-DS3 and GA-965P-DQ6 thus far. The only difference is pricing and features available in the series. One thing that strikes us is that Gigabyte premium motherboards are now among the most expensive. Gigabyte has created a potent series in the P965 lineup, but that isn't to say there aren't any good alternatives. Even ASUS' top end P5B Deluxe/WiFiAP edition is up to US$20 cheaper if you knew where to hunt. All in all, an excellent board, even if a little bit upmarket.