Gigabyte stays with DDR2. Their GA-X38 DQ6 offers all the latest technologies while appealing to the masses.

INTRODUCTION

This year we've seen Gigabyte producing some very good products. Their Thermal Division have expanded tremendously, producing award winning chassis, and coolers for CPU, VGA and notebooks. On the component side, we've seen their motherboards getting rave reviews and recommendations from mainstream users and enthusiasts alike. Following Gigabyte's success with their predecessor the GA-P35-DQ6, they've taken the next step and introduced their latest motherboard in the DQ6 series ... the GA-X38 DQ6.

         

The motherboards are literally identical between the two, with the only difference being the chipset used. Gigabyte still emphasise the fact that their motherboards feature Ultra Durable 2, which uses High quality CPU power module with Ferrite Core Chokes, Lower RDS (on) MOSFETs and Lower ESR Solid Capacitors. Also included are the Quad BIOS for an extended level of protection, and the Quad-Triple Phase Power Design. All of this will increase the stability and longevity of the motherboard. Gigabyte use the term "6-Quad" a lot, and it's one of their marketing tricks. Here's what's included:

 - Quad Core Optimized
 - Quad Triple Phase
 - Quad e-SATA2
 - Quad Cooling
 - Quad BIOS
 - Quad Bus Speed

Stability is extremely important, especially for gamers and high-end users, so I was surprised to find out through friends, that a lot of them are using Gigabyte motherboards. Does this mean that Gigabyte offer some of the most stable motherboards around? It certainly looks that way.

In this review we'll be taking a look at the Gigabyte GA-X38 DQ6 motherboard, but we'll called it the X38 DQ6 for short. This motherboard uses Intel's latest X38 chipset and offers support for 1600FSB, future 45nm Penryn processors and DDR2 ram. Yes, that's right ... Gigabyte opted to use DDR2 ram instead of DDR3 for their X38 motherboard. This will attract a lot of users both mainstream and high-end, who's already using DDR2 ram. So there' no need to rush and buy expensive DDR3 ram ... just so that you can use the latest X38 based motherboard.

Looking at the specifications, the X38-DQ6 offer features that are very simliar to their P35-DQ6. You'll find two PCIe x16 slots for graphics (or dual for crossfire), three PCIe x1 slots, two standard PCI slots, four DDR2 DIMM slots and Gigabyte's silent-pipe chipset cooling. You'll also get all the onboard devices, which includes HD audio, dual gigabit ethernet, 8 USB ports and firewire. Also included are two backplates with eSATA power and data connections. We're expecting the X38 DQ6 to perform pretty well against other X38 based motherboards. However, because it uses DDR2 ram, there might be some performance issues. Will this be the deciding factor?

OK, let's not waste any more time and see how well the Gigabyte GA-X38 DQ6 can compete against others in its class.