Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L

Earlier this week David Lin reviewed the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3S and on the review bench today we have the GA-P31-DS3L from Gigabyte. This P31 motherboard supports Intel's Core 2 45nm processors, DDR2-1066 memory, all-solid capacitors, and many of the other innovations found on the GA-P35-DS3S. Nevertheless, is the GA-P31-DS3L that currently sells for about $75 USD able to perform well under Linux like the GA-P35-DS3S?

Features:

CPU
· Support for an Intel Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Quad / Core 2 Duo / Pentium EE / Pentium D / Pentium 4 EE / Pentium 4 / Celeron
· LGA-775 Processor Support
· Support for Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Front Side Bus
· 1333/1066/800 MHz FSB

Chipset
· North Bridge: Intel P31 Express Chipset
· South Bridge: Intel ICH7

Memory
· 4 x 1.8V DDR2 DIMM sockets supporting up to 4 GB of system memory
· Dual channel memory architecture
· Support for DDR2 800/667 MHz memory modules

Audio
· Realtek ALC888 codec
· High Definition Audio
· 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
· Support for S/PDIF In/Out
· Support for CD In

LAN
· RTL 8111B chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)

Expansion Slots
· 1 x PCI Express x16 slot
· 3 x PCI Express x1 slots
· 3 x PCI slots

Storage
· 1 x IDE connector supporting ATA-100/66/33 and up to 2 IDE devices
· 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors supporting up to 4 SATA 3Gb/s devices

Hardware Monitoring
· System voltage detection
· CPU/System temperature detection
· CPU/System/Power fan speed detection
· CPU overheating warning
· CPU/System/Power fan fail warning
· CPU fan speed control

BIOS
· 1 x 4 Mbit flash
· Use of licensed AWARD BIOS
· PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, ACPI 1.0b

Form Factor
· ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 21.0cm

Contents:

The accessories included with the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3S were not as elaborate as some of the items included with the high-end ASUS and Abit motherboards, but more than enough to get an enthusiast going on a new PC build. The accessories with the GA-P31-DS3L were sufficient as well and had included two SATA cables, one ribbon IDE cable, one ribbon FDD cable, Windows driver CD, I/O panel, Gigabyte case sticker, and product documentation. For such a low price tag, the included accessories or there the lack of are certainly justified.