Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L

Conclusion:

While the Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L is not nearly as fancy as the GA-P35-DS3S, it's a darn nice motherboard that uses Intel's new P31 Chipset yet only costs about $75 USD. The only concern we had about the motherboard's layout was the position of the FDD connector (for those still using floppy disk drives) and possibly the 4-pin ATX12V connector when using a larger heatsink. The GA-P31-DS3L had no problems with the recent versions of Fedora and Ubuntu tested nor did it have problems competing with and in some instances outperforming the Intel P965 Chipset. With its great Linux compatibility, this could work out very well for a basic Linux desktop system but those seeking top-notch performance will be more inclined to check out other motherboards based upon the Intel P35 or X38 Chipsets.

Discuss this article in our forums, IRC channel, or email the author. You can also follow our content via RSS and on social networks like Facebook, Identi.ca, and Twitter (@Phoronix and @MichaelLarabel). Subscribe to Phoronix Premium to view our content without advertisements, view entire articles on a single page, and experience other benefits.