10. Gigabyte EP35-DS4 Motherboard

By Thomas Soderstrom

PC components can be great gifts for tech-savvy dads and grads, and choosing wisely proves you’ve put a lot of thought into the gift.

Using the same circuit board as the company’s elite-range EP35-DQ6, the EP35-DS4 offers all the extended features one would expect from a top-end motherboard. The new PCB is an improved version of the P35-DQ6 we praised last year, and has been redesigned to support Gigabyte’s latest Dynamic Energy Saver enhancements while sporting modernized rear panel connectors.

The EP35-DS4 provides improved value to high-end buyers by way of a reduced-cost heat-pipe assembly and six-phase voltage regulator, which can be compared to the monster cooler and 12-phase regulator of the “DQ6” versions. We wouldn’t assert such claims of improved value had we not tested one, and internal testing showed the EP35-DS4 to be even more stable than the P35-DQ6 when our Core 2 Duo E6750 was pushed to speeds well beyond four gigahertz.

Why not just drop the big cash for an X48-Express product and really impress that special someone? The cost increase may be large but the benefits are unfortunately small. Our PCI Express Scaling Analysis proved that current graphics cards can’t take advantage of the added bandwidth of PCI-Express 2.0, while the X48’s extra PCI-Express lanes are only beneficial to ultra high-end CrossFire configurations. Finally, a great number of motherboard comparisons have proven that Intel’s latest chipset has no benefit whatsoever when it comes to CPU or memory performance, or even high-FSB stability.

With Web prices starting at around $175, the GA-EP35-DS4 could be the smart beginning for a dad or grad’s new high-end system.