Despite its value pricing Gigabyte does not compromise the quality of the components included, instead stripping away extra features and bundled software that the more expensive offerings provide.
The P35 chipset enhancements include support for up to 12 USB ports, a faster 1333MHz frontside bus, support for the aforementioned next-generation Intel Penryn processors, and support for DDR3 memory. From this list of possible features the DS3R includes 8 USB ports, the speedier frontside bus, but Gigabyte does not include support for DDR3 memory to save on costs. On top of these standard features the DS3R adds support for two extra SATA ports making fora total of eight, and the addition of a Parallel ATA controller.
Intel's chipset can support AMD/ATi's Crossfire technology allowing for multiple graphics cards to work together. However, the inclusion of only one PCI Express x16 slot in the DS3R does not allow for a Crossfire setup. On the audio side Gigabyte uses the ALC889A audio controller that can drive a 7.1 system, and includes native processing for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD audio formats.
Targeted towards the enthusiast market the BIOS contains many options for configuring and manipulating the various timings and voltages necessary in overclocking. Two standout features in this regard are the ability to flash the BIOS without booting into the operating system, and the BIOS resetting itself to default values if the overclocking gets too extreme. Some configuration options are only available by pressing CTRL-F1 in the BIOS screen, which is an undocumented feature by Gigabyte.
