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As the emergence of GDDR3 memory makes its much awaited (and slower than expected) debut into the PC marketplace, it is natural to assume that a number of hardware vendors will be releasing new products to complement what is to become the new memory standard. Though DDR3 does boast some significant performance increases over the old tried and true DDR2, it still falls somewhat short of expectations. To see what I mean, take a gander at our recent article: DDR2 vs. DDR3, that profiles the differences between DDR2 and DDR3 memory. Though I won't give too much of the ending away, current DDR3 modules lose the battle against DDR2 in almost every respect. 

But that of course hasn't prevented hardware companies such as Intel and Gigabyte from leaping onto the DDR3 bandwagon. Intel has won yet another performance race with their latest in chipset design. The P35 chipset not only boasts DDR3 memory support, but has so far been one of the best Intel overclocking chipsets to date. It does follow both the excellent Intel 975 and 965 chipsets, and has been deemed a worth successor. In recent weeks we have had the opportunity to look at the MSI P35 Platinum, the Asus P5K Deluxe WiFi motherboard, and the Gigabyte P35-DS3R (a part of our Intel P35 "Bearlake" chipset launch article) motherboard. Of those boards, all ran the Intel P35 chipset, but only the Asus board ran DDR3 memory; both others were relegated to DDR2.

But now it seems that we have our second DDR3 capable motherboard waiting in the wings, ready to show us what potential DDR3 really has. The Gigabyte 6-QUAD GA-P35T-DQ6 motherboard comes with native DDR3 support, and the afore mentioned Intel P35 chipset. In the past, I have come to regard Gigabyte as a top tier motherboard manufacturer. Their designs and engineering are more often than not of outstanding quality. They have even astonished me in some cases when out performing the likes of Asus (who is typically regarded as perhaps the best motherboard manufacturer in the world).

The Gigabyte 6-QUAD GA-P35T-DQ6 has a solid foundation. Perhaps it will be the one board that will push DDR3 (and chipset performance) to new heights.