The major improvement of GA-965P-DS3 revision 2.0 is the optimization for supporting of Intel Core™2 Quad processor which was launched in November 2006. This optimization provides more stable and efficient power for the new quad core processors which demand much higher power consumption than Core™2 duo processors do. There is no performance and compatibility difference between GA-965P-DS3 revision 1.0 and 2.0 when those two products work with Core™2 Duo processor.

The second improvement of GA-965P-DS3 revision 2.0 is the audio quality. GA-965P-DS3 revision 2.0 improves the audio quality by applying Realtek ALC888 audio codec in stead of applying Realtek ALC883 audio codec in revision 1.0.