Gigabyte G1.Sniper2 Motherboard Review

Although Intel rendered its mainstream LGA1156 platform (Socket H) obsolete by launching the Sandy Bridge processors in January, LGA1366 (X58) has remained the company's flagship platform since its consumer debut in November 2008. There's no denying that the Z68 chipset has knocked some wind out of X58's sails, but the near-antiquated socket is still the only way for enthusiasts to get their hands on a six-core Core i7 processor.

Not only does X58 have exclusive support for hexa-core processors, but it's better equipped to handle multi-GPU configurations. Without the aid of Nvidia's NF200 chip, Intel's new Z68 and P67 motherboards can only run two graphics cards in an x8/x8 setup. Because of those reasons, Gigabyte originally released its elite G1.Killer boards (the G1.Guerrilla, G1.Sniper and G1.Assasin) for LGA1366.

Naturally, this prompted requests for LGA1155 versions of Gigabyte's premium boards because the newer platform supports Sandy Bridge, namely the Core i5-2600K and i7-2600K CPUs. Answering to that demand, Gigabyte has unleashed the G1.Sniper2, an enthusiast-minded board based on the Z68 chipset, an amalgamation of Intel's H67 and P67 chipsets with the company's SRT hybrid storage technology.

Priced at $360, the G1.Sniper 2 is $50 cheaper than the original G1.Sniper. Nonetheless, it's a lonely territory in the Z68 market as few products can demand such a high price. The Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z is among the few boards that reside in this price range, fetching $360 on Newegg, while Gigabyte's own Z68X-UD7-B3 is $350 and stands as one of the most feature-packed boards available.

Like Asus' ROG motherboards, Gigabyte's G1.Killer series targets hardcore users by including additional hardware on-board such as a dedicated sound chip by Creative and a network controller from Bigfoot Networks. Those extras are backed by a fierce matte-black military theme (note the magazine-style heatsink) that is sure to attract gamers. Those niceties make the G1.Sniper2 one of the most expensive Z68 motherboards available, which begs the question: are you getting your money's worth?

Features & Specifications

It's hard to know where to start with a motherboard that seems to have it all. The Gigabyte G1.Sniper2 is a system within itself, removing the need to upgrade anything including the audio and network devices. It's only intended to be outfitted with a graphics cards -- two of them to be exact.

The board offers support for 2-way CrossFireX or 2-way SLI depending on your preference. With such a configuration, however, many gamers find that there minimal (if any) room left to upgrade a motherboard's onboard audio codec with a discrete sound card from Creative or elsewhere.

This won't be an issue for G1.Sniper2 owners, as the board incorporates a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Digital Audio Processor (20K2) supporting X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity and EAX Advanced HD 5.0 technologies.

Additionally, Gigabyte as included a high capacity amplifier, which is able to drive 150Ω loads, allowing gamers to enjoy a fuller range of dynamic sound with crisper details and less distortion when using high quality headphones. The amplifier also features wide bandwidth, low noise, high slew rate and low distortion, making it ideal for professional audio usage. Gigabyte has also equipped the G1.Sniper2 with four additional amplifiers onboard for the center/sub-woofer, rear speaker, side surround and line out.

For those concerned about network lag mucking up their gameplay, Gigabyte has included Bigfoot Networks' Killer E2100 NIC, which is featured on all G1.Killer motherboards. Gigabyte is the only motherboard manufacturer to have implemented the Killer E2100 Gigabit network controller onboard.

Utilizing a unique combination of dedicated Network Processing Unit (NPU) and exclusive Game Networking DNA technology, the Bigfoot Networks Killer E2100 is designed to give the best online gaming experience possible. The Dedicated NPU features its own 1GB DDR2 memory buffer which helps offload network traffic from the CPU, freeing it up to do other important computing tasks.

While Gigabyte has included some very impressive audio and network controllers, the company hasn't forgotten about storage support. Apart from the six SATA 3Gb/s ports attached to the Intel Z68 chip, an additional two SATA ports have been included.

Unfortunately, the Marvell 88SE9172 controller has been embedded rather than the newer and faster 88SE9182. The included chip provides an additional two onboard SATA ports that support 6Gb/s speeds as well as RAID0 and RAID1 arrays.

The G1.Sniper2 is brimming with USB connectivity, exceeding the dozen standard USB 2.0 ports courtesy of two Etron EJ168 controllers that supply four USB 3.0 ports -- two at the rear and another two using a bundled 3.5" front mounted bracket.

Gigabyte has infused the G1.Sniper2 with many of its own technologies as well, such as its DualBIOS feature. With two physical BIOS ROMs onboard, DualBIOS enables quick and seamless recovery from BIOS damage or failure due to viruses or improper updating. It also supports booting from 3TB+ hard drives without requiring you to create partitions.

Gigabyte's On/Off Charge technology is also worth mentioning as it lets you charge devices regardless of whether your PC is on, in standby or even off. What's more impressive is that it allows devices to draw more current than standard USB ports allow, boosting the recharge time over similar "sleep and charge" implementations.