FRONTPAGE Gigabyte G1.Sniper2 Motherboard Review

[Overclockers.com]

Next, in the G1.Sniper series from Gigabyte, is the G1.Sniper2 motherboard. The previous version came out in Socket 1366 form while the Sniper2 in Socket 1155. The Sniper2 like its older brother, boasts features such as Bigfoot Networks' Killer NIC (E2100) and Creative's top of the line Digital Audio Processor (20k2), both discrete chips on the board making it a gamers delight. Let's take a look at the board and how it performs.

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[Brolloks]

Nice review Joe
The lack of debug LED and reset/power buttons is a real let down, then off course the huge price tag.
All in all nice looking board

 

[EarthDog]

Thanks!

Its a really nice board, just not meant for benching table overclocking due to do those missing features. Doesnt mean you cant get around it of course, as it sure has the internals to take a SB to its limits.

Truth be told, I want to take it cold... Im wondering if one would have to disable sound and nic like is frequently done considering that the load for those items are not on the CPU with the inclusion of the Bigfoot NIC and Xfi chips...

I suppose it doesnt really matter as it does really come down to that debug LED and the convenience of power/reset buttons as opposed to a flat head.

 

[Janus67]

Nice review Joe, was fun to read.

Would be nice if the board was a bit cheaper though.

 

[Sammich]

Heartbreaking to see this was an LGA board ;/

I was ready to make a purchase the second I saw the clip heatsink.

 

[nwhite53]

Frankly I am tired of "high end" gaming boards always being slapped with on-board audio of some sort. On-board audio is supposed to be for budget build systems. It's like on-board video - just a waste of space IMO. I agree that this is a great chip for on-board audio but frankly if you are spending a lot of money on a board, you are going to be using something other than an on-board solution IMO. I would rather have extra cooling vents or usb ports in place of the audio jacks. Just my 2 cents.

 

[EarthDog]

Maybe I wasnt clear enough in the review, sorry! The chip that is used is the EXACT same chip that the stand alone Xfi cards use AFAIK...so its a standalone solution but integrated on the motherboard. There are plenty of USB ports (for me personally) already and the onboard solution doesnt block anything as far as vents go (not that a vent located where the audio jacks are would help anything..

 

[bennoculus]

Nice review Joe!

I've been looking at this board a lot for my "gaming" build which will take place soon. Looking to get a different color scheme for the build other than the overly used red/black color-scheme on most motherboards nowadays.