Gigabyte will soon expand its line of gaming-orientated G1-Killer motherboards with the addition of a new model that is based on the Z68 Express chipset and is compatible with Intel's LGA 1155 Sandy Bridge processors.
In spite of the different chipset, the board features pretty much the same design as its more powerful brothers.
However, its specification list had to be slightly changed as
Intel's Sandy Bridge processor only provided 16 PCI Express lanes, so the board is equipped with only two PCI-E x16 slots (x8 when both are populated).
Still, these are compatible with dual-GPU technologies from both Nvidia and AMD.
In addition to the two PCI Express x16 slots, Gigabyte's solution also carries a pair of PCI-E x1 slots as well as two 32-bit legacy PCI slots.
Storage is provided by seven SATA ports, four working at 6Gbps speeds, and the
motherboard includes a series of other features specific to the G1-Killer line such as a Bigfoot Killer integrated NIC and a Creative audio solution.
This is based on the Sound Blaster X-Fi CA20K2 digital audio processor and it also features five sets of amplifiers to provide more powerful headset sound.
As most other modern motherboard, the
Gigbayte model includes support for 4 USB 3.0 ports. Two of these are available in the back of the board and another two can be connected via the on-board pin-header.
A firm release date hasn't been announced, but the motherboard is expected to arrive in the third quarter of 2011.
The motherboard that was on display at the Gigabyte stand is actually a prototype of the final product, so some of its features and name (this could end up being called the G1-Sniper 2) could be changed until it hits retail. (via
Gigabyte Tech Daily)
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