14 DAY TRIAL // Showcased for the first time at the Computex 2011 fair, Gigabyte's G1-series motherboard based on the Intel Z68 chipset, was finally made official by the Taiwanese company and also received a new name, since it's now known as the G1.Sniper 2.
This will become Gigabyte's first G1-series motherboard that is based on any other chipset than the Intel X58, but, despite this major difference, the board features pretty much the same design as its more powerful brothers.
However, the specification list had to be slightly changed as Intel's Sandy Bridge processor only provide 16 PCI Express lanes, so the G1.Sniper 2 is now equipped with just 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 with dedicated memory and a Creative audio solution with a copper shield around the audio capacitors.
The audio chip 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 designs, the Gigabyte model includes support for 4 USB 3.0 ports. Two of these are available in the back of the board and other two can be connected via the on-board pin-header.
Other features include a powered sSATA port, 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out, an HDMI port as well as a special OC button that is placed on the rear I/O bracket.
A firm release date hasn't been announced, but the motherboard is expected to arrive later in this quarter. Pricing is also unknown. (via VR-Zone)
