14 DAY TRIAL // The past year has seen a decline in the number of new motherboard releases, due to the poorer marketing performance of PCs as a whole, but there is still a steady stream of releases going on, as Gigabyte has just shown.
The company has formally launched the G1.Sniper Z5S and G1.Sniper Z5 gaming motherboards that are, oddly enough, not for the high end.
They are made for those seeking to set up a big and strong desktop PC without spending too much money on it. In other words, they represent the upper echelon of the mid-range.
"These new GIGABYTE gaming motherboards extend our G1-Killer series to a broader audience than ever before," commented Henry Kao, vice president of GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit.
"We're confident that end-users will relish the opportunity to build mid-range gaming systems with advanced networking and the most compelling audio platform out there."
One asset that the newcomer possesses is the upgradeable OP-Amp, an on-board operational amplifier for high-end audio. You can take it out of the socket and swap it for whichever you think sounds best.
Another asset is the USB DAC-UP, a gold-plated USB 2.0 port for clean, noise-free power delivery to any Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC).
The new motherboards also benefit from Gain Boost technology, which allows you to select between 2.5x and 6x amplification of audio via on-board switches.
And since the actual audio system is a 7.1 + 2 channel type, with 115 dB Signal-to-Noise ratio, this all boils down to very enriching and immersive sound.
It's kind of grimly amusing really. Since motherboards can't integrate video anymore (that's add-in cards' or CPUs' job now), audio and networking capabilities are two of the only things that can make platforms still stand out from the others.
Speaking of networking, the Qualcomm Atheron Killer E2200 chip allows Gigabit Ethernet to adapt when online games and media is launched, maximizing performance by intelligently assigning bandwidth.
For prices, check your local retailers and hope to spot the G1.Sniper Z5S and G1.Sniper Z5 listed there. It might take a while, though.