Gigabyte Z68 G1.Sniper 2 Review

Gigabyte Z68 G1.Sniper 2 Review

The Board

Design-wise there are a lot of similarities between the Sniper.2 and the Assassin. This is one seriously gorgeous board. Sure the green might not be to everyones taste, but it works so well. On the main heatsink are 5 LEDs that glow seriously green. They could double as a special effect in Fringe they are so bright. 

Gigabyte Z68 G1.Sniper 2 Review     Gigabyte Z68 G1.Sniper 2 Review  

Audio is one of the big selling points of the Sniper 2. Rather than go the standard route of including the Realtek ALC889, Gigabyte have mounted a full Creative soundcard to the board. In the right-hand picture you can see the shielding helping to keep the whole audio section as free from interference as possible.

Gigabyte Z68 G1.Sniper 2 Review     Gigabyte Z68 G1.Sniper 2 Review  

In keeping with both the military theme and the premium design, Gigabyte have included a Bigfoot Killer NIC on the board. There has never been a consensus about whether the Killer NIC actually improves gaming performance, but it’s a nice addition. The heatsinks themselves are amazing works of art, nicely replicating the business end of a sniper rifle.

Gigabyte Z68 G1.Sniper 2 Review     Gigabyte Z68 G1.Sniper 2 Review  

It’s a stunner isn’t it.

Gigabyte Z68 G1.Sniper 2 Review     Gigabyte Z68 G1.Sniper 2 Review