Introduction

Several months ago, Intel launched the Z68 chipset, and now that there are several standardized options for each form factor available already on the market, we've begun to see many specialized products appear, with very different usage-based designs. We recently looked at one from MSI, a product very much focused on extreme overclocking, while today, we take a look at something completely different from Gigabyte. Straight out of the newly-designed G1.Killer series, Gigabyte sent us none other than the G1.Sniper2, a limited edition gaming-focused product released recently to the North American market. We send the G1.Sniper2 on a covert mission; equipped with a Killer NIC E2100 NPU and a full Creative X-Fi soundcard strapped on its side, as well as featuring true PCIe 3.0 support for future CPUs. Will it find it's mark?

Specifications

Intel Z68 Chipset

In the middle of May Intel launched its new "mainstream-enthusiast" product line, based on the Z68 Express chipset. With the P67 and H67 chipsets launched just a few months before, the Z68 takes the best features of both, and combines them together to offer extreme flexibility and several key features. The first, and most obvious of these features is the ability to use not only discrete graphics cards, but also allows use of the Sandy Bridge integrated GPU, at the same time. The majority of other chipsets that offered integrated graphics only allow use of one or the other, but the Z68 chipset has none of these limitations. In fact, through the use of third-party software, you can even use just one monitor, and both the Intel HD2000 integrated GPU and a discrete graphics card can work together, combining the features of both solutions into one big all-in-one solution.


The second feature not seen in P67 or H67 is Intel's "Smart Response Technology", which allows the combination of both a mechanical disc drive and an ultra-fast SSD into one, offering the superfast speed of the SSD, and the storage space of a mechanical drive in one solution. Combining technologies seems what Z68 is all about, and this is no different. Once set up, it requires no user intervention, and will automatically keep commonly used files on the SSD, for quick and easy access.

The Intel Z68 Express chipset also allows overclocking of both the CPU, and the GPU, which neither previous Socket 1155 offered. Intel has offered a lot with the Z68 package, such that it's questionable why the P67 and H67 chipsets are even around, and some OEMs agree, such as Gigabyte, who has dropped all P67-based products in favor for Z68 chipsets. And with that in mind, it's also important to mention that OEMs are not required to enable all features available on the Z68 platform, and certain things, like PCIe lane configurations and if the display outputs are enabled, are all up to the OEM to implement.

Gigabyte's latest implementation of the Intel Z68 platform has brought us a board that is 100% focused on gaming, while offering every other feature a gamer might need; compatibility for future products, real hardware-based RAID, network, and audio, and a snazzy stylized look, that some people love, but others hate. It seems Gigabyte has finally understood that a motherboard isn't always just a motherboard, but sometimes the platform by which a tactical machine, built for intense combat, is born. We put the G1.Sniper2 in a theatre of motherboard warfare:

Packaging

The huge brown "digital camo" box that wraps around the Gigabyte G1.Sniper2 means business; the motherboard's name stands out across the middle, with what appears to be a blood stain wiped across the middle. Gigabyte's G1.Killer logo sits on the bottom right of the box, with several other included technology logos just to the left. The back of the box continues the theme, with a picture of the board itself in the middle, and several brief descriptions of the included features surrounding the board image. Removing the outer wrap, we find a different color of "digital camo" printed all over the box; front, back, and sides included.


Flipping up the top we find the board first, staring back up at us through a clear plastic window. The board is inside a separate box that is easily removed thanks to clever package design that features a small tab to pull it out. Opening the board's container, we see the full board after removing a cardboard brace that ensures the board arrives fully intact at its final destination. With the board out of its box, we can see two pieces of pink foam installed in the box as an additional layer of protection, that coupled with all the other packaging really gives the feel that this is a high quality product, deserving nothing but the best packaging.


Of course, with the board in its own inner box, the accesories are found in another box, below the motherboard's container. With both boxes removed, we found the digital camo-printed box itself empty, but we can see that the digital camo printing continued on the inside too, showing that truly no expense was spared with the G1.Sniper2's protective armor. Opening the accessories box, we find a bunch of paper on top, and once removed, we find a huge bundle of board goodies, including a bubble-wrapped 5.25-inch bay device.