The Board - A Closer Look

Gigabyte has outfitted the G1.Sniper2, like most of it's enthusiast-oriented products, with a dual-BIOS solution, a fail-safe method of booting should settings run afoul, or the BIOS somehow becomes corrupted. When the board fails to boot from the main BIOS, it will attempt to boot from the secondary BIOS so that you can either change settings, or, if neccesary, flash a new BIOS onto the main BIOS chip. In the event of real catastrophic failure, the board will automatically update the main BIOS with the BIOS that is present on the backup ROM too, so nearly every situation is covered when it comes to failed boots due to BIOS issues. While in theory this is a great system, we have found it to be a bit problematic at times, something that seems centered on what BIOS version you are using, or what memory you have installed. The power delivery system for the G1.Sniper2 is quite complex, with the ITE IT8275E as the primary controller that in turn controls two other phase controllers, as well as driving the software-driven LED display that shows dynamic phase loading.


The first slave controller is the ISL6364 controller, a 4+1 controller in charge of the CPU and onboard GPU VRM, which, with the help of some other hardware, has its signal doubled to provide the 8+2 phases for the CPU proper. The second slave controller, the ISL6322G, is in charge of the CPU's "System Agent" dual-phase domain, bringing the total CPU VRM design to a 8+2+2 phase design, ensuring adequate power when needed, as well as prolonging component life.


Looking at the CPU phases themselves, you can count the twelve total phases, ten each with their own DRMOS and choke, and the dual "System Agent" phases, which feature a simple high/low MOSFET design, with the input driver in the ISL6322 used to drive them. The DIMM VRM, on the other hand, Gigabyte states as two phases, and while there are dual input drivers, as well as dual high/low MOSFET pairs, there is only one inductor, so while the DIMM VRM is more than capable of supplying needed power to clock memory high, it's not quite what we consider a full dual-phase design, but it sure is as close as it can get without being so.


The G1.Sniper2's Super I/O is provided by ITE, and one that we see quite commonly lately, the IT8728F, which we found hidden underneath the PCH's magazine-shaped cooler. Just next to it, under the bottom PCIe slot's clip, we find the ITE IT8892E, used to supply the dual PCI slots that are found on either side of the PCIe slot it sits under.


Marvell supplied the controller for the two gray SATA 6 Gb/s ports; it's a rather uncommon 88SE9172-NNX2, a newer chip that seems to be making headroads into the motherboard market as a whole. As there is only a single video output, there only needs to be a single TMDS transmitter, which is provided by Pericom's PI3VDP411LS, a chip specfically manufactured for HDMI support. Pericom has also provided the PCIe 3.0 lane switches, seen in the third image above, a feature that ensures full support for upcoming Intel Ivy Bridge CPUs, as well as future VGAs from NVIDIA and AMD, all of which are expected next year.


The USB 3.0 controllers are none other than standard EtronTech EJ168A chips, a PCIe-based controller that boasts to have awesome performance, "World Record", in fact. We find one controller near the board's right edge, right next to the USB 3.0 front panel port, while the other sits between the rear I/O stacks, and the CPU VRM.


Of course, that brings us to the first part of what makes the G1.Sniper2 really so special; the Bigfoot Networks Killer E2100 NPU. Starting off with a dual-phase VRM that is hidden under the MOSFET cooler, seen in the first picture, the Killer NIC E2100 features a dedicated network processor, seen labelled appropriately in the second picture, with the dual 512 MB memory ICs just to the top right, and the small square to the left with a pink dot is the Flash ROM that contains the firmware, and allows users to upgrade the firmware for the KillerNIC itself. That's not all that makes up the Killer NIC E2100; shown in the third image is the 88E1118R-NNC2 Ethernet output driver, provided by Marvell. The complete solution claims to provide very low latency connections, as well as lowered CPU usage thanks to its dedicated processor, freeing up important CPU cycles for the games themselves, and with that, we think it's safe to say that this board, Gigabyte's G1.Sniper2, is directly targeted at high-end gamers.


The second part, the onboard X-Fi solution, is a true hardware solution that, like the Bigfoot Networks Killer NIC E2100, needs its own power supply, and this time just a single phase which is shown in the first image above. In the second image we can see the Creative CA20K2, a real dedicated audio processor, with its own dedicated memory sitting just to the right of the CA20K2. In the third image, we see the full solution, which includes 16 dedicated audio-specific capacitors surrounded by an EMI shield, a feature usually reserved for high-end dedicated cards. It's a true X-Fi solution built right into the board itself, and with Creative's EAX technology part of so many games, it's only natural to find a solution such as this here on the G1.Sniper2, a product that quite clearly is targeted at gamers who want the best gaming experience as it's marketed. Like the Killer NIC E2100, the true Creative audio processor also ensured lessened CPU usage by audio tasks, something that showed in quite a few benchmarks, as you'll see in the benchmarking section.


Lastly, there is the Gigabyte G1.Sniper2's cooling solution, comprised of three separate coolers; two for the MOSFETs, and one for the Intel Z68 PCH. Of course, there is no denying that the MOSFET cooler is large; shaped like the stock and barrel of a gun, together they wrap in a "U"-shape around the socket, with the large element at the middle of the board which would normally cover a chipset in most people's minds, actually covering nothing, and only serves as an additional radiator for the MOSFET cooling solution, which is ultimately extremely useful in aftermarket cooling builds. Although the matte black finish may make the coolers appear as though made largely of plastic, flipping them over it's quite obvious that they are really made of metal with very little actual plastic, and we found that during our usage testing, they all functioned quite well, even in the low airflow environment that is our testbench. All three coolers made excellent contact with the bits they needed to cool, and we noticed first and foremost that the Intel Z68 PCH cooler used some pretty good looking paste, unlike the many boards we've seen recently using a gummy pink thermal interface. Considering that all of the heatsinks are also all attached via screws, removal for cleaning is simple and easy, yet those that like to remove coolers to re-paste as soon as they get a new product in their hands, need not bother doing so with the G1.Sniper2.