Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3 - Tamer Looks, Wilder Performance

Physique and Features

Joining The Ivy Bridge Brigade

With the advent of Intel’s Z77 Express chipset and third generation of Core processors, it is only logical for motherboard manufacturers to catch up with the revolution. Being one of those which consider themselves at the forefront of motherboard innovation, Gigabyte has also updated its lineup of gaming platforms under the G1.Killer branding. The company’s solid response comes in the form of the G1.Sniper 3 motherboard.

Conspicuously, the G1.Sniper 3 presents a tamer motherboard layout compared with the Z68-based G1.Sniper 2. Gigabyte has decided to do away with military-inspired visual elements, omitting the fancy heatsinks that resemble some components of a firearm such as the magazine and the gun barrel. In any case, Gigabyte claims that the simpler heatsinks of the new board are efficient in terms of heat dissipation because of their extensive fins. Nevertheless, the G1.Sniper 3 maintains the green and black color scheme which has been associated with the motherboards under the G1.Killer series.

Gigabyte has expected that users would subject the G1.Sniper 3 to the harsh conditions of overclocking and long hours of gaming. Hence, Gigabyte has equipped the new board with design features that can prolong its lifespan. Part of Gigabyte’s Ultra Durable 4 design philosophy, the G1.Sniper 3 makes use of a glass fabric PCB (printed circuit board) for humidity protection and high-quality IC microchips for electrostatic protection. These are in addition to the board’s use of a PCB that has 2oz layer of copper and interspersed with Japan-made solid capacitors, which has been a standard among Gigabyte motherboards.

Similar to its predecessor, the G1.Sniper 3 can support up to 32GB DDR3 but at a higher 2666MHz rate when overclocked. The board has a complete set of video out connectors, including a DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, and VGA in the lot. While the G1.Sniper 2 still has USB 2.0 ports, the new board leaves no room for them, integrating a full count of six USB 3.0 terminals. The G1.Sniper 3 also has two Gigabit Ethernet terminals, one of which is controlled by an Intel chip whereas the other is linked to a Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2200 chip. Meanwhile, 5.1-channel audio is supported by a Creative CA0132 chip. Gigabyte has bundled the G1.Sniper 3 with an expansion card that provides Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Whether you are a fan of AMD’s CrossFireX or NVIDIA’s SLI technology, the G1.Sniper 3 will not be a disappointing choice because it can support both in 2-, 3-, and 4-way configurations. While the G1.Sniper 2 carries only two PCIe x16 slots, the new board is equipped with four PCIe x16 slots, two of which operate at x8 mode.