{"video_id":"lIcUHHjZu6I","title":"Gigabyte Sniper 2 Z68 Gaming Motherboard Unboxing & First Look Linus Tech Tips","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2012-05-07T14:53:29Z","duration_s":629,"segments":[{"start_s":8.0,"end_s":13.519,"text":"welcome to a very exciting and very exclusive unboxing this is the Gigabyte","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":12.2,"end_s":18.439,"text":"G1 snipers actually I think that's a two","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":15.839,"end_s":22.8,"text":"the G1 Sniper 2 I actually have not only the Sniper 2 but also the sniper one so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":20.68,"end_s":26.88,"text":"we can compare them against each other but let's go over what is similar about","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":24.92,"end_s":30.4,"text":"them before we even get started here so number one they're both made by Gigabyte","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":28.84,"end_s":35.879,"text":"number two they both have three-year warranty in the US and Canada","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":32.76,"end_s":38.32,"text":"number four I lost track okay they're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":35.879,"end_s":42.84,"text":"also both part of the G1 gaming series of motherboards from Gigabyte which","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":39.8,"end_s":45.12,"text":"means these are decked out to the nines","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":42.84,"end_s":51.079,"text":"with all the gear you need for gaming we also have XI extreme Fidelity sound on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":48.079,"end_s":52.6,"text":"both of these boards killer e2100 gaming","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":51.079,"end_s":57.039,"text":"networking built into both of these boards and support for fast Intel","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":55.64,"end_s":61.68,"text":"processors built into both of these boards however they are different the G1","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":59.28,"end_s":68.96,"text":"sniper us the Intel x58 platform and 1366 CPUs the G1 Sniper 2 uses the z68","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":66.4,"end_s":74.479,"text":"platform and Intel second generation core i7 Core i5 and core I3 CPUs so that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":72.759,"end_s":80.479,"text":"means it does support sandybridge processors and they have also built in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":77.479,"end_s":83.439,"text":"support for upcoming Intel 22 nanom","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":80.479,"end_s":86.799,"text":"processors which are codenamed ivybridge so you are going to be buying a fairly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":84.92,"end_s":93.56,"text":"futureproof motherboard with the Sniper 2 last but not least it is ready for for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":90.079,"end_s":96.36,"text":"Native PCI Express gen 3 that is double","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":93.56,"end_s":102.36,"text":"the bandwidth or quadruple the bandwidth of PCI Express 2.0 and 1.0 respectively","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":100.479,"end_s":109.2,"text":"very cool so that means even if you're running 2-way SLI with dual 8X PCI","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":106.96,"end_s":113.079,"text":"Express 3.0 graphics cards that will be the same bandwidth that used to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":111.28,"end_s":120.2,"text":"available to motherboards that were running dual SLI in dual 16x PCIe 2.0","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":117.479,"end_s":124.88,"text":"slots so there's something to consider because it does support sandybridge we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":121.84,"end_s":126.92,"text":"do have full support for Intel SRT","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":124.88,"end_s":130.84,"text":"technology so that's where you take your SSD you use it as a cache for your hard","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":128.879,"end_s":135.12,"text":"drive and you can run up to four times faster in a real world scenario uh","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":133.239,"end_s":141.28,"text":"honestly it baffles me that more people aren't using SRT because it really does","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":137.56,"end_s":144.8,"text":"work it's very very cool let's go ahead","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":141.28,"end_s":146.72,"text":"and start taking this box apart here and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":144.8,"end_s":151.239,"text":"we'll do our typical unboxing and then I'm going to do a bit of a comparison","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":148.599,"end_s":154.36,"text":"between the Sniper 2 and the sniper one I'll take that one out as well and we'll","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":152.76,"end_s":159.599,"text":"have a we'll have a quick look at it so here's the Sniper 2 comes in a nice","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":157.0,"end_s":163.08,"text":"matte black box to match that gorgeous matte black","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":160.92,"end_s":168.72,"text":"PCB and let's look at what we've got in terms of accessories we have the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":165.319,"end_s":170.92,"text":"Gigabyte G1 series poster which I have","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":168.72,"end_s":174.76,"text":"seen a couple of times included with G1 series boards with the original assassin","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":173.08,"end_s":181.28,"text":"sniper and gorilla characters on the front as well as a target with pre-","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":177.92,"end_s":183.68,"text":"bullet hold holes on it for you on the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":181.28,"end_s":188.959,"text":"back next we have some stickers including more bullet holes a skull some","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":185.92,"end_s":190.84,"text":"bullets more bullets and bullet holes","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":188.959,"end_s":194.92,"text":"excellent stuff finally we have a Gigabyte sticker not finally there's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":192.68,"end_s":201.0,"text":"still more actually this is a very rich accessory package users manual including","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":197.959,"end_s":203.12,"text":"some notes uh PCI Express 16x slots are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":201.0,"end_s":209.04,"text":"compatible with Next Generation Intel 22 NM CPUs and support the PCI Express 3.0","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":206.599,"end_s":212.12,"text":"standard very cool uh driver disc throw that away download latest from the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":210.319,"end_s":215.84,"text":"Gigabyte website smart response technology installation guide um","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":214.04,"end_s":218.879,"text":"Gigabyte actually has a much better much smarter way to install this just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":217.319,"end_s":223.04,"text":"download the little utility off their website it's awesome it's so easy I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":221.519,"end_s":227.48,"text":"couldn't even believe it all right next we've got four SATA","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":225.959,"end_s":233.4,"text":"cables remember those are going to be compatible with SATA 2 or SATA 3 doesn't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":229.64,"end_s":235.72,"text":"really matter and a DVI to HDMI adapter","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":233.4,"end_s":239.28,"text":"remember those are signal compatible so it doesn't really matter if you use an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":237.12,"end_s":245.48,"text":"adapter there is no signal degradation we have an Shield a black flexible SLI","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":242.68,"end_s":252.319,"text":"Bridge nice touch I hate seeing those ugly Brown SLI Bridges including on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":249.04,"end_s":253.92,"text":"included on high-end boards cuz it just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":252.319,"end_s":258.72,"text":"makes your build look terrible oh this is nice look at this okay so Gigabyte","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":256.44,"end_s":264.96,"text":"includes quick boost so I'm guessing that's a OneTouch overclocking button","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":260.799,"end_s":267.919,"text":"ESAT USB combo port and then two USB 3.0","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":264.96,"end_s":272.28,"text":"ports in a 5 and 1/4 in Bay uh adapter piece very nice because a lot lot of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":270.28,"end_s":276.68,"text":"cases still don't support usb3 so you can add that to your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":274.479,"end_s":283.96,"text":"existing case while you wait to upgrade it or whatever the case may be very","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":279.479,"end_s":283.96,"text":"nice and here it is the Sniper","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":284.68,"end_s":291.639,"text":"2 their G1 series boards just look so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":288.52,"end_s":294.44,"text":"good like they just look so good","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":291.639,"end_s":298.44,"text":"Gigabyte used to be kind of uh in my eyes a bit of a joke in terms of their","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":296.32,"end_s":302.28,"text":"aesthetic but theyve just turned that completely around","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":300.32,"end_s":306.4,"text":"with this with the G1 series boards they've got a very sharp overall look so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":304.0,"end_s":312.24,"text":"we're using a matte black PCB we have certain shiny components including the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":309.36,"end_s":315.68,"text":"vrms including the CPU socket we've got a little bullet sticking out of I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":314.28,"end_s":321.24,"text":"believe you guys were telling me this is a MAG not a clip can't remember for the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":318.68,"end_s":327.0,"text":"life of me anymore uh We've also got the barrel of a pistol as part of the mosfet","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":324.0,"end_s":328.919,"text":"cooling up here and uh green lights here","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":327.0,"end_s":333.16,"text":"that look just great if you throw in something like a g TX 590 which also has","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":331.36,"end_s":337.4,"text":"glowing lights on the side looks just amazing in a gaming build","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":337.6,"end_s":342.4,"text":"um oh that's interesting okay getting","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":340.88,"end_s":346.6,"text":"getting to that later so why don't we look at the overall layout of the board","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":344.24,"end_s":351.039,"text":"first so first of all we start with the CPU socket in the middle that is an LGA","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":348.52,"end_s":355.24,"text":"1155 socket supporting Intel Sandy bridge and even Ivy Bridge CPUs so be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":353.24,"end_s":359.84,"text":"ready for that we've got our power delivery up here in the top left exactly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":357.28,"end_s":364.44,"text":"where it belongs that's an 8 Pin uh eight pin SL slot next we have our CPU","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":362.52,"end_s":370.599,"text":"fan connector here which is a four pin pwm CPU fan connector you can clearly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":366.759,"end_s":374.68,"text":"see the vrm cooling is using a sort of a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":370.599,"end_s":376.759,"text":"gun metal themed gun appearance themed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":374.68,"end_s":381.12,"text":"look it's got heat pipes that are carrying from the uh well from the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":378.8,"end_s":387.36,"text":"chipset up to this side and then it just has a dedicated uh non-heat piped uh","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":385.0,"end_s":392.96,"text":"mosfit heat sink up at the top moving over to the right hand side we have four","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":389.84,"end_s":395.599,"text":"DDR3 slots supporting dual Channel","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":392.96,"end_s":399.96,"text":"operation next we have our 24 pin power connector along the right hand Edge and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":397.759,"end_s":406.16,"text":"this is something that I just don't see enough of USB 3 header on the right hand","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":404.52,"end_s":410.759,"text":"edge of the board this is the smartest place for it I am just tired of running","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":408.919,"end_s":413.88,"text":"front panel connectors way down here to the bottom when you don't have to they","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":412.52,"end_s":422.0,"text":"should be right here because that's where they're going to be the closest to the front of your case love it great","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":417.56,"end_s":424.4,"text":"designs decision next we've got two SATA","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":422.0,"end_s":430.44,"text":"3 connectors running off of a thirdparty chipset we have two SATA 3 connectors","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":427.68,"end_s":434.68,"text":"running off of the Intel chipset and then we have three SATA 2 connectors","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":432.52,"end_s":440.56,"text":"also running off the Intel chipset your last Intel sata2 connector is likely","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":437.12,"end_s":442.28,"text":"running off the back as an EA connector","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":440.56,"end_s":445.36,"text":"all right next we've got some more you know what I'll do a summary of The Fan","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":443.599,"end_s":448.919,"text":"headers at the end so that you guys can see where they all are here is the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":447.24,"end_s":452.72,"text":"custom header for the OC button that was on that front panel next we've got our","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":451.16,"end_s":459.24,"text":"front panel headers we've got a clear seimos jumper we've got","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":456.759,"end_s":463.16,"text":"uh ah front USB so you see the one with the red background that means that it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":460.96,"end_s":466.919,"text":"supports uh higher current so you can actually charge things like tablets with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":464.919,"end_s":470.36,"text":"the utility from the Gigabyte website off of those particular ports so make","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":468.639,"end_s":475.159,"text":"sure you've plug those ones in first you've got a couple more front USB 2s","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":472.52,"end_s":481.879,"text":"front panel audio and in terms of PCIe slot layout we've got two PCIe 16x slots","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":478.319,"end_s":483.759,"text":"two PCIe 1X slots and two PCI slots so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":481.879,"end_s":488.44,"text":"that's pretty good mix if you install two dual Slot Cards you're going to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":485.24,"end_s":489.879,"text":"covering these guys those two and those","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":488.44,"end_s":494.44,"text":"two so that'll leave you with one PCI e1x and one PCI slot now having fewer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":492.599,"end_s":499.159,"text":"expansion slots on a board like this is far less of a concern because you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":496.36,"end_s":506.12,"text":"already have a very high-end hardware sound card check that out and a very","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":503.199,"end_s":509.84,"text":"high-end Hardware Nick those are already built into the board so you pretty much","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":508.159,"end_s":513.919,"text":"don't need to replace them with with anything very very cool all right","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":512.36,"end_s":518.159,"text":"actually okay yeah I promised I'd do you guys the summary of all of the CPU","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":515.88,"end_s":522.36,"text":"connectors so our fan connectors rather we've got one two uh stay further back","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":520.0,"end_s":525.56,"text":"so I can just point out where they are three","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":523.959,"end_s":531.519,"text":"4 5 five yep fan five fan connectors it's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":529.24,"end_s":536.56,"text":"a very respectable amount and they are all pwm so you don't have to fuss with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":534.0,"end_s":542.12,"text":"any sort of uh linear voltage adjustments for changing the RPM of your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":539.6,"end_s":549.959,"text":"fans on the back here we will find 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 USB 2.0 ports that guy is a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":547.399,"end_s":554.56,"text":"combo USB 2 ESAT Port love these ports so handy everything should be this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":551.399,"end_s":555.92,"text":"flexible and then two USB 3.0 ports","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":554.56,"end_s":560.959,"text":"personally I believe that's enough especially if you already have two in the front since most things that I'm","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":558.8,"end_s":564.399,"text":"using USB 3 for these days are just storage anyway which I'm plugging and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":562.399,"end_s":568.72,"text":"unplugging fairly frequently we've got our OC button on the back all right that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":567.24,"end_s":575.8,"text":"should be pretty self-explanatory it OC's next we have a PS2 USB U PS2","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":572.64,"end_s":578.48,"text":"keyboard mouse combo Port an HDMI output","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":575.8,"end_s":584.72,"text":"more on that in just a second and then we have gigabit Ethernet and finally 7.1","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":581.68,"end_s":586.56,"text":"audio with optical audio out so this is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":584.72,"end_s":590.68,"text":"a feature that I didn't mention before this is Intel Quicks sync so what you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":588.6,"end_s":596.36,"text":"can do is you can use that HDMI port you can use your HDMI to DVI adapter put it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":594.079,"end_s":601.399,"text":"in like that and you can actually take advantage of the onboard graphics card","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":598.959,"end_s":604.72,"text":"built into the Intel CPU to transcode video even when you're running a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":602.92,"end_s":609.2,"text":"dedicated graphics card there is a slight performance decrease but I would","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":607.04,"end_s":612.399,"text":"say for the incredible boost you get in transcoding performance especially if","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":610.8,"end_s":616.6,"text":"you have a tablet or a smartphone you want to switch your videos over to a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":613.88,"end_s":621.12,"text":"compatible format it is an enormous advantage to the Intel z68 platform so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":619.56,"end_s":625.48,"text":"thank you for checking out my unboxing of the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 2 don't forget","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":624.079,"end_s":629.92,"text":"to subscribe to Linus Tech tips for more unboxings reviews and other computer videos","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"welcome to a very exciting and very exclusive unboxing this is the Gigabyte G1 snipers actually I think that's a two the G1 Sniper 2 I actually have not only the Sniper 2 but also the sniper one so we can compare them against each other but let's go over what is similar about them before we even get started here so number one they're both made by Gigabyte number two they both have three-year warranty in the US and Canada number four I lost track okay they're also both part of the G1 gaming series of motherboards from Gigabyte which means these are decked out to the nines with all the gear you need for gaming we also have XI extreme Fidelity sound on both of these boards killer e2100 gaming networking built into both of these boards and support for fast Intel processors built into both of these boards however they are different the G1 sniper us the Intel x58 platform and 1366 CPUs the G1 Sniper 2 uses the z68 platform and Intel second generation core i7 Core i5 and core I3 CPUs so that means it does support sandybridge processors and they have also built in support for upcoming Intel 22 nanom processors which are codenamed ivybridge so you are going to be buying a fairly futureproof motherboard with the Sniper 2 last but not least it is ready for for Native PCI Express gen 3 that is double the bandwidth or quadruple the bandwidth of PCI Express 2.0 and 1.0 respectively very cool so that means even if you're running 2-way SLI with dual 8X PCI Express 3.0 graphics cards that will be the same bandwidth that used to be available to motherboards that were running dual SLI in dual 16x PCIe 2.0 slots so there's something to consider because it does support sandybridge we do have full support for Intel SRT technology so that's where you take your SSD you use it as a cache for your hard drive and you can run up to four times faster in a real world scenario uh honestly it baffles me that more people aren't using SRT because it really does work it's very very cool let's go ahead and start taking this box apart here and we'll do our typical unboxing and then I'm going to do a bit of a comparison between the Sniper 2 and the sniper one I'll take that one out as well and we'll have a we'll have a quick look at it so here's the Sniper 2 comes in a nice matte black box to match that gorgeous matte black PCB and let's look at what we've got in terms of accessories we have the Gigabyte G1 series poster which I have seen a couple of times included with G1 series boards with the original assassin sniper and gorilla characters on the front as well as a target with pre- bullet hold holes on it for you on the back next we have some stickers including more bullet holes a skull some bullets more bullets and bullet holes excellent stuff finally we have a Gigabyte sticker not finally there's still more actually this is a very rich accessory package users manual including some notes uh PCI Express 16x slots are compatible with Next Generation Intel 22 NM CPUs and support the PCI Express 3.0 standard very cool uh driver disc throw that away download latest from the Gigabyte website smart response technology installation guide um Gigabyte actually has a much better much smarter way to install this just download the little utility off their website it's awesome it's so easy I couldn't even believe it all right next we've got four SATA cables remember those are going to be compatible with SATA 2 or SATA 3 doesn't really matter and a DVI to HDMI adapter remember those are signal compatible so it doesn't really matter if you use an adapter there is no signal degradation we have an Shield a black flexible SLI Bridge nice touch I hate seeing those ugly Brown SLI Bridges including on included on high-end boards cuz it just makes your build look terrible oh this is nice look at this okay so Gigabyte includes quick boost so I'm guessing that's a OneTouch overclocking button ESAT USB combo port and then two USB 3.0 ports in a 5 and 1/4 in Bay uh adapter piece very nice because a lot lot of cases still don't support usb3 so you can add that to your existing case while you wait to upgrade it or whatever the case may be very nice and here it is the Sniper 2 their G1 series boards just look so good like they just look so good Gigabyte used to be kind of uh in my eyes a bit of a joke in terms of their aesthetic but theyve just turned that completely around with this with the G1 series boards they've got a very sharp overall look so we're using a matte black PCB we have certain shiny components including the vrms including the CPU socket we've got a little bullet sticking out of I believe you guys were telling me this is a MAG not a clip can't remember for the life of me anymore uh We've also got the barrel of a pistol as part of the mosfet cooling up here and uh green lights here that look just great if you throw in something like a g TX 590 which also has glowing lights on the side looks just amazing in a gaming build um oh that's interesting okay getting getting to that later so why don't we look at the overall layout of the board first so first of all we start with the CPU socket in the middle that is an LGA 1155 socket supporting Intel Sandy bridge and even Ivy Bridge CPUs so be ready for that we've got our power delivery up here in the top left exactly where it belongs that's an 8 Pin uh eight pin SL slot next we have our CPU fan connector here which is a four pin pwm CPU fan connector you can clearly see the vrm cooling is using a sort of a gun metal themed gun appearance themed look it's got heat pipes that are carrying from the uh well from the chipset up to this side and then it just has a dedicated uh non-heat piped uh mosfit heat sink up at the top moving over to the right hand side we have four DDR3 slots supporting dual Channel operation next we have our 24 pin power connector along the right hand Edge and this is something that I just don't see enough of USB 3 header on the right hand edge of the board this is the smartest place for it I am just tired of running front panel connectors way down here to the bottom when you don't have to they should be right here because that's where they're going to be the closest to the front of your case love it great designs decision next we've got two SATA 3 connectors running off of a thirdparty chipset we have two SATA 3 connectors running off of the Intel chipset and then we have three SATA 2 connectors also running off the Intel chipset your last Intel sata2 connector is likely running off the back as an EA connector all right next we've got some more you know what I'll do a summary of The Fan headers at the end so that you guys can see where they all are here is the custom header for the OC button that was on that front panel next we've got our front panel headers we've got a clear seimos jumper we've got uh ah front USB so you see the one with the red background that means that it supports uh higher current so you can actually charge things like tablets with the utility from the Gigabyte website off of those particular ports so make sure you've plug those ones in first you've got a couple more front USB 2s front panel audio and in terms of PCIe slot layout we've got two PCIe 16x slots two PCIe 1X slots and two PCI slots so that's pretty good mix if you install two dual Slot Cards you're going to be covering these guys those two and those two so that'll leave you with one PCI e1x and one PCI slot now having fewer expansion slots on a board like this is far less of a concern because you already have a very high-end hardware sound card check that out and a very high-end Hardware Nick those are already built into the board so you pretty much don't need to replace them with with anything very very cool all right actually okay yeah I promised I'd do you guys the summary of all of the CPU connectors so our fan connectors rather we've got one two uh stay further back so I can just point out where they are three 4 5 five yep fan five fan connectors it's a very respectable amount and they are all pwm so you don't have to fuss with any sort of uh linear voltage adjustments for changing the RPM of your fans on the back here we will find 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 USB 2.0 ports that guy is a combo USB 2 ESAT Port love these ports so handy everything should be this flexible and then two USB 3.0 ports personally I believe that's enough especially if you already have two in the front since most things that I'm using USB 3 for these days are just storage anyway which I'm plugging and unplugging fairly frequently we've got our OC button on the back all right that should be pretty self-explanatory it OC's next we have a PS2 USB U PS2 keyboard mouse combo Port an HDMI output more on that in just a second and then we have gigabit Ethernet and finally 7.1 audio with optical audio out so this is a feature that I didn't mention before this is Intel Quicks sync so what you can do is you can use that HDMI port you can use your HDMI to DVI adapter put it in like that and you can actually take advantage of the onboard graphics card built into the Intel CPU to transcode video even when you're running a dedicated graphics card there is a slight performance decrease but I would say for the incredible boost you get in transcoding performance especially if you have a tablet or a smartphone you want to switch your videos over to a compatible format it is an enormous advantage to the Intel z68 platform so thank you for checking out my unboxing of the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 2 don't forget to subscribe to Linus Tech tips for more unboxings reviews and other computer videos"}