WEBVTT 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:13.519 welcome to a very exciting and very exclusive unboxing this is the Gigabyte 00:00:12.200 --> 00:00:18.439 G1 snipers actually I think that's a two 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:22.800 the G1 Sniper 2 I actually have not only the Sniper 2 but also the sniper one so 00:00:20.680 --> 00:00:26.880 we can compare them against each other but let's go over what is similar about 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:30.400 them before we even get started here so number one they're both made by Gigabyte 00:00:28.840 --> 00:00:35.879 number two they both have three-year warranty in the US and Canada 00:00:32.760 --> 00:00:38.320 number four I lost track okay they're 00:00:35.879 --> 00:00:42.840 also both part of the G1 gaming series of motherboards from Gigabyte which 00:00:39.800 --> 00:00:45.120 means these are decked out to the nines 00:00:42.840 --> 00:00:51.079 with all the gear you need for gaming we also have XI extreme Fidelity sound on 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:52.600 both of these boards killer e2100 gaming 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:57.039 networking built into both of these boards and support for fast Intel 00:00:55.640 --> 00:01:01.680 processors built into both of these boards however they are different the G1 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:08.960 sniper us the Intel x58 platform and 1366 CPUs the G1 Sniper 2 uses the z68 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:14.479 platform and Intel second generation core i7 Core i5 and core I3 CPUs so that 00:01:12.759 --> 00:01:20.479 means it does support sandybridge processors and they have also built in 00:01:17.479 --> 00:01:23.439 support for upcoming Intel 22 nanom 00:01:20.479 --> 00:01:26.799 processors which are codenamed ivybridge so you are going to be buying a fairly 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:33.560 futureproof motherboard with the Sniper 2 last but not least it is ready for for 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:36.360 Native PCI Express gen 3 that is double 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:42.360 the bandwidth or quadruple the bandwidth of PCI Express 2.0 and 1.0 respectively 00:01:40.479 --> 00:01:49.200 very cool so that means even if you're running 2-way SLI with dual 8X PCI 00:01:46.960 --> 00:01:53.079 Express 3.0 graphics cards that will be the same bandwidth that used to be 00:01:51.280 --> 00:02:00.200 available to motherboards that were running dual SLI in dual 16x PCIe 2.0 00:01:57.479 --> 00:02:04.880 slots so there's something to consider because it does support sandybridge we 00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:06.920 do have full support for Intel SRT 00:02:04.880 --> 00:02:10.840 technology so that's where you take your SSD you use it as a cache for your hard 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:15.120 drive and you can run up to four times faster in a real world scenario uh 00:02:13.239 --> 00:02:21.280 honestly it baffles me that more people aren't using SRT because it really does 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:24.800 work it's very very cool let's go ahead 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:26.720 and start taking this box apart here and 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:31.239 we'll do our typical unboxing and then I'm going to do a bit of a comparison 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:34.360 between the Sniper 2 and the sniper one I'll take that one out as well and we'll 00:02:32.760 --> 00:02:39.599 have a we'll have a quick look at it so here's the Sniper 2 comes in a nice 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:43.080 matte black box to match that gorgeous matte black 00:02:40.920 --> 00:02:48.720 PCB and let's look at what we've got in terms of accessories we have the 00:02:45.319 --> 00:02:50.920 Gigabyte G1 series poster which I have 00:02:48.720 --> 00:02:54.760 seen a couple of times included with G1 series boards with the original assassin 00:02:53.080 --> 00:03:01.280 sniper and gorilla characters on the front as well as a target with pre- 00:02:57.920 --> 00:03:03.680 bullet hold holes on it for you on the 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:08.959 back next we have some stickers including more bullet holes a skull some 00:03:05.920 --> 00:03:10.840 bullets more bullets and bullet holes 00:03:08.959 --> 00:03:14.920 excellent stuff finally we have a Gigabyte sticker not finally there's 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:21.000 still more actually this is a very rich accessory package users manual including 00:03:17.959 --> 00:03:23.120 some notes uh PCI Express 16x slots are 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:29.040 compatible with Next Generation Intel 22 NM CPUs and support the PCI Express 3.0 00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:32.120 standard very cool uh driver disc throw that away download latest from the 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:35.840 Gigabyte website smart response technology installation guide um 00:03:34.040 --> 00:03:38.879 Gigabyte actually has a much better much smarter way to install this just 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:43.040 download the little utility off their website it's awesome it's so easy I 00:03:41.519 --> 00:03:47.480 couldn't even believe it all right next we've got four SATA 00:03:45.959 --> 00:03:53.400 cables remember those are going to be compatible with SATA 2 or SATA 3 doesn't 00:03:49.640 --> 00:03:55.720 really matter and a DVI to HDMI adapter 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:59.280 remember those are signal compatible so it doesn't really matter if you use an 00:03:57.120 --> 00:04:05.480 adapter there is no signal degradation we have an Shield a black flexible SLI 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:12.319 Bridge nice touch I hate seeing those ugly Brown SLI Bridges including on 00:04:09.040 --> 00:04:13.920 included on high-end boards cuz it just 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:18.720 makes your build look terrible oh this is nice look at this okay so Gigabyte 00:04:16.440 --> 00:04:24.960 includes quick boost so I'm guessing that's a OneTouch overclocking button 00:04:20.799 --> 00:04:27.919 ESAT USB combo port and then two USB 3.0 00:04:24.960 --> 00:04:32.280 ports in a 5 and 1/4 in Bay uh adapter piece very nice because a lot lot of 00:04:30.280 --> 00:04:36.680 cases still don't support usb3 so you can add that to your 00:04:34.479 --> 00:04:43.960 existing case while you wait to upgrade it or whatever the case may be very 00:04:39.479 --> 00:04:43.960 nice and here it is the Sniper 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:51.639 2 their G1 series boards just look so 00:04:48.520 --> 00:04:54.440 good like they just look so good 00:04:51.639 --> 00:04:58.440 Gigabyte used to be kind of uh in my eyes a bit of a joke in terms of their 00:04:56.320 --> 00:05:02.280 aesthetic but theyve just turned that completely around 00:05:00.320 --> 00:05:06.400 with this with the G1 series boards they've got a very sharp overall look so 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:12.240 we're using a matte black PCB we have certain shiny components including the 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:15.680 vrms including the CPU socket we've got a little bullet sticking out of I 00:05:14.280 --> 00:05:21.240 believe you guys were telling me this is a MAG not a clip can't remember for the 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:27.000 life of me anymore uh We've also got the barrel of a pistol as part of the mosfet 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:28.919 cooling up here and uh green lights here 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:33.160 that look just great if you throw in something like a g TX 590 which also has 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:37.400 glowing lights on the side looks just amazing in a gaming build 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:42.400 um oh that's interesting okay getting 00:05:40.880 --> 00:05:46.600 getting to that later so why don't we look at the overall layout of the board 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:51.039 first so first of all we start with the CPU socket in the middle that is an LGA 00:05:48.520 --> 00:05:55.240 1155 socket supporting Intel Sandy bridge and even Ivy Bridge CPUs so be 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:59.840 ready for that we've got our power delivery up here in the top left exactly 00:05:57.280 --> 00:06:04.440 where it belongs that's an 8 Pin uh eight pin SL slot next we have our CPU 00:06:02.520 --> 00:06:10.599 fan connector here which is a four pin pwm CPU fan connector you can clearly 00:06:06.759 --> 00:06:14.680 see the vrm cooling is using a sort of a 00:06:10.599 --> 00:06:16.759 gun metal themed gun appearance themed 00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:21.120 look it's got heat pipes that are carrying from the uh well from the 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:27.360 chipset up to this side and then it just has a dedicated uh non-heat piped uh 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:32.960 mosfit heat sink up at the top moving over to the right hand side we have four 00:06:29.840 --> 00:06:35.599 DDR3 slots supporting dual Channel 00:06:32.960 --> 00:06:39.960 operation next we have our 24 pin power connector along the right hand Edge and 00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:46.160 this is something that I just don't see enough of USB 3 header on the right hand 00:06:44.520 --> 00:06:50.759 edge of the board this is the smartest place for it I am just tired of running 00:06:48.919 --> 00:06:53.880 front panel connectors way down here to the bottom when you don't have to they 00:06:52.520 --> 00:07:02.000 should be right here because that's where they're going to be the closest to the front of your case love it great 00:06:57.560 --> 00:07:04.400 designs decision next we've got two SATA 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:10.440 3 connectors running off of a thirdparty chipset we have two SATA 3 connectors 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:14.680 running off of the Intel chipset and then we have three SATA 2 connectors 00:07:12.520 --> 00:07:20.560 also running off the Intel chipset your last Intel sata2 connector is likely 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:22.280 running off the back as an EA connector 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:25.360 all right next we've got some more you know what I'll do a summary of The Fan 00:07:23.599 --> 00:07:28.919 headers at the end so that you guys can see where they all are here is the 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:32.720 custom header for the OC button that was on that front panel next we've got our 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:39.240 front panel headers we've got a clear seimos jumper we've got 00:07:36.759 --> 00:07:43.160 uh ah front USB so you see the one with the red background that means that it 00:07:40.960 --> 00:07:46.919 supports uh higher current so you can actually charge things like tablets with 00:07:44.919 --> 00:07:50.360 the utility from the Gigabyte website off of those particular ports so make 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:55.159 sure you've plug those ones in first you've got a couple more front USB 2s 00:07:52.520 --> 00:08:01.879 front panel audio and in terms of PCIe slot layout we've got two PCIe 16x slots 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:03.759 two PCIe 1X slots and two PCI slots so 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:08.440 that's pretty good mix if you install two dual Slot Cards you're going to be 00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:09.879 covering these guys those two and those 00:08:08.440 --> 00:08:14.440 two so that'll leave you with one PCI e1x and one PCI slot now having fewer 00:08:12.599 --> 00:08:19.159 expansion slots on a board like this is far less of a concern because you 00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:26.120 already have a very high-end hardware sound card check that out and a very 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:29.840 high-end Hardware Nick those are already built into the board so you pretty much 00:08:28.159 --> 00:08:33.919 don't need to replace them with with anything very very cool all right 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:38.159 actually okay yeah I promised I'd do you guys the summary of all of the CPU 00:08:35.880 --> 00:08:42.360 connectors so our fan connectors rather we've got one two uh stay further back 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:45.560 so I can just point out where they are three 00:08:43.959 --> 00:08:51.519 4 5 five yep fan five fan connectors it's 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:56.560 a very respectable amount and they are all pwm so you don't have to fuss with 00:08:54.000 --> 00:09:02.120 any sort of uh linear voltage adjustments for changing the RPM of your 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:09.959 fans on the back here we will find 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 USB 2.0 ports that guy is a 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:14.560 combo USB 2 ESAT Port love these ports so handy everything should be this 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:15.920 flexible and then two USB 3.0 ports 00:09:14.560 --> 00:09:20.959 personally I believe that's enough especially if you already have two in the front since most things that I'm 00:09:18.800 --> 00:09:24.399 using USB 3 for these days are just storage anyway which I'm plugging and 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:28.720 unplugging fairly frequently we've got our OC button on the back all right that 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:35.800 should be pretty self-explanatory it OC's next we have a PS2 USB U PS2 00:09:32.640 --> 00:09:38.480 keyboard mouse combo Port an HDMI output 00:09:35.800 --> 00:09:44.720 more on that in just a second and then we have gigabit Ethernet and finally 7.1 00:09:41.680 --> 00:09:46.560 audio with optical audio out so this is 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:50.680 a feature that I didn't mention before this is Intel Quicks sync so what you 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:56.360 can do is you can use that HDMI port you can use your HDMI to DVI adapter put it 00:09:54.079 --> 00:10:01.399 in like that and you can actually take advantage of the onboard graphics card 00:09:58.959 --> 00:10:04.720 built into the Intel CPU to transcode video even when you're running a 00:10:02.920 --> 00:10:09.200 dedicated graphics card there is a slight performance decrease but I would 00:10:07.040 --> 00:10:12.399 say for the incredible boost you get in transcoding performance especially if 00:10:10.800 --> 00:10:16.600 you have a tablet or a smartphone you want to switch your videos over to a 00:10:13.880 --> 00:10:21.120 compatible format it is an enormous advantage to the Intel z68 platform so 00:10:19.560 --> 00:10:25.480 thank you for checking out my unboxing of the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 2 don't forget 00:10:24.079 --> 00:10:29.920 to subscribe to Linus Tech tips for more unboxings reviews and other computer videos