Gigabyte G1-Killer Sniper 2 Motherboard Review

G1 Killer motherboards feature a very unique design with heatsinks that resemble gun parts and military color theme.  The PCB features a matte black finish and the 2oz copper treatment and green accent colors on the primary expansion slots.

The back of the board is devoid of any surface components and features a black chrome cpu socket plate.  We like showing the back of these motherboards since it helps decipher what is going on in terms of the PCI Express expansion slots.  We'll talk more about these in the Multi GPU Index section.

Even for a gaming motherboard it is important to have excellent power delivery and also have the ability to reduce power consumption when the system is at idle.  The Sniper 2 features a conservative dual mode 12 phase PWM design.  Under normal operation both power channels are operational but can be reduced to six power phases using the included software.

Behind the PWM cooler you'll find the 8 pin CPU power connector.  The connector is accessible with plenty of room to get your finger in there if you need to remove the power cable.

Dual channel memory comes standard on the Sandy Bridge and the Sniper 2 supports DDR3 modules up to 2133Mhz with a maximum of 32GB usable.  24pin ATX power is located in the traditional location near the upper edge of the motherboard and out of the primary airflow.

One thing you may notice is the lack of onboard power and reset buttons that are typically included in this location.  As much as we miss having them we have to remember that this board is designed for gaming and not intended to be used outside of a case.