Gigabyte Re-Arms G1.Killer Series with Z68 Chipset

GIGABYTE's cool gun-themed motherboard series now has a version sporting Intel's Z68 chipset.

Thursday Gigabyte released the next model in its G1-Killer motherboard series, the G1.Sniper 2, based on Intel's Z68 chipset. For the uninitiated, this series of motherboards is built around emulated components of a disassembled gun, perfect for modders and PC gamers who feel like making intimidating statements without using words (or real weapons).

"Like soldiers about to head out into the line of fire, elite gamers know that the equipment they use can mean the difference between getting the frag, or being fragged," the company said. "That is why GIGABYTE has designed the G1-Killer series of motherboards for one purpose, and one purpose only; serious hardcore gaming."

The biggest feature of the G1-Killer series is its "Locked and Loaded" heatpipe design. This is modeled after common firearms issued to soldiers deployed to warzones including pistol and rifle components, and ammo magazines. GIGABYTE said the design isn't just for looks -- it utilizes a unique "fluting" technology similar to a rifle barrel fluting which allows for maximum heat dispersion.

The latest in the series, the G1.Sniper 2, supports Intel's second-generation Core i7 "Sandy Bridge" processors (socket LGA1155) and four DDR3 slots offering up to 32 GB of memory (2133/1333/1066 MHz). It also comes packed with a real Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi 20K2 chip and a dedicated Bigfoot Networks Killer NIC E2100 network processing unit (NPU). The board also supports PCI Express Gen 3, 2-way SLI and 2-way Crossfire X, making it a killer choice when building that custom gaming rig capable of taking on Crysis 2 or anything else Crytek has in its arsenal.

As for other features, the motherboard provides four USB 3.0 ports and twelve USB 2.0 ports. It also boasts a 12-phase power setup, GIGABYTE's Ultra Durable 3 design, LucidLogix Virtu GPU virtualization support for dynamic switching between the built-in graphics and discrete graphics, four SATA 6 Gb/s ports and three SATA 3 Gb/s ports. There's even a built-in front audio headphone amplifier capable of driving 150U loads.

"The GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 2 brings our acclaimed no mercy G1-Killer gaming philosophy to Intel's mainstream Z68 platform", commented Henry Kao, Vice President of GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. "From listening closely to the gaming community, it's clear that this is an eagerly anticipated motherboard, and one that will guarantee the fearlessly uncompromising gaming experience that so many of our customers crave."

So far actual pricing and availability is not known, so stay tuned.