Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87: gaming motherboard with high-quality sound
11.12.2013, Jan Vítek, recenze
Hot news in the offer of motherboards by Gigabyte is G1.Sniper Z87, whose name indicates that it is for gamers. Nevertheless, this board provide us high-quality sound with the possibility of replacement of operating amplifiers and other advantages.
Kapitoly článku:
The company Gigabyte offers a number of motherboards with the Z87 chipset, from which we have chosen hot news, the model G1.Sniper Z87, which was only presented and launched in November. It is not a generally abundantly equipped board, as the recently tested model Gigabyte Z87X-UD5H. Instead of that, we have in front of us a specialized model designed for computer game sets that wants to offer high-quality configurable sound and an interesting network solution. Sniper is also significantly cheaper than UD5H.
If we compare the used chipset Intel Z87 with the previous model Intel Z77 for the processors Ivy Bridge.
So, after the model Gigabyte Z87X-UD5H we have another board with the chipset Intel Z87 and the differences between this one and the older 7 Series version are not big, they mainly include the support of the SATA and USB interfaces, where the emphasis has shifted to newer versions. The diagram shows 14 USB 2.0 ports, whilst the specification states 8. But if we add the other six USB 3.0, which are naturally compatible with USB 2.0, the quantity fits. So, our motherboard G1.Sniper Z87 almost fully uses the USB ports offered by the Z87 chipset. It provides six ports USB 3.0, and just one from the available USB 2.0 ports is not at user's disposal.
At the same time, the motherboard offers all the supported ports SATA 6 Gbps and its slots PCI Express 3.0 x16 work in full configuration, that is, either as one slot with the full number of lines or two slots by eight lines each. The difference compared to the Z87X-UD5H model is that G1.Sniper Z87 uses, with respect to the offer of basic interfaces, rather just the possibilities of the chipset, which definitely is not to any harm. But one would miss, for example, an interface for Trusted Platform Module, or FireWire or two Ethernet interfaces. On the other hand, Sniper offers other advantages we will be focusing on in the third chapter.
In the case of the current generation, the chipset is still linked to the processor by means of the DMI 2.0 bus, support of DDR3L has been added but it still is 1600 MHz and 2 channels, and the Serial ATA interfaces still have the maximum of 6 ports but all versions are SATA 6 Gbps.
Article in Czech: Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87: herní deska s kvalitním zvukem
Specifications of Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 | |
CPU | Support of Intel Haswell processors for LGA 1150 socket |
Chipset | Intel Z87 Express |
Memory | 4x DIMM for up to 32 GB DDR3 with max. clock time 3000 MHz (OC) Support of Intel XMP and non-ECC modules |
Graphic outputs | 1x HDMI 1.4a (max. 4096 x 2160 @ 24 Hz, 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz) 1x DisplayPort 1.2 (max. 4096 x 2160 @ 24 Hz, 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz) max. shared memory 1 GB |
Audio | HD audio processor Creative Sound Core 3D support of Sound Blaster Recon3Di 2/5.1 channel Support of S/PDIF output |
LAN | Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2201 (10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet) |
Slots | 2x PCI Express 3.0 x16 (configuration x16/-, x8/x8) support 2-way AMD CrossFire/NVIDIA SLI 3x PCI Expres 2.0 x1 2x PCI |
SATA | chipset: 6x SATA 6 Gbps (RAID 0/1/5/10) |
USB | 6x USB 3.0 (4 on the rear panel) a 7x USB 2.0/1.1 (3 on the rear panel) |
Firewire | - |
Other connectors | 1x 24pin ATX power supply 1 x 8pin EPS power supply 1x power supply of CPU PWM cooler + 3x power supply to case ventilator fans 6x SATA 6 Gbps 1x connector for buttons and LED of the case 1x audio for the front I/O panel 1x USB 3.0 (header) 2x USB 2.0 (header) 1x serial port (header) 1x Clear CMOS 1x Power button 1x Reset button 1x Clear CMOS button 2x switches for BIOS 2x audio gain control buttons |
Rear I/O panel | 1x PS/2 for keyboard / mouse 1x HDMI 1.4a 1x DisplayPort 1.2 1x optical S/PDIF 1x coaxial S/PDIF 4x USB 3.0 3x USB 2.0/1.1 1x RJ-45 (Gb Ethernet) 5x 3.5mm audio |
BIOS | 2x 64Mbit flash - Dual AMI EFI Bios PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.6, ACPI 2.0a |
Other features | Support of Q-Flash, Xpress Install, APP Center (@BIOS, EasyTune, EZ Setup, USB Blocker, Smart TimeLock, Smart Recovery 2) |
OS support | Windows 8.1 / 8 / 7 Support of Linux and older versions of Windows depends mainly on manufacturers of additional chips (Qualcomm, Creative) |
Board format | ATX (305 x 233 mm) |
If we compare the used chipset Intel Z87 with the previous model Intel Z77 for the processors Ivy Bridge.
Chipsets Intel Z87 and Z77 | ||
Chipset | Z87 | Z77 |
Code name | Lynx Point | Panther Point |
Overclocking | CPU + GPU + RAM | CPU + GPU + RAM |
Integrated graphics support | yes | yes |
RAID | yes | yes |
Max. USB 2.0 / 3.0 | 8 / 6 | 10 / 4 |
Max. SATA 2.0 / 3.0 | 0 / 6 | 4 / 2 |
Primary PCI Express | 1× PCIe 3.0 ×16 or 2× PCIe 3.0 ×8 or 1× PCIe 3.0 ×8 + 2× PCIe 3.0 ×4 | 1× PCIe 3.0 ×16 or 2× PCIe 3.0 ×8 or 1× PCIe 3.0 ×8 + 2× PCIe 3.0 ×4 |
Secondary PCI Express | 8× PCIe 2.0 | 8× PCIe 2.0 |
PCI | no | no |
Intel Rapid Storage | yes | yes |
Intel Smart Response | yes | yes |
Intel Anti-Theft | yes | yes |
Intel Smart Connect | yes | yes |
Intel Rapid Start | yes | yes |
Intel vPro | no | no |
Maximum TDP | 4.1 W | 6.7 W |
Production process | 32 nm | 65 nm |
So, after the model Gigabyte Z87X-UD5H we have another board with the chipset Intel Z87 and the differences between this one and the older 7 Series version are not big, they mainly include the support of the SATA and USB interfaces, where the emphasis has shifted to newer versions. The diagram shows 14 USB 2.0 ports, whilst the specification states 8. But if we add the other six USB 3.0, which are naturally compatible with USB 2.0, the quantity fits. So, our motherboard G1.Sniper Z87 almost fully uses the USB ports offered by the Z87 chipset. It provides six ports USB 3.0, and just one from the available USB 2.0 ports is not at user's disposal.
At the same time, the motherboard offers all the supported ports SATA 6 Gbps and its slots PCI Express 3.0 x16 work in full configuration, that is, either as one slot with the full number of lines or two slots by eight lines each. The difference compared to the Z87X-UD5H model is that G1.Sniper Z87 uses, with respect to the offer of basic interfaces, rather just the possibilities of the chipset, which definitely is not to any harm. But one would miss, for example, an interface for Trusted Platform Module, or FireWire or two Ethernet interfaces. On the other hand, Sniper offers other advantages we will be focusing on in the third chapter.
In the case of the current generation, the chipset is still linked to the processor by means of the DMI 2.0 bus, support of DDR3L has been added but it still is 1600 MHz and 2 channels, and the Serial ATA interfaces still have the maximum of 6 ports but all versions are SATA 6 Gbps.
Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 - accessories and software | |
IDE cable | no |
SATA cable | 4× SATA (two angular) |
SATA power adapter | no |
SLI jumper | yes |
Documents etc. | Installation manual, user manual (brief version also in Czech), installation CD, sticker, label for rear I/O |
Software | controllers + software for audio Norton Internet Security (OEM version) Intel Rapid Start Technology Intel Smart Connect Technology Intel Smart Response Technology |
Main advantages of the motherboard
- technology Ultra Durable 4 Plus
- replaceable operating amplifier
- sound solution by Creative (Sound Core 3D)
- network solution Killer E2200
Article in Czech: Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87: herní deska s kvalitním zvukem