Benchmarks
We ran an array of benchmarks that provided a complete performance analysis of the system that would allow easy
comparisons in future reviews. We completed these at 4000 MHz on an un-optimized Windows 7 system.
Gigabyte
G1.Sniper2
SuperPI 8m
3DMark11
Vantage P
Vantage X
Crysis Very
High
ASUS M4E-Z
21328 MB/s
1m 44.130
P4575
20456
9458
34.76/fps Average
Gigabyte
G1.Sniper2
21510 MB/s
1m 43.958
P4553
20485
9473
34.82/fps Average
it is heavily tied to system
bandwidth. This difference
is negligible though and
adjusting additional bios
settings on the two boards
could lead to either board
taking a more substantial
lead.
While 3DMark11 is
a predominantly GPU
based benchmark, the
Physics component has
a dependency on system
memory. ASUS fight back
here with a small, but again
negligible 3DMark11 lead of
22 points. Once again things
are extremely tight through
both Vantage benchmarks,
with the Sniper2 taking
slim leads in both.
While Vantage X is more
heavily aligned with GPU
performance, it can help
us determine which board
might have better PCIExpress bandwidth, in this
case there doesn’t seem to
be much difference at all.
Finally we always love to
run the Crysis benchmark
and unfortunately there is
nothing significant to be
found here. Both systems
score within 0.1FPS of each
other and are well ahead of
most other Z68 boards from
other vendors.
Additional Info
Gigabyte has kept the gun
inspired heatsink and lime
colour palate on this board
and we think it looks good.
We found the board clocked
ram extremely well with
tighter timings, but had some
issues if we loosened timings
off too much (9-11-9-27).
When we tested the exact
settings on a Gigabyte Z68UD4 we found the problems
did not occur. This is only
nit-picking though, through
the majority of our testing the
Sniper2 didn’t skip a beat.
(It is to be noted that
from a gaming perspective,
the CREATIVE C20K2
audio controller and the
surrounding components
do add some much
appreciated value to this
motherboard. The sound
quality is great and it is
virtually indistinguishable
from an add-on X-Fi card
based on the older EMU20K1
processor. The purists may
find some differences that
may encourage them to
still spend on a discreet
card, but for the target
market and vast majority of
users, this audio solution is
fantastic – Ed!) ?
[PRO]
Summary
The figures speak for
themselves, the ASUS
M4E-Z and Gigabyte
G1.Sniper2 were locked
in a battle to the death
but neither was able to
finish. I think to separate
these boards the end user
needs to decide between
the slightly cheaper price
offered by the M4E-Z or
the higher quality gaming
features such as the
Killer NIC and Creative
sound card offered by
the Sniper2. Both boards
have their place in the
market and will be equally
pleasing for the user.
Would you buy it?
We would certainly buy
this board for a show off
LAN rig and considering
its overclocking
prowess, it would be
also be a good purchase
for a pure benching rig.
The Score
9/10
2011 | Issue 17 The OverClocker 23