Video: GIGABYTE G1. Sniper Z87 Motherboard Awarded ‘Gamers Choice’ on Overclock3D.net

Following up on a First Look video a few weeks ago, Tiny ‘Tom’ Logan has now given our new GIGABYTE G1.Sniper Z87 motherboard a really good going over with a full review, and it’s great to see the board pick up both ‘Gamers Choice’ and ‘Value for Money’ awards. Check out his video below.



In fact Tom was pretty much blown away by the sheer value of the board, offering really solid performance and a pretty full feature set for a very, very competitive price point.

“For a barely believable price you're getting equally barely believable performance. You have to overclock the Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 to make the most of it, but if you're willing to put a little effort in then there is a monster motherboard just waiting to be discovered and if you buy a K-series CPU you should be getting dirty in the BIOS anyways!”

Check the full written review here:

More info on the GIGABYTE G1.Sniper Z87

GIGABYTE Sponsors UK Overclockers Meet Up in Deepest Darkest Nottinghamshire

Last weekend saw an annual winter meet up of pretty much all the top Overclockers in the UK. Attendees (many of which are virtually household names in UK OC circles) included el_gappo, K404, Scooter.Jay, topdog, borandi and Driftingforlife. Noobs and spectators also made the trip to Long Eaton Nottinghamsire where it is fair to say, a good time was had by all.
Check out the video below for some really UK-style OC banter!

Watch live video from OverclockTV on TwitchTV

 

As one of the event’s sponsors, it was great to see plenty of Country Club submissions being made on GIGABYTE motherboards. Here are a few you check out:
Topdog using our 990FXA-UD3 an Z77X-UD7

• http://www.hwbot.org/submission/2467110_
• http://www.hwbot.org/submission/2467147_
• http://www.hwbot.org/submission/2467137_
• http://www.hwbot.org/submission/2467172_

Scooterjay pushing his i7 4770K on the Z87X-OC

• http://hwbot.org/submission/2467011_
• http://hwbot.org/submission/2467008_
• http://hwbot.org/submission/2467003_

  
Somewhere under all that ice there lies a GIGABYTE Z87X-OC board…

 

Check out more pics from the two-day event here:

http://www.overclock.net/g/a/1084744/christmas-uk-ln2-overclocking-meet-14th-15th-of-december/flat/1/page/0

OC Vegas Style

For those of you attending CES this year, be sure to stop by our OC event starting at 2PM on January 6th. We’re bringing ice to the desert and chips to a casino…cuz that’s how we roll.

Vote for GIGABYTE at the Tom’s Hardware Reader’s Choice Sweepstakes

Tom’s Hardware are offering some pretty decent prizes to tempt all and sundry to take part in their Reader’s choice Sweepstakes. In fact there are 22 prizes including full PCs, Tablets, SSDs, chassis and keyboards and more.

But of course, the most important part is that you remember to vote for GIGABYTE!

Here’s the link: http://tomshardware.readers-choice-sweepstakes.sgizmo.com/s3/

Think Computers unbox and examine the GIGABYTE Z87X-UD3H motherboard

Here’s a cool unboxing video from ThinkComputers.com where Bob Buskirk takes a pretty thorough look at our Z87X-UD3H board

 

Check out the Z87X-UD3H here.

GIGABYTE ‘Feel the Force’ Winners Announced – Vivi Takes Top Spot

This week saw the conclusion of our latest HWBOT OC contest, the ‘GIGABYTE Feel the Force’ contest. Based on the Intel Z87 platform we teamed up with Corsair to award the contest winners with some pretty tasty prizes including a GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force motherboard, some CORSAIR Force Series SSDs and Corsair Graphite Series chassis.

After a month of failry intense competition, Vivi from South Africa came out on top with Overclockers Hero and laoshu1919 of Mainland china taking 2^nd and 3^rd places respectfully.

You can check out the contest conclusion at hWBOT.org

Info about the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force can be found here.

OC3D Take a First Look at the GIGABYTE G1. Sniper Z87 Motherboard

Our buddy Tiny ‘Tom’ Logan managed to get his hands on our new socket 1150 gaming motherboard, the GIGABYTE G1.Sniper Z87. Of course Tom being Tom, the first things he did was shoot a quick ‘First look’ video. As ever Tom goes through the main features, of which there are many, including our signature AMP-UP audio which includes an upgradable OP-AMP, gain switches, a Creative Sound Core3D audio processor and more.

Just to generally sum up Tom’s feelings about the board, he is totally impressed with the overall spec of the board and the more high-end features that you’re getting for your money. In a nut shell, it’s ‘wicked’ value!

Introductory OC3D.TV article.

More info about the GIGABYTE G1. Sniper Z87

Brix on BRIX – Colin talks to Newegg about the latest in our BRIX series

Our man Colin was in the US recently and took time to visit Newegg, specifically to chat about our new line of BRIX compact PC kits. In case you missed it, the GIGABYTE BRIX is an ultra compact kit that provides you with a small, and I mean literally ‘in the palm of your hand’ small, chassis containing a custom motherboard with a choice of 4th gen Intel Core CPUs. We provide a WiFi/Bluetooth Mini-PCIe module too so all you need to add is some SO-DIMM DRR3 modules, and mSATA SSD for your OS and bingo, you have a very small, very cool looking PC that actually has plenty of performance punch.

Watch the video to see the complete BRIX package, plus a few of the new models we’re adding to the series.

GIGABYTE BRIX: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/list.aspx?s=47&ck=104

Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=brix&N=-1&isNodeId=1

HWBOT Country Cup looking to be the most popular OC contest ever organised, how is your country fairing?

HWBOT is in its 5th edition of the famous Country Cup competition where overclockers from nations worldwide compete to give their country the best chance of walking away with the highest honours. HWBOT is saying they are expecting submission numbers to surpass the most popular Country Cup 2011 competition considerably this year.

Being an Australian I can tell you we love our sports and do pretty well against the big guns despite being a relatively small nation (size of population). Overclocking is just like any other “sport”, it has its stats and ranking systems that immediately give you an idea how well (or badly) you stack up against others.

How about you jump over to the competition first and check it out. Here is the web page you need to go to.

Countdown timer gives you an indication how long a time there is left. Currently we’re looking just over a month to go. The leaderboard is tightly stacked and some of the countries are there that always do well and then there are a few surprises. Australia is one of those countries that has not faired too well in the past finishing well down the ladder in 30+ spots. Well, this year things are different. Boys from OCAU HWBOT team and Team Australia Extreme OC team are joining forces and looking for a strong finish.

Americans have also not been as active in this comp in the past but this year they are looking very strong. The usual suspects of Germany and Indonesia are in top 5. We are yet to see some of the previous champions including Romanian, Greek and Polish teams step up their game. I have no doubt the leaderboard will take many twists and turns yet, best to keep an eye on the latest submissions and team movements daily. I love checking out people’s OC rig setup pics that are compulsory in result submissions. I’ll put up a couple of cool shots here!

GIGABYTE is the proud sponsor of Country Cup competition and is offering some nice prizes for the winners as are other companies including G.Skill, Intel and Cooler Master.

Thumbs up to all and have fun.

GIGABYTE ‘Feel the Force’ Star Wars Quote Contest - Quote and Winner Revealed

Earlier this week we asked all our Facebook fans and followers to try and guess which quote from the original Star Wars movie we had hidden in an envelope… a big thanks to the hundreds of you that took part, but before we announce the winner, let’s open said envelope and reveal the quote:

Winning Quote: Han Solo - “It’s the ship that made the kessel run in less than twelve parsecs”

As I mentioned in the comments on Facebook, it is kind of (hmm…very loosely) related to overclocking and benchmarking… if you consider the kessel run to be benchmark of course. According to Wookieepedia:

“The Kessel Run was one of the most heavily used smuggling routes in the Galactic Empire. Han Solo claimed that his Millennium Falcon "made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs". A parsec is a unit of distance, not time. Solo was not referring directly to his ship's speed when he made this claim. Instead, he was referring to the shorter route he was able to travel by skirting the nearby Maw black hole cluster, thus making the run in under the standard distance. By moving closer to the black holes, Solo managed to cut the distance down to about 11.5 parsecs. The smuggler BoShek actually beat Solo's record in his ship, Infinity, but without cargo to weigh him down. A few months later, Han Solo beat both his own and BoShek's records in a run he made with Luke Skywalker.”

Three people correctly guessed the quote:

1. Luie Arellano
2. Jesse Que
3. Sergio Nergal

Well done guys. Each person was designated a number from one to three (same as above), and using a random number generator at random.org, the number 2 was chosen. Congratulations to Jessie Que in Australia who will shortly be the proud owner of a GIGABYTE Z87X-OC motherboard - a Millennium Falcon in motherboard form you might say… ;)

Thanks once again folks for all who took part…

Check out the ‘Feel the Force’ Overclocking contest at HWBOT.org

Learn more about the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC motherboard here.

Guess the ‘Star Wars’ Movie Quote and Win a GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Motherboard

Here’s a fun little competition which we’re running for two days on our Facebook page to promote our ‘Feel the Force’ OC contest on HWBOT.org. Seeing as the OC contest is inspired by the classic Sci-fi movie Star Wars, we thought we’d have a bit of fun along those lines. Think you know you’re Star Wars quotes? Try this…

Earlier today, we picked out our favorite quote from the movie Star Wars. We wrote it down and put it in the sealed envelope pictured below. The idea is that you simply go to our Facebook page, and leave your ‘Star Wars’ quote in the comments below the image of the envelope. Note: The quote is taken from the original 1977 Star Wars - Episode IV Movie.

If you can correctly guess the quote from the movie, you will win a GIGABYTE Z87X-OC motherboard. If more than one person guesses correctly, then we will select a winner at random.

Good luck, and ‘May the Force be With You’…

Rules:
The winner will be drawn at random from all correct guesses.
Winner and correct quote will be revealed at 12pm, Thursday 21st November 2103 (Taiwan Time).
Note: The quote we selected is from the original Star Wars (Episode IV) movie.

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GIGABYTEmotherboards

‘Feel the Force’ OC Contest on HWBOT.org: http://hwbot.org/competition/gbt_feelforce/

GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Motherboard: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4514#ov

Win an Invitation to an Evening of Overclocking in Sydney

It looks like our buddies in Sydney Australia, PC Authority have gone and called their local LN2 delivery people in preparation for an awesome OC sesh at their Headquarters in Sydney. If I know John Gillooly and co, I’m sure they’d like to invite you all, but as it stands there will be two sub-zero setups (one controlled by our very own Dino), prizes pizza, beer and more for some very lucky winners to enjoy.

How do you win? Easy, just tell them in 25 words or less exactly why you feel you are deserving of the honor. Simple, no? Follow the link below… ;)

PC Authority

A Custom Front Panel Mod for GIGABYTE AMP-UP Audio

We launched our latest audio technology, ‘AMP-UP Audio’ earlier this year at Computex 2013. One of the main features which differentiated us from the competition was the addition of an upgradable onboard operational amplifier or OP-Amp. OP-Amps are commonly found in high-end audio gear, and produce a much louder more amplified sound and a way superior audio experience generally. The OP-Amp itself is mounted on a socket which means that end-users can physically switch it out and also try different OP-Amps available on the market. Each OP-Amp offers distinct aural properties but generally speaking they make the audio clearer, punchier and more life-like.

Because the quality of front panel audio cables tend to vary from chassis to chassis, Op-Amp audio is available from the back panel audio jack only. Having said that, some users may feel that the back panel is not the most convenient in terms of access. Our buddy Janus saw this as an opportunity for another of his ‘mod jobs’. The mission this time was to make a custom front panel includes a pair of USB 3.0 ports, a front audio output for headphones, plus a USB DAC-UP port (i.e. a specialized port that is design for noise-free DAC connectivity).

Here an image of all the components and tools which Janus used for his mod job. The board used for the build was a GIGABYTE G1.Sniper A88X. The blue cable is used for the USB DAC-UP port, but if your motherboard doesn’t support this feature, it can be used as a regular USB 3 port.

Ok, let's see how he made the actual front panel...

After selecting his chassis, Janus realized he was only going to get one shot at modding his 3.5 inch front panel, so plenty of time and preparation went into making sure he got it right.

He used Photoshop to draw a 1:1 design layout for the placement of USB 3.0 and USB DAC ports and the all important audio jack. This template made it much easier to then cut the necessary holes.

After several hours work, the panel looks pretty professional.

He was then able to screw the USB 3.0 cable onto the back of the panel.

Then he added the external USB cable for the USB DAC. Here Janus added a copper riser, similar to what you would use to mount the motherboard to your chassis.

After adding the USB ports, next came the 3.5mm audio jack. Here you can also see the front panel mounted inside the chassis.

Here you can see how the cables were routed from the rear panel back through the chassis. This way the noise-free USB DAC is preserved so the end user has the choice of adding either a USB DAC or the onboard audio of the OP-AMP direct through the audio jack.

For more info about GIGABYTE AMP-UP Audio, click here.

Details about the GIGABYTE G1. Sniper A88X motherboard used in this project can be found here.

GIGABYTE 'Feel the Force' Z87 OC Contest is in full swing at HWBOT!

HWBOT.ORG is running a competition this month called GIGABYTE 'Feel the Force' Z87 OC Contest. A lot of international overclockers have entered so far and we’ve come across some impressive overclocks on memory, CPU frequency and base clock frequency.

Scheele from China has reached an impressive 7GHz with 4770K in first stage.

Dinos22 from Australia is running his memory on air to a whopping DDR3-3711(1855.5MHz)

Vivi from South Africa has reached a monster base clock frequency so far at 204.5MHz

There are 17 days to go. Keep an eye out on all the action at HWBOT.ORG

PC Gaming Will Drive the Enthusiast Segment in 2014 and Beyond!

Just read a really interesting article by our buddy John Gillooly from Aussie techies PC Authority where he points out how recent PC game releases are driving many PC gamers to rethink their current builds and consider a thorough system upgrade. And we’re not just talking about a rather minimal VGA card upgrade – these games have fundamentally larger memory footprints. John notes how new gaming titles Watch Dogs and Call of Duty: Ghosts demand a minimum of 6GB of RAM and a 64-bit OS (well… naturally as you need a 64-bit OS to address more than 4GB anyway).

“We suspected this transition might take a while, but this doesn’t seem to be the case. Over recent days the system requirements for both Watch Dogs and Call of Duty: Ghosts on PC have been released, and they should make memory manufacturers pretty happy.

Not only do both titles require a 64-bit edition of Windows, but they also need 6GB of system memory as a minimum. If you are a memory manufacturer this should be a happy day indeed. If you own a gaming laptop with only 4GB of RAM, it probably isn’t so happy a day.”

It’s a great point to make because for most PC users around 4GB is totally sufficient. Know what I mean? You’d need a hell of a lot of tabs open in your browser to breach the 4GB threshold. So even though 64-OSes and processors have been around for many years, it looks like we’ve finally reached a point where PC gaming is going to push 64-bit/4GB+ computing to the realm of normal or even standard.

These games are also demanding up to 50GB of install space, so if you want snappy load times you’re looking at least a 128GB SSD. 256GB for a more comfortable Steam install. So yeah, once again memory vendors will be rubbing their hands.

John Peddie Research have a few things to say on the subject too – and trust me when say these guys have been studying the graphics market since pixels were displayed on the walls of caves. A press release from earlier this year makes the direct connection between game release dates and hardware upgrade cycles:

“The effect that key titles have on hardware sales is phenomenal. Enthusiast PC Gamers embrace content creation and modding, so when titles like Bohemia Interactive's ARMA 3 are in the pipeline; we start to see anticipatory hardware sales. In fact, we are estimating over $800 million of PC builds influenced primarily by this title. A major component of this situation is that many games are placing increasing demands on the CPU. The result is that swapping out the graphics add-in board is not enough this time around and gamers are building (and ordering) overclocked PC's from the ground up."

I guess for myself, this is particularly significant on this of all days. Today we are announcing our latest G1-Killer gaming board, the GIGABYTE G1.Sniper Z87 motherboard, and we’re doing it at one of the biggest gaming events of the year – Blizzcon 2013.

Let’s just say, I have an odd feeling that in 2014 and beyond, PC gaming will be one area of major significance for GIGABYTE as it becomes a much important and influential part of the general PC enthusiast scene.

Corsair Build Orange ‘Trick or Treat’ PC wth GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Motherboard

With it being Halloween last Thursday, the guys at Corsair had the notion of doing a special build based on their newly launched ‘Orange’ Graphite Series 230T chassis. Of course it goes without saying that they opted for a GIGABYTE Z87X-OC as the motherboard. The result, as the images below testify, is this totally awesome looking rig.

Check out the full story on the Corsair blog.

More info on the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC motherboard.

GIGABYTE Z87X-OC motherboard caught in a D Frame chassis

Kiwi system integrators ‘Computer Lounge’ have developed a pretty impressive PC build using the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC motherboard. The most stunning aspect is most certainly the chassis design which opts for a unique frame design dubbed the ‘D Frame’. It’s pretty unconventional but after looking at the images here, I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s also pretty damn awesome.

The Z87X-OC board looks totally at home with this orange themed build, especially with those luscious water cooling bricks and orange cooling fluid. Looks almost like a GIGABYTE OC themed build.

More image s here on the ‘Computer Lounge’ Facebook page.

Check the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC here.

GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Motherboard Awarded Editor’s Choice by ‘The Overclocker’

When it comes to publications that truly cater for the needs and wants of the genuine overclocker, ‘the Overclocker’ magazine has to be one of the most respected around. Its chief editor Neo Sibeko, is of course a well known and respected member of the global OC community, and his publication is one of the only ones out there that writes exclusively for that audience.

So when Neo got around to putting our Z87X-OC board through its paces, we were very, very happy to see that he was thoroughly impressed by he found, even going as far as awarding the ‘Editor’s Choice’ award:

“Even as a backup board for any other Z87 mainboard you may own, this one more than justifies its price in every way imaginable. A truly excellent showing by GIGABYTE and one that deserves all its praises. GIGABYTE has yet to produce a more compelling board. This one is immaculate”

- [The Overclocker]

You can find the full online publication of the Overclocker here:

Video: Newegg TV complete a ‘Live Build’ based on the GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 5

Leon, our man in the US office, made it over to the Newegg offices to lend a hand with a Live Build they were undertaking based on a GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 5. Leon does a great job of answering comments and questions during the build which is lead by their ‘Resident PC-Building Lion’… also known as Paul.

Win a GIGABYTE Z87-D3HP with eTeknix.com

Our buddies over at eTeknix.com have a cool competition open to all and sundry where you can get your hands on the ‘Bang for Buck’ winning GIGABYTE Z87-D3HP motherboard. As is the way with many of these comps, joining is super simple and requires a mere flick of the wrist here or there with a Facebook ‘Like’ for eTeknix, another the GIGABYTE UK Facebook page, a few personal details and you’re done.

Facebook page Linkage.

Take a the GIGABYTE Questionnaire, Win a GIGABYTE Motherboard

 

Once in a while we like to get a feel what motivates and influences people when they buy a motherboard. One way in which we do that, is with a simple questionnaire. This time around we’re also offering two cool prizes - a GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 5 plus a GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force. The deal is simple, answer a few questions, fill in your details and you’ll automatically be entered in a prize draw. Sweet deal, no?

GIGABYTE Questionnaire link: http://event.gigabyte.com/2013Questionary/

Anandtech gives GIGABYTE Z87X-OC a big thumbs up

Ian from Anandtech has done a thorough review of the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC board and has given it a big thumbs up.

GIGABYTE offers a very impressive package in the Z87X-OC, one that users moving into the more budget oriented overclocking scene should jump on.  There is very little that competes in terms of price/package in the overclocking scene.  For this I would like to give the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC our Editors’ Choice Silver Award

Jump over to Anandtech for the full review.

GIGABYTE to post 20% Growth in China this Year

Apple Daily is reporting that GIGABYTE will have achieve over 20% growth in China this year and another 10% growth next year despite an overall shrinkage of the total desktop market.

The global DIY motherboard market has an annual shipment volume of about 60-70 million units currently with China accounting for 27-30 million units. Although China's motherboard market will see a 7-10% on-year drop in 2013, Gigabyte expects its shipments to still grow over 20% and reach nine million units, a volume similar to those of Asustek.

What’s interesting is when I started at GIGABYTE over 7 years ago, our China market was about 30% of our total revenue. Now, including Taiwan, China accounts for over 50%.

View the story on Digitimes in English while you can HERE