Gigabyte G1 Assassin Intel X58 Motherboard Review

Specifications

CPU
  1. Support for an Intel® Core™ i7 series processor in the LGA1366 package ( Go to GIGABYTE’s website for the latest CPU support list.)
  2. L3 cache varies with CPU
QPI
  1. 4.8GT/s, 6.4GT/s
Chipset
  1. North Bridge: Intel® X58 Express Chipset
  2. South Bridge: Intel® ICH10R
Memory
  1. 6 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 24 GB of system memory
  2. * Due to Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than 4 GB.
  3. 3/Dual channel memory architecture
  4. Support for DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules
  5. Support for non-ECC memory modules
  6. Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules

(Go to GIGABYTE’s website for the latest supported memory speeds and memory modules.)

Audio
  1. 1 x Creative CA20K2 chip
  2. High Definition Audio
  3. 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
  4. Support for Dolby® Digital Live/DTS Neo:PC/DTS Interactive
  5. Support for S/PDIF Out
LAN
  1. 1 x Bigfoot Killer E2100 chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Expansion Slots
  1. 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 (PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2)
  2. * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16_1 slot; if you are installing two PCI Express graphics cards, it is recommended that you install them in the PCIEX16_1 and PCIEX16_2 slots.
  3. 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x8 (PCIEX8_1, PCIEX8_2)
  4. * The PCIEX8_1 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16_1 slot and the PCIEX8_2 slot with PCIEX16_2. The PCIEX16_1/PCIEX16_2 slot will operate at up to x8 mode when the PCIEX8_1/PCIEX8_2 is populated.
  5. (The PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2, PCIEX8_1, and PCIEX8_2 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)
  6. 2 x PCI Express x1 slots
  7. 1 x PCI slot
Multi-Graphics Technology
  1. Support for 3-Way/2-Way NVIDIA SLI technology and 4-Way/3-Way/2-Way ATI CrossFireX™ technology
Storage Interface South Bridge:

  1. 6 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2_0~SATA2_5) supporting up to 6 SATA 3Gb/s devices
  2. Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10

Marvell 88SE9182:

  1. 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (GSATA3_6, GSATA3_7) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices
  2. Support for SATA RAID 0 and RAID 1
USB South Bridge:

  1. Up to 8 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 on the back panel, 4 via the USB brackets connected to the internal USB headers)

1 x Renesas D720200 chip and 2 x VLI VL810 hubs:

  1. Up to 8 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (4 on the back panel, 4 via the USB brackets connected to the internal USB headers)
  2. * The USB 2.0 signals of the USB 3.0/2.0 ports are from the South Bridge.
Internal I/O Connectors
  1. 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
  2. 2 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connectors
  3. 2 x 4-pin PCIe 12V power connectors
  4. 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
  5. 6 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
  6. 1 x CPU fan header
  7. 1 x system fan header
  8. 3 x fan headers
  9. 1 x front panel header
  10. 1 x front panel audio header
  11. 1 x S/PDIF Out header
  12. 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
  13. 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 headers
  14. 1 x clearing CMOS jumper
  15. 1 x Quick Boost button header
  16. 1 x heatsink LED power connector
Back Panel Connectors
  1. 1 x PS/2 keyboard port
  2. 1 x PS/2 mouse port
  3. 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
  4. 1 x coaxial S/PDIF Out connector
  5. 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
  6. 4 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
  7. 1 x RJ-45 port
  8. 5 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Side Speaker Out, Line In/Mic In, Line Out)
I/O Controller
  1. iTE IT8720 chip
H/W Monitoring
  1. System voltage detection
  2. CPU/System temperature detection
  3. CPU/System fan speed detection
  4. CPU overheating warning
  5. CPU/System fan fail warning
  6. CPU/System fan speed control
  7. * Whether the CPU/system fan speed control function is supported will depend on the CPU/system cooler you install.
BIOS
  1. 2 x 16 Mbit flash
  2. Use of licensed AWARD BIOS
  3. Support for DualBIOS ™
  4. PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0b
Unique Features
  1. Support for @BIOS
  2. Support for Q-Flash
  3. Support for Xpress BIOS Rescue
  4. Support for Download Center
  5. Support for Xpress Install
  6. Support for Xpress Recovery2
  7. Support for EasyTune
  8. * Available functions in EasyTune may differ by motherboard model.
  9. Support for Dynamic Energy Saver ™ 2
  10. Support for Smart 6™
  11. Support for Auto Green
  12. Support for eXtreme Hard Drive (X.H.D)
  13. Support for ON/OFF Charge
  14. Support for Cloud OC
  15. Support for Q-Share
Bundle Software
  1. Norton Internet Security (OEM version)
Operating System
  1. Support for Microsoft® Windows® 7/Vista/XP
Form Factor
  1. XL-ATX Form Factor; 34.5cm x 26.3cm
Remark
  1. Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors’ website or 3rd party website.
  2. Most hardware/software vendors no longer offer support for Win9X/ME/2000/XP SP1/SP2. If drivers are available from the vendors, we will update them on the GIGABYTE website.

* The entire materials provided herein are for reference only. GIGABYTE reserves the right to modify or revise the content at anytime without prior notice.
* Advertised performance is based on maximum theoretical interface values from respective Chipset vendors or organization who defined the interface specification. Actual performance may vary by system configuration.
* All trademarks and logos are the properties of their respective holders.
* Due to standard PC architecture, a certain amount of memory is reserved for system usage and therefore the actual memory size is less than the stated amount.

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