The unfortunate thing for GIGABYTE is that this is the review where I decided to let loose on all of this. GIGABYTE offers a small collection of tools that look like they were designed for children, while ASUS has produced a well-designed (even classy) suite for utmost control over your system. GIGABYTE’s software package and ASUS’ simply cannot be compared.

I hate to constantly compare one vendor to another, but ASUS has truly impressed me as of late and has forced me to realize what motherboards have been missing for a while: a quality BIOS/EFI interface and quality software. At this point, I can imagine that some vendors hate what ASUS is doing from both an EFI and software standpoint. Next, we have to talk about the software. This is another area where I hope all vendors will impress with their next-gen products. For those who truly appreciate fine-tuning their fan profiles, your motherboard selection is severely limited. Where the board does lack though is with its fan control. While the power-related options aren’t quite as in-depth as what we’ve seen on ASUS boards lately, it’s still sufficient enough for most people. Once into the advanced mode, the EFI works well enough like the traditional BIOS we’ve come to expect. Its splashscreen remains cumbersome to use, though thankfully, that’s my biggest gripe. On the EFI side, GIGABYTE’s option is fair, though not excellent.

Hey – chances are if you’re seeking out gaming-related components, you’ll appreciate these looks. The board offers a plethora of SATA and USB ports, full support for 4-way GPU for either AMD or NVIDIA, Wi-Fi for those who need it (with dual antennas – a nice touch), a solid board design and for those who might like it, cool, gamer-esque aesthetics. At least that will work under Linux, and lack of gaming enhancements aside, most gamers I know who opt for add-in NICs have gone Intel – that should say something. For that reason, I’m really glad to see an Intel NIC also included here. I’d usually give credit for the Killer Ethernet inclusion, but given my experiences, there’s just nothing that impresses me about it. It features a good audio solution (though not X-fi, for some reason), and dual-LAN. As always, GIGABYTE has done a solid job with its latest G1.Sniper iteration to cater to the hardcore gamer.

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