Review-Gigabyte G1.Assassin: High-end Gaming in “Military” Style, Part 1 (Features)

Author

Oik Yusuf Araya

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Motherboard

March 31, 2011

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Gigabyte G1.Assassin: Special Features

Audio: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi (CA20K2)

The “Super Hearing” marketing term refers to the audio components incorporated on the motherboard.

Gigabyte G1.Assassin is armed with a Creative CA20K2-2AG (Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi) sound chip. Like in dedicated Sound Blaster X-Fi audio cards, the Creative chip on this motherboard comes equipped with 16 MB worth of X-RAM.

Nichicon audio capacitors are used in the on-board sound card assembly. Near them, Gigabyte places an audio amplifier chip able to handle audio devices with up to 150 Ohm of impedance.

The sound features are as follows:

X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity™
X-Fi Crystalizer™
X-Fi CMSS® – 3D Headphone
X-Fi CMSS® – 3D Surround
X-Fi CMSS® – 3D Virtual
EAX® (Environmental Audio Extension) AHD 5.0™: 128 Voices, EAX PurePath, EAX Voice, FlexiFX, MacroFX
Dolby® Digital Live and DTS™ Connect
24-bit/96kHz recording
24-bit/96kHz 7.1 playback, 24-bit/192kHz Stereo playback

A control panel software is available for use with the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi sound chip. You can change the audio settings and select the desired sound mode with this.

Game Mode

Entertainment Mode

Audio Creation Mode

NIC: Bigfoot Networks Killer E2100

Bigfoot Networks Killer E2100 NIC (Network Interface Controller) is used to enhance the networking capability of G1.Assassin. This chip has 1GB of DDR2 dedicated-memory (128 Mb). Killer E2100 promises better network performance compared to other NIC chips. In turn, this will help enhance the multiplayer experience in games that rely on network connections, as in LAN gaming sessions. Working with the Game Networking DNA application, Killer E2100 reduces latency by optimizing the network to allow for a smoother gameplay.