GIGABYTE G1.SNIPER2 Intel Z68 Motherboard Review

Rightmark Audio Analyzer

The RightMark Audio Analyzer suite is designed for testing quality of analog and digital paths of any audio devices, be it a sound card, an MP3 player, a consumer CD/DVD player or an acoustic set. The results are obtained by playing and recording test signals passed through the tested audio path by means of frequency analysis algorithms. The latest version of RightMark Audio Analyzer can be found here.

Rightmark Audio Analyzer Comparison Chart

• GIGABYTE G1 Sniper 2 – Creative CA20K2 chip
• ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z – SupremeFX X-Fi 2 built-in 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
• ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z – Realtek ALC 889 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC

The audio performance numbers according to Rightmark Audio Analyzer show that there isn’t a significant performance difference between the boards. We do see the noise level and dynamic range are better on the Sniper 2 as is the Stereo Crosstalk. After listening to the boards, it’s tough to call a clear victor as they are only as good as the speakers your listening to.