Final Thoughts

As funny as this might sound, while the G1.Assassin 2 isn't the highest scoring X79 board we've looked at with it falling behind by just 2%, it's probably the better board for so many people because of the focus on this board being gamers instead of these super high end overclockers.

The G1.Assassin 2 doesn't have eight DIMM slots, nor does it have four PCIe x16 slots, but for 90% of users that's not going to matter. One could argue it's more than 90%. This board lights up when you start to dive into the features of the board.

For starters, there's an "OC" button on the back of the board. Hit that and you get 4GHz without doing anything. Great for people who don't want to mess around in the BIOS. The inclusion of KillerNIC is good, but I'm not sure it's the most important thing; I honestly feel that as long as you're not using the Realtek and instead opt for something like an Intel one, then we're all good. We're not going to complain about the KillerNIC E2100 implementation, though.

The sound for me is such a stand out and it's the one thing I bring up every time when talking to someone about the G1 series of boards. With the Creative audio there's just no need to go down the path of a separate sound card. That's good because it's money you don't need to spend, but also means that your video card (or cards) is going to have the maximum amount of breathing room.

Combine the fact you don't need to buy a separate sound card for excellent audio quality means that you're also going to have plenty of room for that included PCIe x1 card that offers us wireless networking and Bluetooth 4.0.

Which brings us onto another benefit of the board; the including PCIe x1 card isn't going to be for everyone. Some people aren't going to use wireless, or they don't have a BT 4.0 device, but it's a nice inclusion and it's something that you could possibly make use later down the track, especially if you're going to get on the Smart Phone bandwagon.

What I think really sums up this board is that it's the kind of board I'd personally use. Coming from someone who really has the ability to use almost any X79 motherboard, that's honestly saying something, but this is one that stands out for me. It's the reason I chose the G1.Sniper 2 in my Z68 build over other options.

I have no interest in overclocking my own system. Stability is the most important thing, so the fact it's not the highest overclocking board doesn't matter to me. If I wanted to do a light OC, though, I wouldn't have any issue with 4.5GHz and we saw today we ended up with just over 4.6GHz. Although, I'm not too sure we'd call that a light OC, the other thing is we're only a push away from hitting 4GHz thanks to the OC button on the back of the board.

I'm not a fan of the "gun" on the board, but once inside my case I wouldn't be able to see it due to my window position, and also the fact my video card would cover it and while not a fan of the color green, I've said before that combined with the matte black PCB, the color combination looks awesome.

While the board lacks eight DIMM slots like some others, 16GB is going to be the sweet spot when it comes to RAM for most people, so it's not a big issue. While four module 32GB kits also aren't as good value when compared to 16GB ones, there's that option as well for people. For most, though, it's fairly safe to assume that four 4GB DDR3 modules are going to be what most people pick up.

The G1.Assassin 2 is like other G1 boards; performance is strong and the feature set is amazing. For so many people that's exactly what you want from a motherboard. This is going to be a popular board from GIGABYTE for a good reason.

If you're looking for a board that focuses on those features that gamers love like the fantastic onboard networking, excellent onboard audio and one button overclock, this is a really attractive option. Throw in other extras like 802.11n Wireless and Bluetooth 4.0 support and you've just got a board that stands out for all the right reasons.