Results: SiSoft Sandra 2014
The problem with motherboard reviews is that we do not see the performance deltas that we used to due to the integration of so much functionality onto the CPU. Instead of comparing memory controller designs from VIA, Intel, and NVIDIA we are now left with the units built into the processors. AM3+ still uses HyperTransport to connect the CPU to the northbridge, and then onto to the PCI-E bus. FM2+ gets rid of HyperTransport and uses PCI-E to communicate between the APU and the FCH. As such, it is good to see if there are any particular variances between boards even though so much performance and functionality is already integrated into the CPU. We also take special note of I/O performance, as it can be affected quite a bit by a poor BIOS implementation.
The APU results are somewhat interesting here. The G1.Sniper is slightly slower overall than the previous F2A85X when running the A10-6800K. The new 7850K has a nice jump in integer performance, but is slightly slower in floating point. We also see a drop in memory bandwidth from the 6800K to the 7850K, even though the 7850K has faster clocked memory and a newer memory controller.
I/O does not show any significant differences between the boards and APUs used in these tests. In some of the SATA 6G read tests the Kaveri APU showed some small advantages, but when it came to writes it was slightly slower. These differences are very, very minimal though.
Isn’t it one of the first
Isn’t it one of the first FM2+ boards that came out? I think it is about 10 months old.
And the funny thing about motherboard prices for the AMD platform is that using a search engine here in Greece, Sniper is the 5th most expensive model out of 27 with the “A88X” in their model name, costing 98 euros.
Using the term Sniper in the same search engine I can see that the FM2+ board is the cheapest of all “Sniper” boards available. All the others are for Intel. You can buy a B85 for 2 more euros than the FM2+ board, but after that it gets really ugly, with prices jumping from 147 to 375 euros.
Yup, it is one of the first
Yup, it is one of the first FM2+ boards to have come out last year. If there was one problem that users complained quite a bit about, it is that Gigabyte shipped a lot of these boards without Kaveri APU support in the BIOS. So, it has been problematic for some to update the BIOS as they don't have access to an older Richland based APU to do so.
This Sniper board is not nearly as high end as the other Sniper boards from Gigabyte. Agian, price is the primary concern for these manufacturers when it comes to the FM2+ socket.
Have you checked out the
Have you checked out the GA-F2A88X-UP4? It’s one of the most expensive FM2+ boards out there at 109.99 USD. Just above the Sniper and a tad below an MSI Gaming series board.
It addresses many of the concerns you had about the Sniper. The GA-F2A88X-UP4 has a IR Digital 6+2 Power Phase design and only one “front” facing SATA port. All others are the normal angled style. It’s rear video IO also includes a DisplayPort connection in addition to the others.
The only downgrade I can see compared to the Sniper is a much weaker RealTek audio chipset.
I’m probably going to use this in a build I’m doing in the next few months, but I’d like to hear your thoughts if you have any experience with it!
I have not had the chance to
I have not had the chance to work with this board yet, but the spec's do make it a bit beefier in terms of overclocking/performance than the Sniper. At least with audio, you can always add a card if you don't like that particular implementation. Good looking board!
Can this handle 4k gaming?
Can this handle 4k gaming?
Only if you use an add-in,
Only if you use an add-in, high end graphics card.
Bought this board first and
Bought this board first and tried pairing it with 4x8gb G.skill Trident X ddr 2400 memory. would not run all 4 sticks at 2400 no matter what bios settings i did.
Sold it and bought the MSI a88x-g45 gaming. Runs all 32GB at ddr 2400.
Computer build – https://imgur.com/a/4DwZz
I also was forced to buy a x2-340 cpu just to flash my gigabyte. kinda sucked but hey it was VERY cheap.
Good looking build! I am
Good looking build! I am working on the A88X G45 review now, and it is a really nice board for the price. Nice looking build you have there! I just hope that more HSA applications get released and support for it ratchets up. I am running that MSI board with a last gen GTX 580 Lightning card… it seems to run well with both the AMD graphics part enabled as well as the GTX 580. I probably should do some OpenCL testing with both running…
Greetings to all,
Greetings to all,
I recently bought G1.Sniper A88X (rev. 3.0 motherboard and was thinking of using the AMD A10-7850K or another APU from the fm2+ Kaveri line. My question after some research is, will I be able to update the bios with an fm2+ apu on this board, or will I have to get an fm2 apu for the bios update? Really wanted one of those Kaveri apu’s to have the board function with the lastest technology it can handle. Any suggestions?
Best Regards
Motee