BIOSTAR Announces the Racing Z170GTN Flagship Mini-ITX Motherboard

[btarunr]

BIOSTAR is pleased to announce its latest and greatest motherboard to join the prestigious RACING series motherboard family with the unveiling of the BIOSTAR Z170GTN mini-ITX motherboard. Everything that makes the RACING series motherboards from BIOSTAR now comes in a tiny form factor giving you all the power you need without compromising size and space. Gamers who want unrestricted performance but want a compact machine for their entertainment and gaming needs, the BIOSTAR RACING Z170GTN delivers everything you need.

The BIOSTAR RACING Z170GTN allows full control of your system with support for unlocked 6th-generation Intel Core processors allowing you to fully maximize the capability of your system and increase performance. Support for memory speeds up to DDR4-3200 allows high-speed memory to compliment the overclocked system for improved responsiveness. The Intel Z170 chipset allows a full array of connectivity including rich USB3.0 connection and high-speed storage via built-in U.2 connector with up to 32Gbps bandwidth for next-generation storage allowing users to utilize the fastest storage platforms of today for super-fast access to data so games load faster so you can get to the action quicker.



BIOSTAR's RACING Z170GTN supports full-speed x16 PCIe 3.0 x16 graphics cards for maximum support for the latest graphics card from both AMD or NVIDIA allowing gamers to enjoy unhindered performance with their latest graphics card.

BIOSTAR RACING's signature stylish feature that allows gamers to be able to show-off their personal style is back with the RACING Z170GTN with BIOSTAR's exclusive VIVID LED DJ and 5050 LED FUN joining the B150GTN as the world's first mini-ITX motherboard with full RGB LED control for both onboard lighting and external lights. Both of these features allows customizable lighting for gamers who want a color-themed rig making your system the flash with brilliance.

To compliment the colorful offering of the VIVID LED DJ function, BIOSTAR is giving everyone purchases a BIOSTAR RACING Z170GTN an exclusive free gift: get a free BIOSTAR VIVID LED FAN to stylize your chassis absolutely free with ALL BIOSTAR RACING SERIES motherboards including the BIOSTAR RACING Z170GTN.

The VIVID LED Fan features full customizable color and lighting effects to compliment your RACING series motherboard. Install your own custom 5050 LED strip and customize your system, fully supported by the BIOSTAR RACING series motherboards and controlled by the VIVID LED DJ software.

BIOSTAR equips the RACING Z170GTN with its high-quality BIOSTAR HI-FI audio solution for full aural immersion in your entertainment experience. High-powered and high-clarity brings excellent sound quality to your system and supports high-impedance headphones. Featuring BIOSTAR's unique Hi-Fi Ground isolation technology, analog signals are isolated from the rest of the board for the purest audio digital reproduction.

With upgraders in mind, BIOSTAR has placed a legacy PS/2 port in the RACING Z170GTN to allow players who prefer legacy peripherals to still use their devices on this motherboard. Video display output via DVI and HDMI are present with four (4) USB3.0 ports for high-speed connection to modern devices. A vertical M.2 slot allows a Wi-Fi card to be installed for added flexibility of wireless network connection or added high-speed solid-state storage.

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[alucasa]

That's a pretty bad location for USB3 port.

 

[PLAfiller]

Any pricing on this thing ? It doesn't have a single USB type-C on the back. Gigabyte Phoenix for a 100 EUR has at least one ( apart from having similar characteristics ) . I expect this to be cheaper then .

 

[jivenjune]

Overall nice looking board with the right features. Would love to see an ITX board with dual m.2 slots, but it's hard to imagine how an ITX board would fix that given the size constraints. I guess the only problem I see with this board is how late it's coming out. If it had come out around the same time as many of the other Z170 ITX boards, I might've considered this.

 

[silentbogo]

That's a pretty bad location for USB3 port.

Not as bad as M.2 slot for WiFi card: it is almost blocked by VRM radiator (more appropriately - VRM Illuminator).

Any pricing on this thing ? It doesn't have a single USB type-C on the back. Gigabyte Phoenix for a 100 EUR has at least one ( apart from having similar characteristics ) . I expect this to be cheaper then .

Their current Z170 offerings in micro-ATX form factor sell around $110-$120. I don't think this will be any cheaper than that.
Plus, if you plan on using internal WiFi card - you'll have to spend an extra $25+ on an Intel Wireless AC adapter and few more bucks on RP-SMA to IPX tails and a pair of 2dBi antennas (another $4-5).

 

[Arrakis9]

that cmos battery lead location tho..

 

[emissary42]

Would love to see an ITX board with dual m.2 slots...

It looks like it has one M.2 slot for WiFi/BT near the HDMI output and another one for storage on the backside?

 

[silentbogo]

It looks like it has one M.2 slot for WiFi/BT near the HDMI output and another one for storage on the backside?

Yep. It looks like BIOSTAR intended to put a WiFi adapter in there, so in about a month we will definitely see an announcement of Racing Z170GTN/AC.
The only thing that sucks is than you cannot use a key-e slot for an additional SSD (cache for example).

 

[SimpleTECH]

"Realtek ALC892 8-Channel Blu-ray Audio"

Why does Biostar keep using an older codec?

 

[zedn]

That's a pretty bad location for USB3 port.

Gigabyte did it first, which is kinda stupid imo, but somehow they sold a lot of those motherboards. Now BIOSTAR thinks it might not be a bad position because of that......