BIOSTAR Unveils The Racing Z170GTN Flagship ITX Motherboard

In recent years, the Mini-ITX form factor has become more popular as consumers begin to enjoy owning smaller systems. Nowadays, it’s possible to construct a small PC without making any major concessions. As technology develops further, it’s likely that there won’t be the need for large towers unless the individual in question is running an extreme specification or wants to create a stunning custom water cooling configuration. Recently, BIOSTAR announced a new motherboard called the Racing Z170GTN which sports the Mini-ITX form factor and is crammed packed with features. This particular product is equipped to support memory speeds up to 32GB DDR4-3200 and has an integrated U.2 connector which provides storage bandwidth up to 32Gbps.

There’s also an M.2 connector to slot in ultra-fast storage devices and the usual power connectors. BIOSTAR deployed a premium audio solution with the company’s “Hi-Fi Ground Isolation Technology” which ensures the audio chipset is isolated from the rest of the motherboard. Interestingly, the motherboard employs customisable RGB illumination and it’s even possible to directly attach a standard 5050 LED strip for enhanced visual flair.

According to BIOSTAR, the Racing Z170GTN is bundled with a free “VIVID LED FAN” to improve your system’s lighting. While it’s probably not a match for premium fans you’d usually pay a substantial fee for, it’s a great addition included at no extra cost. When it comes to connectivity, the motherboard has two USB 2.0 ports, a PS/2 legacy port, DVI-D, HDMI, four USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, S/PDIF and 5 audio jacks. Overall, this looks like a very solid creation and I’m looking forward to testing the motherboard out soon.