BIOSTAR Racing Z490GTN

BIOSTAR Racing Z490GTN – eTeknix

March 29, 2021 by Stephen

The addition of the M.2 2230 WiFi module is nice to see. Allowing for WiFi 6 will be a welcome addition. But wait, they didn’t actually include the module needed to use this feature so you will have to go and buy one for yourself. Not the end of the world, just an extra expense when other competitor boards may come with a similar solution. There is also the case of the M.2 being mounted on the backside of the motherboard. This is nice to see as at least they didn’t just get rid of it, just moved it so users can still make use of this nice NVMe Gen 3 speeds.

January 6, 2021 by Stephen

Biostar is a familiar brand in the lower end of the price segment for Mini-ITX boards. The Racing Z490GTN is the company’s answer for anyone looking to build a compact system with 10th and 11th Gen Intel processors. It makes good use of Intel’s Z490 chipset, though you will notice some omissions compared to premium full-sized boards.
The Racing Z490GTN came in at $200 at launch, though you can easily find one for much less. The price is a little high even though it rocks the Z490 chipset. It’s possible to find a Mini-ITX for a little less if you are on a strict budget and don’t mind slightly downgrading to the Intel B460 chipset.

BIOSTAR Racing Z490GTN

September 11, 2020June 5, 2020 by Stephen

With the new Z490 chipset, Biostar has gone for a more mid-range design in the Z490GTN. This $200 model is in the price bracket often seen as hyper-competitive. At that price, it’s perhaps too-high for a basic system (wait for the B-series chipset version), which means that Biostar has to make an effort to provide enough mid-range features to make the motherboard worthwhile.