BIOSTAR Gaming Z170X ATX Motherboard Review
BIOSTAR Gaming Z170X Review
Depending on the specific features, there are multiple chipsets that support the Intel Socket 1151 processors, the Z170, H170 and B150. Biostar has motherboards that support all three of these chipsets, with the Z170 chipset being the main enthusiast grade chipset. For the Z170 chipset, Biostar has four motherboards that offer a range of features. Their flagship model is the BIOSTAR Gaming Z170X Ver 5x.
In addition to using Intel’s latest Skylake processor, the BIOSTAR Gaming Z170X supports 3-way AMD CrossFire (no support for NVIDIA SLI unfortunately), 2 SATA/PCIe 32Gb/s M.2, 6 SATA 6Gb (3 SATA Express), USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 Type-C. The BIOSTAR Gaming Z170X is available through BIOSTAR’s eBay store for $199.99 plus shipping. While some might prefer to purchase through a major retailer, there are some advantages through purchasing directly from the manufacturer, removing the middle-man, and making warranty easier, which is provided by BIOSTAR for 2 years.
Having button on the motherboard to control power, reset, and various overclocking features isn’t new. It’s been done many times in many different ways. BIOSTAR has moved away from the traditional buttons, and integrated a touch panel with various buttons. These buttons include Power, Reset, BLCK – / +, and CPU Ratio – / +. There are also a few physical buttons used for enabling XMP and doing a BIOS clear.
BIOSTAR Gaming Z170X Features and Specifications
- BIOSTAR Hi-Fi 3D Technology
- USB 3.1 Type-C
- HDMI 2.0 true 4K
- DisplayPort
- TouchOC
| BIOSTAR Gaming Z170X | |
| Chipset | Intel Z170 |
| Gaming Commander | External GAMING Commander Box / Audio Control Software Utility |
| CPU Support | Intel Core i7 LGA 1151 Processor Intel Core i5 LGA 1151 Processor Intel Core i3 LGA 1151 Processor Intel Pentium LGA 1151 Processor Maximum CPU TDP (Thermal Design Power) : 95Watt |
| Memory | Support Dual Channel DDR4 3200(OC)/ 2133/ 1866 MHz 4 x DDR4 DIMM Memory Slot Max. Supports up to 64GB Memory |
| Expansion Slot | 3 x PCI-E x16 3.0 Slot (x16 or x8, x8 or x8, x4, x4) 3 x PCI-E x1 3.0 Slot 1 x PCI-E M.2 Key A Slot(support Wi-Fi or WiGig) |
| Storage | 3 x SATA Express 16Gb/s Connector Support SATA RAID: 0,1,5,10 Support PCI-E Storage RAID: 0,1,5 2 x M.2 Key M 32Gb/s Connector |
| USB | 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C Port 6 x USB 3.0 Port 1 x USB 3.0 Header 2 x USB 2.0 Header |
| LAN | Intel I219V – Gigabit Ethernet PHY Killer E2201 – 10/100/1000 Controller |
| Multi Graphics | AMD 3way CrossFireX |
| Integrated Video | By CPU model Supports DX12 Supports HDCP |
| CODEC | Realtek ALC898 8 Channel Blu-ray Audio Support Blu-ray Audio Support HD Audio Support Biostar Hi-Fi 3D |
| Rear I/O | 1 x PS/2 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C Port 6 x USB 3.0 Port 2 x HDMI Connector, resolution up to 4096 x 2160 @60Hz, compliant with HDMI 2.0 1 x DisplayPort Connector, resolution up to 4096 x 2304 @60Hz 1 x DVI-D Connector, resolution up to 1920 x 1200 @60Hz 2 x RJ-45 Port 5 x Audio Connector 1 x S/PDIF Out Port |
| Internal I/O | 1 x USB 3.0 Header 2 x USB 2.0 Header 3 x SATA Express 16Gb/s Connector 2 x M.2 Key M 32Gb/s Connector 1 x Front Audio Header 1 x Front Panel Header 1 x S/PDIF-Out Header 2 x CPU Fan Header 3 x System Fan Header 1 x GAMING_Panel Header 1 x LN2 Switch |
| H/W Monitoring | CPU / System Temperature Monitoring CPU / System Fan Monitoring Smart / Manual CPU / System Fan Control System Voltage Monitoring |
| Overvoltage | CPU Vcore/ Vring/ VSA/ VCC_IO/ VGT/ VCC_PLL_OC/ DDR/ DDR DIMMA CA Verf/ DDR DIMMB CA Verf/ DDR VPP/ PCH 1.0V |
| Dimension | ATX Form Factor 30.5cm x 24.4cm (WxL) |
| Warranty | 2 Years |
After a brief look at the BIOSTAR Gaming Z170X retail package, we’ll take a closer look at the motherboard and get to installing it.