Gigabyte Z270N-Gaming 5
Mini size with maximum performance.
There was once a time when opting for a small motherboard — specifically mini-ITX — meant making significant compromises. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case and the mini motherboard masters have continued to add features to such a degree that they’ve made fully-fledged ATX boards irrelevant in the eyes of many. The Z270N-Gaming 5 is great example of that push — this is a mini-ITX motherboard built for speed but that still ticks as many boxes as possible for its diminutive form.
The Z270N-Gaming brings a slew of component-level features to the table. Starting with the somewhat standard Intel I219-V LAN NIC found on many Intel Z270 ‘ boards and Realtek ALC1220 high-definition audio codec, the board also features an integrated Intel dual-band Wireless-AC 8265 NIC via an M.2 slot to provide the motherboard with 2T2R 802.11ac Wi-Fi networking mounted to the rear IO. This addition means gaming via a wired Ethernet cable or AC wireless solution is open for selection.
Sporting the nearly ubiquitous mini-ITX setup of four SATA 6Gbps ports for mass storage and two DIMM slots (with support for a maximum of 32GB of RAM in a 2 x 16GB configuration), the Z270N-Gaming 5 has enough in both areas that many enthusiasts will be catered for — those wanting more will have to move to a larger form factor. Add to the mix a rear-mounted M.2 slot with support for 2260 and 2280 form factor M.2 NVMe SSDs, plus headers to support USB 2.0 and 3.0 outputs for front panel connections and plenty of onboard IO potential.
Moving to the rear IO, there’s again a good array of options that’ll cater to the needs of the average user. With four USB 3.0 ports, plus two USB 3.1 pots (Type-A and C), owners will perhaps need to be mindful of their USB port allocation and usage — an external powered USB hub may be needed for those with more than six USB devices. The audio IO is served by the typical three 3.5mm jacks. While technically the platform can support 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound output, this is requires the use of a combination of rear IO and front panel connectivity — hardly convenient. If surround sound is your focus, perhaps consider another ‘ board with a six-stack audio IO solution for easier setup and tidier cabling.
When it comes to looks, the Z270N-Gaming 5’s orange theme is going to be a love or hate aspect. Though some may say it ties into the Aorus motif (though this isn’t an Aorus-branded product), the heritage of this little ‘ board is actually in-line with the Super Overclock (SOC) series and, indeed, Gigabyte informed us that the Z270N was set to join the SOC family during the product’s development and it was only towards launch that it was given the ‘Gaming 5’ designation. Many SOC fans have since learned (as have we), however, that this little fighter still offers performance in spades. Though we had issues with getting our DDR4-3200 spec RAM to run at the DDR43000 standard we typically use for Z270 testing, even using the slightly lower DDR4-2933 setting for returned speedy results, the Z270N-Gaming 5 had no troubles running the DDR4-3200 XMP profile on our RAM kit.
All considered, then, this is a little ‘ board that really delivers.