Introduction

Ten months ago, AMD released the Ryzen 3000 series desktop processors in one of the most monumental hardware launches of the modern era. This final step completed the Red brand's ascent back into the forefront of the desktop processor market that began with the launch of the first generation of Ryzen CPUs. Now, Intel is finally firing back with the launch of the 10th Generation Intel Core processors, along with a new motherboard standard to drive them.

While I mainly focus on enthusiast products for my board reviews, it is important to get a full picture of the hardware landscape. Z490 is exciting, but what about B460? After all, AMD just released their B-series companion to X570 which launched a year ago in the new B550 line-up. Intel approaches their lower-end chipsets a little differently from AMD, however, and B460 is no exception.

Where AMD's recent B550 launch gave us a wide selection of boards with powerful VRM designs, full overclocking support, and premium feature sets, the Intel B460 series is far more locked down. B460 offers no CPU overclocking support, and even memory is locked to either 2666 or 2933 MHz depending on the installed CPU. Does this new B460 series have a place in today's motherboard market?


The BIOSTAR Racing B460GTA features dual M.2 slots, each with their own full coverage heatsink, RGB lighting, a large VRM heatsink, and even an integrated rear I/O cover. It is advertised as being built for commercial and casual use, which fits in nicely with the capabilities of the B460 chipset.

I will be testing the BIOSTAR Racing B460GTA with the same i9-10900K CPU I have been using for my Z490 reviews, so let's dive right in!

Specifications

Packaging and Contents

The BIOSTAR Racing B460GTA packaging has just about everything I like to see in a motherboard box: a nicely printed front that fits the theme of the board and an informative back with several panels detailing prominent features, a shot of the rear I/O, and the specifications list.


The accessories are very basic, with four SATA cables and the manual and support DVD. BIOSTAR does get props for integrating the rear I/O shield into the board. This is both convenient and gives the board a cleaner aesthetic.

The full list of accessories includes:

• Manual and support DVD
• 4x SATA 6 Gb/s cables

Board Layout

If you are familiar with BIOSTAR's RACING designs, the theme of the BIOSTAR Racing B460GTA will not be a surprise. The board features a black and silver PCB with a black chipset heatsink and black rear I/O cover.


The CPU socket is very open and should have great cooler clearance.


There are two M.2 slots on the BIOSTAR Racing B460GTA; one above the first PCIe x16 slot and another below the second PCIe x16 slot. Each slot has its own full coverage heatsink. These heatsinks aren't as heavy duty as most I have seen, but should dissipate the heat of most drives just fine.


The BIOSTAR Racing B460GTA offers two PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots, both steel-reinforced, as well as three PCI Express 3.0 x1 slots. The board has a total of six SATA 6 Gb/s ports on the side, angled 90 degrees from the board.


The BIOSTAR Racing B460GTA has a sparse rear I/O section with no USB type-C and a limited audio section. This is in line with many other B460 boards, but I would like to see the next generation of Intel B-series motherboards do better in this department.

• DVI-D port
• HDMI port
• DisplayPort
• 2x USB 2.0 ports
• PS/2 mouse port
• PS/2 keyboard port
• 4x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A port
• RJ-45 LAN port
• 3x 3.5 mm audio jacks

Networking on the BIOSTAR Racing B460GTA is handled by Intel's I219V controller.

Special Note: Several of the mounting points on the rear I/O cover were cracked on my sample. I do not believe this is a design flaw, but I think it is important to state that you should always inspect new hardware before installing it.