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Giada intros new fanless digital signage mini-PC

With a fanless design, Giada said, the F301 is aimed at fulfilling the growing industrial and business demand for robust and reliable mini-PCs with noise-free operation and high performance.

September 16, 2015

Embedded computing and server company Giada today announced it has released a new fanless digital signage mini-PC, the F301.

With a fanless design, Giada said, the F301 is aimed at fulfilling the growing industrial and business demand for robust and reliable mini-PCs with noise-free operation and high performance. The F301 is Giada's industry-tailored mini-PC designed for the signage market as well as governmental organizations, public institutions and transportation departments. The F301 brings UHD digital video via DP+HDMI powered by an Intel Core i5-5200U CPU and high-speed USB 3.0 data transfers all in an unattended technology package designed to be silent and highly reliable, the company said.

According to Giada, what allows the small size and near silent operation, while still bringing the power, is Intel's fifth-generation Core i5-4200U "Broadwell" processor offering a new performance level with a 10 percent CPU improvement and graphics performance of up to plus 30 percent with Intel's integrated HD Graphics 5500, and two DisplayPort 1.2 ports with audio support. The fanless heat sink and sleek, 35-mm-thick aluminum case are designed to keep things cool, quiet and out of the way, the company said.

Network connectivity is provided via a Gigabit Ethernet port, and end-users can even add a half-length Mini PCIE Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n card for wireless connectivity. The system has four Super Speed USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports. There are also two Serial ports to connect legacy devices. With 2 DP ports, it supports up to four ultra-HD mosaic screens with a max resolution of 3200x2000. Meanwhile, it sets aside three cables to make 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth available.

The Giada F301 also caters to business or governmental users with its integrated Trusted Platform Module technology, which provides hardware security for user's data, the company said. The system also is equipped with a Phoenix EFI BIOS with support for an ACPI interface. The systems are fully compatible with the majority of popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Linux, the company said.

Giada also has applied newly designed JAHC technology in the F301: JAHC - JEHE Active Hardware Control Technology, which provides built-in capabilities for unmanned operations such as auto power on when connected to power, or a scheduled power on /off, and an IR Remote Control that can be used before the OS boots up. These features are designed for unattended harsh environments and usage such as factories, outdoor info devices, hotels, and educational and financial institutions, and can be set up and controlled with the JAHC software that is included.

This simple DIY barebones system allows 8 GB of 1600MHz DDR3L RAM via a single memory slot, an expansion card, and a hard drive capacity of the end-user's choice. Expansion is supported via three Mini PCIE slots (full-length for mSATA SSD, full-length for PCIE/USB /3G, half-length for PCIe).

The MSRP for the F301 barebones system with Intel Core i5-5200U is $424, according to the announcement.