Gigabyte has announced a very-almost single-board computer (SBC) powered by Intel's Celeron N3350 dual-core processor and measuring just 146mm by 102mm.
The Gigabyte GA-SBCAP3350 Rev 1.0, first spotted by silent-computing specialist FanlessTech, isn't quite the single-board computer (SBC) Gigabyte's nomenclature would suggests. While it's true that the processor, Intel's Celeron N3350, is permanently soldered onto the board, the design lacks integrated memory and storage. The former is added by the user in the form of a single DDR3L SO-DIMM board, while the latter is added through two onboard SATA 6Gbps connectors or a mini-PCI Express (mini-PCIe) slot supporting mSATA storage devices. A second mini-PCIe slot provides connectivity for a half-length add-in card, with Wi-Fi its primary target.
The dual-core, dual-thread (2c/2t) Celeron chip at the heart of the design runs at 1.1GHz base and 2.4GHz burst frequencies - though Gigabyte's initial specifications page for the product incorrectly lists it as a quad-core 1.6GHz part - while the single memory slot supports up to 8GB of DDR3L running at up to 1,866MHz. The Celeron's Intel HD Graphics 500 integrated graphics processor (IGP) runs at 200MHz base and 650MHz burst clocks and links to onboard D-Sub and HDMI video outputs supporting resolutions of 1,920x1,200 at 60Hz and 3,840x2,160 at 30Hz respectively.
That Gigabyte is positioning the board for industrial and digital signage uses becomes clear with a rundown of the remaining specifications: Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports are found at the rear alongside two gigabit Ethernet ports, while an additional four USB 2.0 ports are available on internal USB headers, and the board also includes four RS-232 serial ports, an amplified speaker output linked to the integrated sound chip, Low-Voltage Differential Signalling (LVDS) and embedded Display Port (eDP) display headers, eight-pin GPIO connectivity with I²C and SMBUS support, and even support for old-fashioned parallel port devices.
The design, though, hints at the potential for future compact computing designs to come from the company with, perhaps, wider appeal. A large metal heatspreader is attached to the base of the board, allowing for fanless use, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the company repurposing this design in upcoming board releases. For now, Gigabyte is silent on pricing and availability - though given its apparent industrial focus, expect the board to be priced highly for its performance.
More details are available on the official product page.
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