Gigabyte has launched a new motherboard with a built-in quad-core Bay Trail SoC. This fanless foundation for a Mini-ITX system is called the GA-J1900N-D3V and employs an Intel Celeron J1900 (2M Cache, up to 2.42 GHz).
The Celeron J1900 boasts a CPU Mark of around 2000 which is roughly in line with an Intel Core i3 M 370 @ 2.40GHz. Compared to older chips it sits +/- 10 per cent between the Intel Core2 Duo E7500 @ 2.93GHz and Intel Core2 Duo E8400 @ 3.00GHz. However this quad core Celeron Bay Trail processor with a clock speed of 2GHz (Turbo to 2.42GHz) and 2MB cache has a maximum TDP of 10W.
Gigabyte's GA-J1900N-D3V is a Mini-ITX form factor motherboard/CPU combo with the following specifications:
- Built-in Intel Celeron J1900 (2.0 GHz) quad-core processor
- DX11 gaming on Intel HD Graphics 4000, plus a dedicated H.264 encoder
- 2 x 1.5V(1.35V) DDR3/-L SO-DIMM sockets supporting up to 8 GB of system memory
- 2 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
- DVI-D (supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1080), D-SUB (supporting a maximum resolution of 2560x1600) ports on rear panel
- Dual LAN with high ESD Protection
- 4x USB 3.0 ports with GIGABYTE 3x USB power, 2x USB 2.0 ports
- Realtek ALC887 codec, 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel HD Audio, S/PDIF Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In
- Mini PCI-E expansion slot supports wireless networking cards
- PCI expansion slot supports legacy interface cards
- PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports, 2 x serial ports, 2 x RJ-45 ports
- 17cm x 17cm board size
- Support for Windows 8.X 64 bit
- Plus - GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 4 Plus Technology, all Solid Capacitors with Humidity Protection New Glass Fabric PCB design, GIGABYTE UEFI DualBIOS, GIGABYTE On/Off Charge for USB devices
Gigabyte says that its J1900N Mini-ITX motherboard is "Designed for compact, small form factor PC systems and devices, the GIGABYTE J1900N is entirely fanless, making it ideal for always-on, mission critical systems, as well as noise-sensitive digital entertainment systems." However this passively cooled motherboard and CPU combo lacks either a HDMI or DisplayPort which would have made it much more HTPC friendly.
FanlessTech reports that this product is pre-orderable now for around $120/90€/£75. Similar models employing a dual-core Celeron J1800 were launched just over a fortnight ago, by both Gigabyte and Biostar, for about half this price.
