SFF Giada PCs combine Haswell CPUs and GeForce graphics

by Mark Tyson on 23 June 2014, 10:11

Tags: Giada

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Small form factor specialist Giada has introduced two new Mini-PCs intended for gaming, reports Notebook Italia. Both of these PCs look to share the same 230mm x 54.5mm x 173.5mm chassis (about the size of the Argos catalogue). The Giada D2308V is powered by an Intel i5-4200U Processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX650 GPU and the D2308U is powered by an Intel Core i7-4500U and Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 GPU.

Similar in volume to a ZOTAC Zbox (which are squarer at 188mm x 188mm x 51mm) these Giada mini-PCs aren't the tiniest examples of SFF PCs around. However it's possible that Giada's gaming PCs present a nicely balanced low power gaming setup which will appeal to many.

The key specs for both PCs are below:

Giada D2308V

Giada D2308U
  • 4th Gen Intel Core™ i5-4200U Processor, 2C/4T 1.6GHz, Turbo Boost to 2.6GHz,TDP 15W
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX650 (Kepler architecture) 1GB
  • 1x 4GB (SO-DIMM DDR3L-1600)
  • Dual HDMI and DVI-I for three displays
  • 500GB HDD
  • USB3.0 / TPM
  • 4th Gen Intel Core i7-4500U Processor, 2C/4T, 1.8GHz, Turbo Boost to 3.0GHz, TDP 15W
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX750 (Maxwell architecture) with 2GB GDDR5
  • 2x 4GB (SO-DIMM DDR3L-1600MHz 1.35V)
  • Dual HDMI and DVI-I for three displays
  • 1TB HDD
  • USB3.0 / TPM

 

Both the above mini-PCs also are equipped with a good selection of ports including front and back audio ports, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4, 1x DVI–I, 2x HDMI, 1x USB3.0 (Front), 2x USB3.0 (Rear), 2x USB2.0 (Rear), a 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO), a DC-IN Jack(19V 4.7A). The systems also have smart fan cooling and IR Remote capability.

Looking at some online ads from China, the D2308V appears to cost about £370 and the D2308U about £470. Outside of China, previous models of Giada mini-PCs have been sold on both Newegg and Amazon.

HEXUS Forums :: 8 Comments

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Posted by sirtrouserpress - Mon 23 Jun 2014 14:26
I seem confused by the popularity of SFF PCs, on the one hand, the're ideal in, for example a conference room as they are small, quiet and can be moved about easily if need be. But I cant help but see them as a laptop that's had a lot cut off of it and still charged the same price. It cannot be moved from room to room whilst powered as it has no battery, It cannot be used on the train as it has no screen, you cannot just get it out of a bag and use it as it has no keyboard and mouse or equivalent… The list goes on…
And yet, they look kina stylish and I'm sure I've missed many home uses, but in my books a traditional laptop can do all the same things as this and offer more features, but just be a little larger. Anyway, rant over, I'm sure its still a great product
Posted by shaithis - Mon 23 Jun 2014 14:35
People pay how much for an iMac? Why? “Form over function.”

To some it's important….to some it's a necessity (the HTPC I recently built for my bedroom only had a very small area to fit in)….to some it's just nicer to have a smaller box. :naughty:
Posted by edzieba - Mon 23 Jun 2014 14:53
Sometimes luggability is important even if it's not battery powered. I'm moving my rig from a 550D to an Ncase M1 so I can easily put it and a DK2 into a suitcase for portable demos. Try carrying around a full size ATX tower and you'll see why SFF can be a benefit!
Posted by sirtrouserpress - Mon 23 Jun 2014 15:39
Alas i do lug around a full ATX, keyboard mouse and monitor in my suitcase and occasionally have room for clothes too! But point taken never-the-less
Posted by crossy - Mon 23 Jun 2014 16:43
sirtrouserpress
I seem confused by the popularity of SFF PCs, on the one hand, the're ideal in, for example a conference room as they are small, quiet and can be moved about easily if need be. But I cant help but see them as a laptop that's had a lot cut off of it and still charged the same price. It cannot be moved from room to room whilst powered as it has no battery, It cannot be used on the train as it has no screen, you cannot just get it out of a bag and use it as it has no keyboard and mouse or equivalent… The list goes on…
And yet, they look kina stylish and I'm sure I've missed many home uses, but in my books a traditional laptop can do all the same things as this and offer more features, but just be a little larger. Anyway, rant over, I'm sure its still a great product
Laptops aren't any good as either home servers (although dammit I do actually use one as a server, so maybe I'm being just a wee bitty hypocritical) or HTPC's. On the other hand SFF's are useful for this, (along with uServer NAS type duties).

Stop thinking “laptop replacement”, and start thinking “living room PC” instead. Hook that up to a TV (it's got HDMI) and a nice wireless keyboard/mouse (although Logitech and others now do keyboards with embedded trackpads) and it's living room computing time. The size is such that you can hide this behind the TV, and some of the current SFF's even mount behind the TV on the VESA mountings, thereby keeping things tidy and SWMBO happy.
Looking at some online ads from China, the D2308V appears to cost about £370 and the D2308U about £470. Outside of China, previous models of Giada mini-PCs have been sold on both Newegg and Amazon.
Good prices, I looked at these and thought two words … “Steam” and “Box”. ;)

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