GigaByte
Very much known for their motherboards & of late, ATX barebones systems - they have burst onto the SFF scene with their IA series of SFF machines. This is a 3 machine range of compact, feature filled systems. The TA1, TA2 & TA4 systems are based on the VIA EPIA, VIA EPIA-M & Intel845/P4 architecture hardware respectively. (They also have 2 products in the SA range, which look to be just like the TA4 systems, but in bigger cases). Styling wise, they have a rather angular look, somewhat like a Playstation 2.
I managed to get a look inside the TA2 & found the following:
- Open frame fanless PSU - will have low noise levels
- Funnel cooled CPU blows air over the CPU & then vents it out through the rear of the case.
- A quarter height PCI slot - all but useless in my opinion
- Two DIMM slots
- Slimline CD/DVD drive bay
- DVI only monitor output - not an issue with a VGA converter
- Floppy drive slot
The TA1 offers the same features, but with less performance & I suspect that it looks very similar to the TA2 inside. The TA4 is an Intel 845/Pentium4 CPU combination, which comes in a slightly bigger case. It offers similar functionality to the smaller TA units, but much with increased power.
I would suspect that these machines will not really compete with SFF cubes, as they have more of a 'corporate' feel to them. Thus, they are more likely to be competing with the likes of Dells Optiplex SX620....
