The black, steel Serener GS-L08 is cooled with a heat pipe connected to machined aluminum heat sink and chassis fins, says distributor Logic Supply. Its front controls include four USB 2.0 ports, an S/PDIF digital audio out port, speaker and mic jacks, and a power button. The back panel is equipped with Ethernet, VGA, and RS-232 ports.


The GS-L08, front and back
The GS-L08 is designed to fit boards in the 3.8 x 2.8-inch pico-ITX format originated by Via. Pico-ITX boards are half the size of nano-ITX boards, which in turn are half the size of mini-ITX.


Via's incredible shrinking motherboard
(Click to enlarge)
Currently, there's only one pico-ITX form-factor motherboard: Via's PX10000G. Fortunately, the GS-L08 works with this board, according to Logic Supply.


Via's PX10000G pico-ITX motherboard
(Click any view to enlarge)
Based on a 1GHz Via C7 processor, the PX10000G supports up to 1GB of DDR2 533 SDRAM via an SO-DIMM socket. It's also equipped with Via's VX700 "system media processor," featuring UniChrome Pro II IGP 3D/2D graphics, MPEG-2/-4 acceleration, and WMV9 hardware decoding.

According to Logic Supply, the GS-L08/PX10000G combination is "excellent for embedded applications and remote deployments." With digital audio out, the silent system is also a natural for hobbyist applications. Whereas nano-ITX products remain expensive, mainly targeting industrial users, pico-ITX may like mini-ITX prove to be a popular form factor with tinkerers.

Logic Supply lists the following key specs for the Serener GS-L08 chassis:

• Dimensions -- 5.77 x 1.97 x 4.29 inches (146.5 mm x 50.0 mm x 109.0 mm)
  
• Hard Drive Bay -- 2.5-inch HDD
  
• Front panel ports -- 4 x USB 2.0; 1 x S/PDIF port; speaker jack; mic jack; power button
  
• Back panel ports -- 1 x RS-232 COM; 1 x LAN; 1 x VGA port
  
• Operating temperature -- 0 to 40 degrees C
  
• Power supply -- built-in 120W pico DC converter; external 60W AC adapter (brick)
  
• Other -- IDE cable; power supply and cord

Availability

U.S. distributor Logic Supply plans to ship the Serener GS-L08 in mid-December, priced at $140. The PX10000G currently sell for about $230. The Serener GS-L08 chassis is also sold in volume by Championsail.

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