Ibase’s fanless “SI-642-N” runs Ubuntu or Win 10 on an 8th Gen U-series CPU and offers dual 4K displays, 2x GbE, 4x USB 3.1 Gen2, and 3x M.2 slots.

We’re having a bit of a “Groundhog Day” moment here as we’re reading the specs of Ibase’s new SI-642-N signage player. The feature set is very similar to that of the Axiomtek DSP501-527 we covered yesterday. These are the only two 8th Gen Whiskey Lake based signage players we’ve seen in this class. (Aopen has a Whiskey Lake based Smart Kiosk that is more specifically aimed at retail checkout.)

Ibase’s SI-642-N (left) and Axiomtek’s DSP501-527
(click images to enlarge)

Despite using the same CPU, RAM, M.2 slots, and dual display support, the players have a few major differences. The Ibase SI-642-N adds a second GbE port and instead of 4x USB 3.0 and a single USB 2.0 port it provides 4x 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen2 ports. The 193 x 119.3 x 25mm Ibase system is smaller than the similarly fanless, 200 x 160 x 26mm Axiomtek player. On the other hand, the M.2 M-key slot on the Ibase SI-642-N appears to lack support for NVMe and we saw no mention of a SIM card slot or antenna mounts.

The other features are essentially the same. The SI-642-N provides a choice from among 4x dual-or -quad-core Whiskey Lake-UE parts with 15W TDPs running Ubuntu or Windows 10 IoT Enterprise. You can load up to 32GB of DDR4-2400 via dual sockets.

SI-642-N, front and back
(click images to enlarge)

The SI-642-N supports dual simultaneous 4K displays with HDMI 2.0 and Active DP 1.2 ports, both of which provide independent audio. Although we did not see it in the specs, there appears to be a single audio jack instead of two on the Axiomtek model.

In addition to the 4x USB ports, you get an RJ45-style RS-232 port, an M.2 M-key 2280 slot for SSDs, an M.2 B-key for 4G LTE, and an M.2 E-key for WiFi or capture cards. Other features include a watchdog, optional VESA mounting, and TPM 2.0 and Intel vPro security.
The SI-642-N has a 12V DC input and a 60W adapter. There is a 0 to 45°C operating range with 10%~90% (non-condensing) humidity tolerance and 5-Grms vibration resistance.

Ibase supports the system with its iSMART and Observer technologies for remote monitoring, power on/off scheduling, power recovery, and low temperature boot functions. Other Ibase signage systems include its Intel 7th Gen, OPS-style IOPS-602, its Apollo Lake based SE-102-N, and its Ryzen Embedded R1000 powered SI-323-N.

 
Further information

No pricing or availability information was provided for the SI-642-N. More information may be found in Ibase’s announcement and product page.