Giada i35G Mini PC Review

Final Thoughts
I really am a big fan of small systems like this.  The i35G is the perfect system for a family PC or a companion system that you might have in the kitchen on garage.  Because of the small size of the i35G it can be placed pretty much anywhere.  So outfitting your office with a handful of these would not be an issue at all.  Unlike other nettops and all-in-ones you will need to purchase your display, keyboard and mouse separately.

When it comes to performance you get what you expect from an Intel Atom processor.  You are not going to be able to do things like video encoding or hardcore gaming, but this system will be able to handle pretty much any of the daily activities most people will be doing.  Let’s say watching HD movies, using the web, checking e-mail, playing flash or web-based games the i35G can handle it all.  That is why I say this system is perfect for a family or even a child’s computer.  While this system performed under some of the other Mini PC’s that we have reviewed the NVIDIA GeForce GT610 makes up for some of it.  It will allow you to play some older games and you shouldn’t have any issues playing online games like the ones on Facebook.

Talking about media the i35G is made to be a media machine.  You can easily connect this system to your TV using the HDMI cable, which will provide you a resolution of 1920 x 1080.  I played quite a few different HD videos on the i35G and it handled them without any issues.  I really like that Giada included a media center remote, that makes navigating Windows Media Center or any media center program you wish to use much easier.

The included 320GB hard drive is not a whole lot of space to store media, but keep in mind you do have a total of 5 USB 2.0 drives and a SD card reader so you can easily connect external storage media.  Also you have both WiFi and Bluetooth.  Having WiFi means you do not need to run a long Ethernet cable to the i35G, which means you can place it pretty much anywhere.  With Bluetooth you can easily connect Bluetooth devices, most importantly a keyboard and mouse.  This means you do not have the take up the USB ports for those devices.

I only had a few issues with this system.  The first being the sound issue.  If I was listening to music and I decided to install something or had a lot of programs running the sound would skip, it happened quite frequently.  Also the included fan on the system would get loud from time to time, much louder than fans on other mini PC’s that we have reviewed.

The system we reviewed is selling for around $300 online, which is a pretty good price considering the size and performance.  Also keep in mind the system does come with an HDMI cable and media center remote, things that you don’t normally find included with systems like this.  Overall ThinkComputers gives the Giada i35G Mini PC an 8 out of 10 score.

rating8 10 small

Pros:
– Can handle most daily tasks
– NVIDIA GeForce GT610
– Small compact design
– 5x USB ports, WiFi & Bluetooth
– Media center remote included

Cons:
– Sound would skip if a lot was going on
– Fan would get loud from time to time

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