It looks like computer systems packed away in a small form factor are increasingly popular these days as the technical advances allows them to deliver quite a computational punch even in their miniaturized state. Apart from their small size and equally small energy footprint, this new generation of computers is usually coming with a rugged casing and is more resilient to harsh operating envirnonments than their laptop or desktop counterparts.

Following the global industry trend of paying more attention to the small and rugged computer systems, Ampro announced the launch of a new fanless computer which is now available in two variants according to the integrated EPIC mainboard. This new fanless computer is powered by an Intel Pentium central processing system that runs at a low frequency of only 1.4GHz and according to the site linuxdevices, it is called ReadySystem Fanless and it is specially aimed at operating in "harsh environments that are dusty and dirty, or require ... noise free operation."

The Ampro ReadySystem Fanless is packed in a compact and rugged computer case and it can be based on two distinct SBC boards, allowing users to choose from the ReadyBoard 800 or the ReadyBoard 820. Inside the rugged mini case there is enough room for a notebook sized 2.5 inch Serial ATA hard disk drive which is supported on by the ReadyBoard 820 SBC. Among other connectivity options there are two high speed USB ports, two serial ports, a DB-15 VGA output and two Ethernet interfaces. The system also houses up to two PCI-104 or PC/104-Plus cards.

Apart from the ultra low voltage central processing unit Pentium M, the miniaturized computer system is based on the Intel 82855 chipset and it can support up to 1GB of DDR SODIMM random access memory and extensive expansion slots like AGP, CompactFlash and so on. Using the ReadyBoard 820, users will have access to one of the smallest PCI Express compatible boards in the world and it is compatible with a wide range of processors ranging from 1Ghz ULV Celeron M 373 to a 1.8GHz Pentium M 745.

The 820 mainboard model also comes with the Intel 915GM chipset and it offers support for up to 1 GB DDR2 400 SODIMM RAM while its integrated video solution is able to connect with both CRT and LVDS monitors. The manufacturing company ships the ReadySystem Fanless together with a full Linux distribution as well with drivers and other tools for the Windows XP, Windows XP Embedded and Windows CE operating systems.