Hardware requirements

DisplaySync runs on cheap, common, durable hardware. The signing app is an Electron desktop app — it asks for almost nothing the platform doesn't already give it. The constraints are about reliability under stress (long uptime, hot venues, flaky power) more than raw performance.

This page covers what to buy, what to avoid, and which BIOS settings matter. The opinion: pick the lowest-spec hardware that produces a sign you can leave plugged in for a year and forget about.

Windows mini PC (recommended platform)

A Windows-based mini PC is the fastest path to a production-ready fleet today. The desktop sign on Windows is the primary supported platform with the deepest integration (kiosk lock-down, Tailscale, USB recovery).

Why these matter:

• CPU: Most signage content is webpages — the renderer's bottleneck is the browser engine, not raw CPU. Even an N100 handles 1080p webpages fine. Step up only if you'll display real-time-rendered media (canvas animations, WebGL).
• RAM: 4 GB is enough for the kiosk + Chromium under typical load. 8 GB removes any risk of swapping if a content URL is pathologically heavy, and gives you headroom for cached video.
• Storage: The OS + DisplaySync take ~20 GB. The rest is offline content cache. 32 GB is workable, 64 GB is generous and cheaper than a panicked upgrade later.
• Edition: Home and SE don't support the Group Policy lock-down we rely on. Pro is the floor. IoT Enterprise LTSC unlocks Shell Launcher and Unified Write Filter, plus a 10-year support window without forced feature updates — the gold standard for unattended fleets.

SKUs to evaluate

The mini PC market changes fast. Categories that match the spec, with example product lines that fit them — none of these are vendor endorsements, just starting points worth shortlisting:

• Budget fanless N100 / N200 mini PCs (e.g., Beelink, GMKtec, ASUS PN series) — small, cheap, often VESA-mountable
• Intel NUC / NUC-class i3 / i5 (Intel, ASUS, etc.) — when you need 4K @ 60 Hz or heavier media
• Enterprise tiny/micro PCs (Dell OptiPlex Micro, HP EliteDesk Mini, Lenovo ThinkCentre Tiny) — slightly pricier, longer warranty paths, often the right answer for fleet purchasing

Validate any SKU on your specific workload before bulk-purchasing. A small variation in driver support or thermal envelope can matter more than the spec sheet suggests.

Display

Two-thirds of "the sign isn't working" calls turn out to be display problems, not kiosk problems. Spec the display deliberately.

For orientation strategy, fleet-level cable management, and the pitfalls that only show up after deployment, see Display selection. This page is the spec-sheet view; that one is the operating-experience view.

What to avoid

• Touchscreens — fine if your content is interactive, but a bare touchscreen on a wall invites trouble (kids, drunk attendees, bored conference visitors). Disable touch via the OS unless your content needs it.
• Smart TVs as monitors — they boot slowly, sometimes show their own splash screens, and reset HDMI inputs after power cycles. Use a "monitor" or "commercial display," not a TV.
• 3D / curved displays — pointless for signage, expensive to replace.

BIOS configuration

Three settings make the difference between a sign that recovers from venue power blips and one that needs an attendant. Set them on the build machine before base Windows setup:

Linux and Raspberry Pi

DisplaySync also runs on Linux. Specs are lower because there's no Windows licensing or kiosk-config overhead:

Raspberry Pi 4/5 work for testing, low-stakes signage, and one-off displays. For production live events, Windows mini PCs are still the recommendation — the support story (RDP, vendor warranties, kiosk lock-down maturity) is significantly better.

See Linux & Raspberry Pi for the experimental platform notes.

Power

Plan for venue power being unreliable.

• UPS for critical signs — registration desks, keynote room walls. A small consumer UPS ($50–80) keeps a sign up through the 5–60 second blackouts that plague conference centers.
• Surge protection minimum for non-critical signs.
• AC Power Recovery: On in BIOS (above) is a complement to a UPS, not a substitute — the UPS rides through brief outages, the BIOS setting handles longer ones.
• Combined draw for a typical thin client + 55" display is 70–120 W. Plan venue power runs accordingly.

Mounting

• VESA mount the kiosk to the back of the display. Don't run a separate cable to a hidden box on the floor — every cable is a failure mode and a tripping hazard.
• Active cooling matters in hot rooms (ballrooms with packed audiences hit 30°C+). Fanless mini PCs are quieter but throttle faster. Check the device's thermal spec against your venue range.
• Cable management: fan out short power + HDMI runs from the back of the display, hide them in the column or floor plate. Slack cables behind a sign are a maintenance nightmare.

Network hardware

Covered in detail on Network requirements. The short version:

• Wired Ethernet wins. Always. Run a cable.
• Wi-Fi works for situations where you can't run a cable (rented venues, last-minute additions). Pre-stage SSIDs on the image.
• A managed switch isn't required. A consumer gigabit switch is fine.

Sizing your fleet

Order-of-magnitude only — pricing varies widely by region, panel size, and the bulk-purchasing relationships you already have. A rough per-sign all-in budget for a conference deployment is in the low four figures when you include thin client, commercial display, mount, cables, and (where appropriate) a small UPS. Verify with current vendor quotes before committing.

The cost of not doing this well — a sign showing the wrong content, or no content, during a sponsor-paid keynote — usually dwarfs any hardware savings.

What's next

Once you've spec'd hardware, continue to Network requirements for the outbound allowlist and bandwidth expectations. After that, the Windows image build is where you turn one of these mini PCs into something deployable.