Jetway JNC98-525E-LF HTPC ION2 Mainboard
#1
Has anyone used the following:

Jetway JNC98-525E-LF
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813153183

I've been thinking about building a new HTPC with the AT5IONT-I Deluxe, but since its availability is unknown, this might be a good alternative.

The key items for me are:
D525/ION2
built-in DC power
mini PCI-e
fanless

I'm curious if anyone has used this board and what their experiences were with it.

Thanks!
Joe
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#2
In case anyone is considering this board... I picked one up about a month ago and have been using it since as a MythTV frontend. Here's a bit of info:

* I've been able to play any media I throw at it (HD-PVR content, HDHomeRun 1080i/720p, etc.). Myth stutters a bit when using the advanced 2x deinterlacer, but works fine with lower-end ones.

* I had an issue with the screen brightness fluctuating when connected via HDMI. Switching to DVI fixed this issue. It's possible this issue is specific to my TV...

* I'm using a m350 case. I started with a single SilenX IXP-11-14 40mm fan, which kept the temp at about 50C. This fan died after a month and I've tried running without any fan. Unfortunately, certain content (e.g. 1080i content) pushes the temp over the threshold causing the box to power off. I guess a fan is needed...

* I'm also using the following with this board: OCZSSD2-1VTX30GXXX (30G SSD), G.SKILL F2-6400CL5S-2GBPQ (single 2GB module), KINAMAX AD-LCD12 Power Supply.

Overall, the board does what I wanted. It's reasonably quiet, fast enough, VESA mounts, has S/PDIF, serial, GigE, DVI and the other ports I wanted.
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#3
Hi Joe

I'm very interested in getting two of these mobo's to use as tv clients. The one thing that seems to be missing from the information I can find is an s/pdif output but you say above that it exists. Is it a header on the motherboard that you need to connect an adaptor to? As long as I can get s/pdif then I think it fits all my requirements.

Also I want to connect a sata HDD and DVD drive. I see you're using a SSD which may be lower power. I have a slight concern about how much the power supply will cope with. Do you know anything about the rated dc-dc power supply output and the minimum current requirment for the AC adaptor?

Thanks very much
john
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#4
The board has a hybrid stereo + s/pdif jack. I picked up the following cable and have been using it with my stereo without any issues:

StarTech THINTOSMIN6 6 feet Toslink to Mini Digital Optical
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6882203092

The only audio-related challenge I ran into was getting sound via HDMI. The device simply wasn't detected until I updated ALSA to 1.0.23. Of course, this is a non-issue if you only want s/pdif output.

I'm not much help on the power question. I don't have a DVD drive connected to the box. I may add an external USB Bluray drive down the road, but right now I'm just playing network-based content. The Jetway site does provide this information:

"External Power Supply – the board can be powered with a 12 V external power supply though a DC connector on the back panel. The rear 12 VDC jack accepts plugs with an inner diameter (ID) of 2.5 mm and an outer diameter (OD) of 5.5 mm, where the inner contact is 12 V and the shell is GND. Based on power consumption test results, the recommended power rating is 60 W (12 V/5 A)."

Joe
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#5
Thanks Joe!

They seem to have everything I need and my only concern now is the processor speed. Won't know that one until I give it a go. My plan is to use it as a MediaPortal client, and my hope is to boot off the Lan and run these without a HDD.

cheers
john
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#6
i just picked one too, and am running mythbuntu 10.10 on it. It runs very hot without fans, especially the nm10 and gt218 chipsets. I am not sure that it should run fanless. I'd be interested in other owners p.o.v.s. I am still playing with the hdmi audio and have got sound on hwplug:1,7 only using alsa 1.0.23. Ubuntua forums show at elast one other user getting sound on 1,9 no idea why I am seeing something different unless it is because my TV is stereo. I saw on eld data showing info on the monitor either.
ota mpeg2 in 1080i runs fine on vdpau high quality for me - which I believe is the x2 advanced deinterlacer.

I'm using two 1GB ddr2 800 Mhz chips I had lying around.

James
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Jetway JNC98-525E-LF HTPC ION2 Mainboard0