JETWAY JNC63-330 LF AND OTHER HTPC UPGRADES

A couple months ago, we published an article on building a massive 40TB server based on a Jetway Atom motherboard.  Well, one of the suggested improvements was to utilize the same Atom CPU paired with nVidia's ION chipset.  Not only would that improve video playback performance, but the ION has reportedly lower power consumption than the stock Intel chipset!  Awesome!

• NVIDIA MCP7A-ION Chipset
• Support Intel Atom N230(Single core) / N330(Dual core) Processors
• Solid Polymer, long life capacitors
• Support 4 Serial ATA2 3Gb/s Connectors
• Support RAID 0, 1, 5, 0+1, JBOD
• Support 1080i, 1080p and HDCP
• Support Microsoft DirectX 10
• Support DVI-D and HDMI ports
• Support one Gigabit LAN
• Integrated 6CH HD Audio CODEC with SPDIF out
• Support 8bit Watch Dog Technology
• Support WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (optional)
• 2560 * 1600 Max. Resolution
• Standard ATX Power Connector
• Mini ITX Form Factor (17cm x 17cm)

   

  
  Overview

  CPU	Support Intel Atom N230(Single core) / N330(Dual core) Processors Clock: 1.6GHz Front Side Bus: 533MHz
  Chipset	NVIDIA MCP7A-ION single chipset
  Memory	2*240-pin DIMM Sockets for un-buffered Dual Channel DDR2 800/667 up to 4 GB
  Storage	4 * Serial ATA2 3Gb/s connectors Supports HDDs with RAID 0, 1, 5, 0+1, JBOD functions
  Audio	Realtek 6-Channel HD Audio CODEC w/ SPIF out
  Ethernet LAN	1 * Realtek RTL8111DL PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet LAN
  USB	Embedded 10 * USB 2.0
  Special Features	Advanced Power Design that supports the latest Atom N/230(Single core) / N330(Dual core) Processors Support 8bit Watch Dog Technology Support CPU Smart Fan & DC Fan & ACPI S3
  Rear Panel I / O	6 * USB 2.0 ports 1 * PS/2 Mouse & Keyboard Combined connector 1 * RJ-45 ports 1 * Audio I / O connector W/SPDIF out 1 * VGA port, 1 * DVI-D port, 1 * HDMI port
  Internal I / O	2 * USB 2.0 headers for 4 USB 2.0 ports CPU / Chassis Fan connectors CD / AUX Audio in & 1 * Serial Port header 1 * 8bit GPIO header 1 * Mini PCI-E Socket 1 * 24-pin Standard ATX Power connector
  BIOS	AMI 8MB Flash ROM
  Form Factor	Mini ITX Form Factor(17cmx17cm)

  
  In addition to the HD video decoding capabilities of the ION chipset, the dual-core N330 Atom can be used instead of the N230.  In some HTPC and home server configurations, a dual-core CPU can be more useful especially when playing back a movie while recording a TV show or serving files to other clients on the network.  This board loses its expansion slot in favor of a Mini-PCIe connector, obviously for a WiFi card.  However, clever modders can use a Mini-PCIe-to-PCIe slot adapter in order to use PCIe cards such as expandable SATA-2 cards, or 1394 HBAs.  One cool feature is the use of standard desktop-style DIMMs.  Typical Mini ITX boards require more expensive SO-DIMMs.  Gigabit-LAN, dual-link DVI-D, HDMI, and on-board RAID round out this awesome powerhouse package.

  Finally, here are the performance test results in Windows 7 x86 with 4GB RAM and an Intel X25-E SSD:

  Cinebench 10, 1 CPU	527
  Cinebench 10, 4 CPUs (HT)	1543
  SuperPI Mod 1.5 to 1M	35.207s
  Prime95, last #	23.979ms
  WinRAR benchmark	381 kB/s

  As for HD video decoding, here's how the system fared when playing back the Bourne Ultimatum 1080p trailer on a Dell 3008WFP monitor through the DVI-D port:

  

  Desktop resolution was 2560 x 1600.  As you can see, CPU utilization is very low throughout the entire playback, peaking only at fast motion sequences.  Bravo, ION, bravo Jetway!