Jetway HBJC231C98-525-BB Intel Atom D525 (Dual-Core 1.80GHz, 1MB L2) Next-generation NVIDIA ION graphics Black Mini / Booksize Barebone System

Pros: It's small

Cons: I'm using this as a media player running XBMC over linux. It crashes constantly. It's almost impossible to get through an encoded movie at 720p.

Pros: I have had this for over a year now and just loaded it Windows 8 and it is still a great HTPC. I use this along with XBMC to stream movies from a file share. I like XBMC due to all the file formats it supports and the iPhone/Android remote apps. I almost never need to break out the keyboard/mouse.

Cons: I couldn't give it egg's due to some prolems with Netflix. This model Atom/ION GPU don't seem to play nice with Netflix. I think it due no support for hardware acceleration. If you want a HTPC with Netflix you may need to look at a newer Atom/HTPC soultion.

Other Thoughts: Overall very satisfied with this mahine. I set it up with a 40GB SSD and 4GB of RAM. All I need is a blue ray rom yet.

Pros: Small and expanable

Cons: The 60mm fan inside has very bad reviews so I ordered some silenX replacements. Noone mentioned previously that the fans inside are VERY slim. They look to be about 3/8" thick and standard 60 mm fans will not fit inside here. Also, it is impossible to mount a second fan even if you got the correct one without a special bracket. It seems this bracket is impossible to find online. I read about the bracket issue and contacted their support 2 weeks ago requesting to purchase one. They never answered. Also, be careful what kind of memory you buy. Any memory modules with fins on them will not fit (like the ones that Newegg recommends on this page, which is also the wrong speed). I guessed as much on that and bought the correct memory. I haven't booted it up yet, but these are issues I've run into already. Will update further after Christmas since this is a gift and I will need to let my daughter use it a bit to see how it holds up.

Pros: Small and quiet.

Cons: Poor and inaccurate construction.
Inadequate cooling system.
Fans prone to quick failure.
Poor manufacturer support during RMA process.

Other Thoughts: This is the second one of these I have owned and both were terribly constructed, often requiring actual bending of the frame to get the screw holes to align properly. The fans on both of units failed within 30 days. When the fans did work the system would run so hot it would regularly shut itself down. On top of all that, if you don't purchase the systems direct from Jetway they charge 25 USD for handling when doing a RMA. This is 90% of the time more than the cost of the parts, so you may as well just pay out of pocket to fix the systems. Stay well away from these systems.

Pros: I replaced a multi-purpose home server (email, file, xbmc, etc.) with a few smaller uni-purpose boxes. I run Linux, so I usually have issues with niche hardware. I picked this box specifically because it didn't have integrated wifi (got burned on a zbox with no external antenna) and had an Nvidia graphics chipset.

I got Debian Wheezy loaded on it, plugged in an external wifi b/g/n usb adapter and hooked it up to the tv. Picture perfect, fast streaming from a certain competitor's streaming video service, great for Google Hangout video conferences with the grandparents, and it plays all our high-def content via XBMC with no trouble at all.

Cons: Like others have mentioned, it runs a little hot and the external power brick looks a little cheaply made. I keep it out in the room rather than packed onto a media center shelf to avoid overheating.

Pros: *Easy to setup
*Price ($200 @ 3/2011)
*Add RAM, HD, and DVD drive = GO!!
*Plays 1080p easily (will the right codecs)

Cons: *1yr Warranty
*Subpar cooling

Other Thoughts: This little box ran flawlessly for 15 months as a HTPC and died over the weekend (6/16/2011). I added another factory cooling fan to assist in the keeping the unit a little cooler about a week after running it. Of course it died just outside the warranty period (powers on, no fan, no display & load hum), and Jetway says "so sorry . . ." Trying out another manfacturer (The two Foxconn barebones I got have been running for close to two years with no issues.)

Pros: Ran 1080p video flawlessly after configuring the correct codec packs

Cons: Just died from a fried MB when the stock fan stopped.

Other Thoughts: If buying this Barebones, make sure you get another fan setup and install in conjunction with the stock fan.

Pros: Small, low power, super quite, easy to configure hardware

Cons: Will not boot FreeBSD 8.2 - hangs during kernel probing hardware. Always hung at the same spot.
Will not boot FreeBSD 9.0 - got a little further than 8.2, but fails to properly mount root at the last stage in bootup (classic indication of hardware driver not supported). Tried many combos of BIOS settings, legacy, etc... no luck
Will not boot Kubuntu 12.04 - granted, I don't know what version of Linux others on here have had success with, but after a long wait, just sat there at the graphical splash screen - I give up.

Other Thoughts: Topping off the above OS compatibility issues, it started loosing VGA output signal randomly, and then got consistent as the system warmed up. It got so bad that it blanked out immediately - couldn't even see BIOS, do anything productive. Wasn't locking up, just blanking the screen. I had to switch, and drive my monitor on DVI cable (same monitor) and that resolved the symptom - so something is just not right with the VGA port.

Pros: Overall a nice system. Will play full bitrate bluray files across the netowrk without a hiccup once configured right.

Same goes for youtube and netflix (requires the latest silverlight)

Cons: The external power supply died shortly after the warranty was up...which on it's own is not a big deal...replace and move on.

Went to Jetway to try and get a replacement for it, and was told it's out of warranty and they won't sell any parts. Not particularly helpful.

Pros: very good price vs performance. My copy isn't particularly loud (I can't hear it from 2-3 feet away) nor does it get hot.

Cons: minor: the IR window limits the range of the remote - remove or replace it. Note that the front panel is held down with four tabs AND the screws to hold down the power switch.

The only major con isn't Jetway's fault, but Nvidia's. Their drivers (unlike ATI video hardware/software) will force many HDTVs to overscan in 1920 x 1080. Their response is "adjust it in the TV", which doesn't always work.
The fix is to use moninfo to read your monitor's EDID and either modify it or use it as is to create an INF file for Windows 7 to use instead of the "generic PnP" monitor driver.

Other Thoughts: I added a 60GB SSD for the main drive, running Windows 7 Pro, 4GB RAM and a Samsung 8x slimline internal DVD burner. I'm running Plex as the media client software and I used LM Remote KeyMap to remap some of the buttons on the remote.