Topton Jasper Lake Quad i225V Mini PC Report

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Stovar

Active Member
Dec 27, 2022
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Anyone from UK order from cwwk.net recently.

Did you get hit by any surprise custom charges and did you have to pay custom?

thanks

****Keeping items under £135 you just have to pay the vat as normal, but should avoid custom duty**********
 
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fl0w

Active Member
Oct 28, 2015
118
47
28
39
Paris
Anyone from UK order from cwwk.net recently.

Did you get hit by any surprise custom charges and did you have to pay tax?

thanks
Random Shopify seller, seems to be shipped from China, sold without any tax to be paid. What did you expect? :)
 

Martin90

New Member
Jul 16, 2023
1
0
1
Just FYI - I currently have a J4125 based device with 4 x i225 NICs & 16GB RAM and it runs Proxmox with OPNSense, docker and PiHole without issue . . . I pass two of the physical NICs from Proxmox to OPNsense via immu (PCI passthrough) - So the N5105 is enough for such tasks - YMMV ;) Still, I broke down and got myself a Ryzen 5800U unit - only because I think for the price performance - this is one hell of a Proxmox/Firewall combi device :cool: The J6413 is a tiny bit more power efficient - but the savings are not substantial to counter the uplift in price . . . Have fun!
Major bump but did you pass through an additional NIC to the PiHole instance?
 

thimplicity

Member
Jan 11, 2022
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What have you guys done to reduce power consumption? At the beginning of this journey I fought the instability issues and after those were resolved I just let it run without power optimizations. What steps have y’all taken to optimize?
 
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rfox

Member
Jun 10, 2022
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Germany
Major bump but did you pass through an additional NIC to the PiHole instance?
Nope - once Proxmox is setup and you have a PiHole instance running - it's just another virtual device on the network - other devices don't care if the IP address is from a bare metal or virtual host . . . :)
 

Stovar

Active Member
Dec 27, 2022
195
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28
What have you guys done to reduce power consumption? At the beginning of this journey I fought the instability issues and after those were resolved I just let it run without power optimizations. What steps have y’all taken to optimize?
Pretty much what I did, tbh as green as I like to be if its going to effect stability its not always worth the hassle or the thought of knowing if this setting or that setting caused the issue.

Also the bigger question is, to save what £10-20 per year?

The n100s don't exactly use up that much power, I just let it run at default bios settings now.
 

thimplicity

Member
Jan 11, 2022
68
12
8
Pretty much what I did, tbh as green as I like to be if its going to effect stability its not always worth the hassle or the thought of knowing if this setting or that setting caused the issue.

Also the bigger question is, to save what £10-20 per year?

The n100s don't exactly use up that much power, I just let it run at default bios settings now.
Thanks! At the beginning when some of us fought that stability battle, the recommendation was to turn c-states off etc. I assume those can be turned back on?
 

Stovar

Active Member
Dec 27, 2022
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Thanks! At the beginning when some of us fought that stability battle, the recommendation was to turn c-states off etc. I assume those can be turned back on?
I just use the bios defaults now adays, so if the defaults switch it back on or off leave it as that imo.
 

thimplicity

Member
Jan 11, 2022
68
12
8
I just use the bios defaults now adays, so if the defaults switch it back on or off leave it as that imo.
I changed the microcode at some point, but do not really remember anymore how I did that. Microcode should be independent from BIOS settings, correct?
 

Stovar

Active Member
Dec 27, 2022
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I changed the microcode at some point, but do not really remember anymore how I did that. Microcode should be independent from BIOS settings, correct?
Not sure regarding microcodes, never used them. I prefer to not mess with bios updates or patches since its easy to brick the system let alone recover from it.
 

oneplane

Well-Known Member
Jul 23, 2021
877
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Microcode is both part of the BIOS as well as loaded by the OS. So your system might get updated microcode each boot regardless of what you do.
 
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lukasig

Member
Oct 31, 2022
34
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For those who are interested in this very long forum thread, here is a TLDR version.

I used the Instant Data Scraper browser extension to grab the text from all posts on all 147 thread pages (at the time of scraping). Find the txt file attached.
I then uploaded the .txt file to an LLM chat like chatGPT, and proceeded in asking for a summary or other specific info. Feel free to do the same.

shout out to everyone who contributed
 

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thimplicity

Member
Jan 11, 2022
68
12
8
For those who are interested in this very long forum thread, here is a TLDR version.

I used the Instant Data Scraper browser extension to grab the text from all posts on all 147 thread pages (at the time of scraping). Find the txt file attached.
I then uploaded the .txt file to an LLM chat like chatGPT, and proceeded in asking for a summery and other specific info. Feel free to do the same.

shout out to everyone who contributed
Cool idea - would you be willing to post your summary here?
 
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lukasig

Member
Oct 31, 2022
34
22
8
Cool idea - would you be willing to post your summary here?
anyone can do that on their own, but here is a summary generated using Llama 3.1 405B:


This forum thread discusses various experiences and issues with small form factor network appliances, primarily those sold by Chinese vendors like Topton and KingNovy on platforms like AliExpress. Key points include:

1. Hardware Specifications:
- Models with Intel Jasper Lake CPUs (N5105, N6005)
- Multiple 2.5GbE network ports (usually 4-6 Intel i225-V NICs)
- Various storage options (NVMe, SATA, mSATA)

2. Common Issues:
- Some units shipped with engineering sample (ES) CPUs
- Thermal problems due to poor heatsink design
- Inconsistent BIOS functionality
- Difficulty getting manufacturer support

3. User Modifications:
- Replacing thermal paste
- Adding small fans for better cooling
- Updating BIOS when possible
- Adjusting power limits and other BIOS settings

4. Motherboard Variations:
- Different revisions from manufacturers like Changwang and Bluetech
- "V3" boards with improved features

5. Alternatives:
- Discussion of other options like Protectli (more expensive but better support)
- Comparisons to older solutions like PCEngines APU boards

6. General Consensus:
- These devices can be good value if you're willing to troubleshoot
- Not recommended for mission-critical or commercial deployments
- Buying through Amazon or eBay may offer better buyer protection

The thread highlights the trade-offs between cost, performance, and reliability when choosing these budget network appliances for home or small business use.
 

vincele6

New Member
Mar 6, 2023
10
4
3
Yeah, no need to hammer that poor LLM with the same question again and again... ;-)

EDIT: answears crossed each other, thanks !
 

HunterAP

New Member
Apr 13, 2022
3
1
3
I got this GF-1338NP-12 N5105 from AliExpress that was reviewed some time ago and looked perfect for my needs to replace my existing router alongside an AP. Put in 2x16GB DDR4 SO-DIMM's and a 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD (which is insanely overkill, I know), but the problem is that I can't get it to power on at all. I've tried a bunch of things, but so far no luck.
  • Cleared CMOS
  • Replaced CMOS battery
  • Only used 1 of 2 RAM sticks in either of the two available slots
  • Tried with and without the SSD
  • Tried different 12V 4A power adapters I have lying around
Not sure what else I can try, but does anyone have any ideas?
This is the listing for it on AliExpress if that's helpful: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804116114245.html
 

BobS

Member
Dec 2, 2022
35
28
18
I've had similar issues in the past. I have a half dozen of thses types of mini's floating around that I've used for firewalls/routers. Main problem for not posting is memory incompatibility. But you're indicating it's not powering on which indicates a power supply problem. Make sure the power supply is putting out the correct voltage and has the correct current rating. Unplug any thing plugged into it and see if the power LED even blinks. Hold the power button for 30 seconds, release, then press again to see if it comes on.
 
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Stovar

Active Member
Dec 27, 2022
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Also remember these mini pcs whenever you install ddr4 or ddr5 sodimms it can take sometimes 1-4 minutes before a boot screen displays.

But yes in his case, if not getting any power led display light or fans moving could be a hardware issue, maybe worth contacting aliexpress or seller and seeing if a replacement can be had or refund.
 

Stovar

Active Member
Dec 27, 2022
195
92
28
Does anyone by chance know if you can buy these 4 long silver screw feet separately? Its the ones that come with the Cwkk P5 mini nas


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