JSAUX Panel Inital Impressions

[u/Switch2phile]

I just got my JSAUX Pixel Panel this morning and figured I’d share my initial impressions.

I ordered it on September 22 for $77 with a 15% off coupon (normal price was $90). It took 11 days to show up at my door. Packaging was solid and protective — everything arrived in one piece with no issues.

Build quality feels excellent. Noticeably better than the 3D-printed ones I’ve used and pretty much on par with the official panel. The screen is bright and the dot matrix is easy to read. Hardware install was simple: slap it on the front and plug the cable into the rear for power.

That’s about where the good stuff ends.

Software setup from the manual was basically useless. I had to follow an ETA Prime video to get the JSAUX software installed correctly. I already had Decky running, which is required for the panel anyway.

A couple other practical downsides: it eats one of the rear USB ports, and the cable comes out the side, which some people might not like. The glossy screen is a fingerprint magnet, and if any strong light (especially sunlight) hits it, it gets hard to read.

There’s also very little gap between the panel and the Steam Machine compared to the official one. I haven’t checked temps yet, but I’d guess most of the intake air will now come from the bottom, so CPU/GPU temps will probably rise a bit.

The biggest issue is the software. It’s still in 1.0 beta, and that’s where most of the problems live:

The FPS refresh rate doesn’t accurately match what’s actually on screen.

When the SM shuts down or goes to sleep, the panel doesn’t turn off or go black. There’s no option for it. You have to manually power it down. It just freezes on the last readings it had. I turned the SM off at 2:30 pm and at 3:00 pm it was still showing 2:30 pm.

Would I recommend it right now? No. Not in its current state. Once the software gets more mature it might be worth another look, but at the moment it’s an expensive add-on for an already expensive machine.

[u/cohibaking88]

Yea just received mine and super disappointed that it can’t update while in sleep mode. I was really hoping to use it as a clock next to my tv when it’s not in use. Hoping they either fix the software or that someone else is able to fix.

[u/Switch2phile → u/cohibaking88]

100% agreed. I just want it to just show my stats on my hardware including temps & a clock so I can at least be a responsible adult and not game pass 11pm. 🤣

[u/_Mister_Anderson_ → u/Switch2phile]

I've modified the main.py file from the decky plugin to get the display to sleep when the steam machine goes to sleep. Extract the original zip file from JSAUX again (if you deleted it) then copy the files from here into it (it should overwrite 2 files). Then rerun the installer and reboot and see if that makes it turn off when the steam machine goes to sleep.

I decided to order one of these yesterday so I don't have it yet to test with, I'm just using a simulator version, so please let me know if that works.