Official CarPC Thread.

[seth98esT]

Post up your setups here or pics. Im thinking about making one. I have a microATX mobo with onboard video and a Sempron 1.8GHz processor I probably will use. Might get a laptop hard drive or a standard internal along with an external CD/DVD player and 512-1gb of ram. What kind of power should that be sucking up? Would the Opus 150 or 220 be sufficient?

Post up your CarPC specs, I am curious :)

(Dont clutter the thread with pics, just post one and link to more, thread is mainly about the specifications and components in your setup :) )

[bronxbombr]

Biostar MNCG micro atx with mobile amd 35w 2400= (overclocked)
Xenarc Touchscreen
I guidance and gps
Road Runner for apps
Opus 250 for power

I would show you but unfortunately :roll: that whole thread i had is or was deleted along with my pics etc...........

[seth98esT]

They werent deleted, they were "pruned" :P

I think I will try my Sempron and see how much power it takes up, if it uses too much Ill just try to get ahold of the 754 AMD Mobile chips.

[Proud Galant Driver]

Mines nothing special. Just what I need to get the job done.

HP Pavilion 6683
Intel Celeron 533MHz
64mb ram
Western Digital 20gb hard drive
DVD

It's still in the stock case but I plan to move it into something different a little later.

I also have a Linksys Wireless G card to install so I will be able to surf if I find an unsecured WiFi connection. Plus I can pull in my garage and transfer any new songs or whatever off my main computer. I also bought an ATI Radeon 9250 256mb ddr, so I could hook it up to my current monitor but ut I decided I'm gonna return the lcd I have now and pick up a Liliput 7" touchscreen instead.

I am going to upgrade the memory to 512, get a bigger hard drive and add a cd-rw or dvd-rw.

I'm going to be running XP Pro and shrink it down with XPLite. I'm going to be using Road Runner to control everything.

It's gonna go in as soon as I find my copy of XP (or buy a new one :x ) and I get my Liliput (as soon as I return my current lcd)

http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s146/AltimateX/th_DSCI0841.jpg

http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s146/AltimateX/

[mitsueclipse2019]

Mines nothing special. Just what I need to get the job done.

HP Pavilion 6683
Intel Celeron 533MHz
64mb ram
Western Digital 20gb hard drive
DVD

It's still in the stock case but I plan to move it into something different a little later.

I also have a Linksys Wireless G card to install so I will be able to surf if I find an unsecured WiFi connection. Plus I can pull in my garage and transfer any new songs or whatever off my main computer. I also bought an ATI Radeon 9250 256mb ddr, so I could hook it up to my current monitor but ut I decided I'm gonna return the lcd I have now and pick up a Liliput 7" touchscreen instead.

I am going to upgrade the memory to 512, get a bigger hard drive and add a cd-rw or dvd-rw.

I'm going to be running XP Pro and shrink it down with XPLite. I'm going to be using Road Runner to control everything.

It's gonna go in as soon as I find my copy of XP (or buy a new one :x ) and I get my Liliput (as soon as I return my current lcd)

http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s146/AltimateX/th_DSCI0841.jpg

http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s146/AltimateX/
where are you going to put it?

[seth98esT]

You using an inverter? I am getting rid of my HU and soley relying on an amp and a PC for my music/video/Sirius. I heard that when using an inverter it can cause a lot of interferance through the speakers. Plus it doesnt have a shutdown controller and what not :/

[mrjaydeeone]

I have an Opus 150 power supply
a VIA EPIA M10000 Mini-ITX Mainboard
a 200 gig segate hard drive
Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Roady sound card
a bu 353 usb gps antenna
Netgear WG111T wireless adapter
512mb ram
Xenarc 700TSV 7" touchscreen monitor
and a mini usb keyboard
currently no cd rom drive
currently waiting on reinstalling my xm once I get my interior amp back
I have around 40gigs of music saved to the hard drive. So I have been listening to them

[Proud Galant Driver]

where are you going to put it?

My current plan is to put it in the far back behind the seat. Kinda in plain site but I have tinted windows and an alarm so I think I'll be ok.

Once I put it in a more compact case, I will probably relocate it under the opposite seat of my XBOX.


You using an inverter? I am getting rid of my HU and soley relying on an amp and a PC for my music/video/Sirius. I heard that when using an inverter it can cause a lot of interferance through the speakers. Plus it doesnt have a shutdown controller and what not :/

Yeah I have a 750 watt inverter. When I play XBOX, I don't have any interference in my speakers but if I plugged my laptop and ran it through my h/u I would get some interference. So I imagine when I plug my carputer into my h/u it will have some interference as well. The interference I did get was only really noticeable though if the volume was real low and between songs.

I eventually plan to eliminate my h/u as well. I still need to do some more research to determine my options as far as power goes. I haven't quite read enough on the whole dc-ac or dc-ac-dc converstion to shut down controller thing yet.

The key thing right now is to take it one step at a time so I can just get up and running. I will try to get a little more fancy as time goes on.

[zobgel]

Opus 150w-Fanless Edition
VIA EPIA-TC10000 Mini-ITX Mainboard
160gig and 40gig Hitachi Hard drive
512MB ram
sony slim DVD-RW/CD
8" VGA lilliput touchscreen with LCD camouflage anti-theft mod :D
XP Professional Service Pack 2
Iguidance and Microsoft Street and Trips 2007 with GPS locator
Kingston USB Bluetooth
Media Player Voice Control :twisted:
still waiting for my ElmScan 5 USB ODB-II Scan Tool
still waiting for my USB Wireless
front and rear view IR camera coming soon

"CARPC"=https://www.thegalantcenter.org/viewtopic.php?t=54708

"LCD camouflage anti-theft mod"=https://www.thegalantcenter.org/viewtopic.php?t=53734

[bronxbombr]

They werent deleted, they were "pruned" :P

I think I will try my Sempron and see how much power it takes up, if it uses too much Ill just try to get ahold of the 754 AMD Mobile chips.

pruned eh? The best cpu for a car pc is one that uses 35W there are 35 and 45 but 35 is better. Also see how much your MB is gonna use.

I was using an inverter like 3 years ago, it did the job but it aint no OPUS.

[bronxbombr]

here i found some pics.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/bronxbombr/carlowrider025.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/bronxbombr/carlowrider015.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/bronxbombr/car011.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/bronxbombr/Untitled-3.jpg

[mitsueclipse2019]

here i found some pics.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/bronxbombr/carlowrider025.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/bronxbombr/carlowrider015.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/bronxbombr/car011.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/bronxbombr/Untitled-3.jpg

wow very nice bronxbombr, that looks about like the idea of how im gonna do mine :)

[bronxbombr]

ya i put like 25 hours into the molding for the touchscreen. Make sure you take your time and do it right the first time. I used Fiber cuz when its cold Bondo tends to crack. You also have the option of keeping the ashtray or modding it for a usb hub, mini cdrom, etc...

[GoldGalant [Reborn]]

I have a laptop that the screen just crapped out on me is this a viable option to do a Car PC setup?

[mrjaydeeone]

]I have a laptop that the screen just crapped out on me is this a viable option to do a Car PC setup?

sure is

[GoldGalant [Reborn]]

I start my search for a touch screen

[Shadow19]

So about how much do you have in your setup bronx?

[bronxbombr]

I got well over 700 in it. But is worth it and i built mine for certain uses.

[mindwerkz]

So how does shutting down and turning on the PC work? I'm starting to get a plan together for what I'd like.

I'm thinking full ATX in the spare tire area of the trunk with plexiglass or whatever over the top. Gunna use Linux for sure. What kind of programs are you running for audio?

[Proud Galant Driver]

So how does shutting down and turning on the PC work? I'm starting to get a plan together for what I'd like.

I'm thinking full ATX in the spare tire area of the trunk with plexiglass or whatever over the top. Gunna use Linux for sure. What kind of programs are you running for audio?

You can either do it like I am doing it which would require you to manually turn the comp on and off or use a shutdown controller which will put it in sleep mode for you when you turn the car off. You can set them to leave the pc on for so long after you turn the car off too if you want. I'm not sure totally on how they work, but I believe it hooks right up to your motherboard. I'm not totally sure how you run the power to it though. I think you have to run like four wires into it.

I let Road Runner channel my audio through Winamp.

[GOOSEY2099]

VIA EPIA-M12000 Mini-ITX Mainboard
Opus 150w with 5v mod
160gig Hard drive
Phidgets Controller for steering wheel controls
Custom Case
Audigy NX 2 Usb Soundcard
512MB ram
Panasonic slim DVD-RW/CD converted to USB
7" VGA Xenarc Touchscreen Monitor Molded
XP Professional Service Pack 2
Iguidance 3.0.1
Pharos GPS locator
Kingston USB Bluetooth
ElmScan 5 Serial ODB-II Scan Tool
Belkin USB Wireless dongle

[seth98esT]

What do you guys use to power your speakers without using a headunit? Just a normal amp?

[Cheekz185]

What do you guys use to power your speakers without using a headunit? Just a normal amp?

Well with my first carPC setup i was not using HU. The easiest way to power your speakers is by using an amp. Instead of running the RCA signal wires to the HU just run them to the sound card and get the rca to i think 2.5mm jack. And you are good to go. But currently, since I love my radio, and carPC radio are just HORRIBLE (fm modulator and usb fm radios) they all suck. So i am using my HU for radio and CD's. I cant seem to get my stupid panasonic cd/dvd drive to work via usb.

A couple of the guys over mp3car.com have been developing near perfect sound quality for FM. So i think i might want to test it out. They have 2 options available as of now, internal and external:

http://direct.xtronic.be/shop/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=39

But a carPC is def the way to go.

My setup:

Custom Case designed by VeritasForge over at Mp3car.com
mobo: Biostar T-Force 6100
CPU: AMD Sempron 3600+
RAM: G.Skill 512 mb
HD: 250GB sata HD
PSU: 220W DSATX
Windows XP SP2 Pro
Iguidance 3.01
Holux GPSlim 237
Belkin Bluetooth Dongle
Engenius EUB-362 ext wireless adapter
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX USB
7" Xenarc 700tsv touchscreen
Panasonic Slim lot load cd/dvd (cant get it to work in the car, works fine testing at home, tried nearly everythin)

[seth98esT]

Your biostar board is a microATX board right? Hmmm to build a CarPC or to redo my suspension haha.

[Cheekz185]

Yeha it is a microATX board. That is the reason why I had a custom case built. I could find any decent small cases to fit the microATX. So i had one custom built to fit the specifiations of my mobo, psu, HDD, and 1 PCI slot. I still have my old setup. I had a via M10000 but to me, it wasnt enough. dvd's were a lil choppy and the front end interface was a little unresponsive. Thats why i upgraded

[Cheekz185]

Here is an old pic of my screen:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y61/Cheekz185/100_1327.jpg

I need to get the screen remolded, and take the cd/dvd out.

[Proud Galant Driver]

Wow Cheekz, that looks good. I'd leave the dvd slot and take out the lights on the side.

You do that yourself or a shop?

[Cheekz185]

Wow Cheekz, that looks good. I'd leave the dvd slot and take out the lights on the side.

You do that yourself or a shop?

Nah i didnt do it myself, i had a shop do it. When i redo it, im going to do it myself.

[Kenneth G]

so how does the CarPC work when you are on rough roads, wont it mess up the system, is there some sort of buffer installed to absorb some of the shock?

[bronxbombr]

so how does the CarPC work when you are on rough roads, wont it mess up the system, is there some sort of buffer installed to absorb some of the shock?

depends on the setup and installation. I have had no probs as yet.

[Cheekz185]

so how does the CarPC work when you are on rough roads, wont it mess up the system, is there some sort of buffer installed to absorb some of the shock?

depends on the setup and installation. I have had no probs as yet.

Same here, it is actually pretty safe, my first setup i had the case mounted on my subwoofer box and nothing happend.

[Niytrus]

A lot of people use a laptop hard drive because it can handle the vibrations and movement better than a standard 3.5 HD.

[Kenneth G]

sweet, i just dropped my laptop last month and cracked the screen. maybe ill do this.. what will i need, does anyone have a basic tutorial written?

[Cheekz185]

sweet, i just dropped my laptop last month and cracked the screen. maybe ill do this.. what will i need, does anyone have a basic tutorial written?

I would first start by visiting the mp3car forums and READ the FAQ's before you post anything.

If you have laptop you will need:

Touch screen monitor
GPS receiver
USB FM radio

It is a bit tricky to set up your laptop to power on /off with the cars ignition. You can buy a laptop power on module which was built by one of the members over at mp3car. You have to take ur laptop apart and solder the connections.
http://w3bma5t3r.com/modules/coppermine/albums/userpics/10002/newest_module.jpg

But basically its a big pain in the ass to get everything the way u want it.

You will need a bunch of long length USB Cables depending o nwhere u place ur laptop. VGA cable, power and grounds. But it is all worth it in the end.

[Proud Galant Driver]

I finally found my XP disc. Now I can get all my software and music loaded.

Also interesting is that I got my Blackberry in today. My Blackberry package includes unlimited internet and apparently I can use my Blackberry as a modem. So it looks like my CarPC is going to have internet access no matter where I am :D

[Proud Galant Driver]

Bahahaha

My setup is getting ready to go in soon :D

I ordered my Liliput 7" touchscreen, I can't wait for it to get here!

Only immediate thing left to do is find a sound card. I decided I am going to eliminate my h/u now instead of later. I'm gonna find myself a decent 5.1 card later today.

I have a question though. A 5.1 is divided into front, center, and rear which also is for the sub. Well, do I use the center for my sub then? Cause I'm not quite sure how I am supposed to hook my sub up with this.

[SleekGTZ]

I don't have good pics yet of my carputer, but I have videos. It's not much, but it works:

Some of you already saw these before...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2qMWIYjXx8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCSVlNSRnbg

Setup:
Mini-ITX motherboard
1GB RAM (I think)
30GB hard drive (laptop size)
M1-ATX power supply (to shutdown/start computer based on ignition)

[Cheekz185]

Bahahaha

My setup is getting ready to go in soon :D

I ordered my Liliput 7" touchscreen, I can't wait for it to get here!

Only immediate thing left to do is find a sound card. I decided I am going to eliminate my h/u now instead of later. I'm gonna find myself a decent 5.1 card later today.

I have a question though. A 5.1 is divided into front, center, and rear which also is for the sub. Well, do I use the center for my sub then? Cause I'm not quite sure how I am supposed to hook my sub up with this.

For the price you cant beat this chaintech card. It is a really good card for the money:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829120103

[Proud Galant Driver]

Bahahaha

My setup is getting ready to go in soon :D

I ordered my Liliput 7" touchscreen, I can't wait for it to get here!

Only immediate thing left to do is find a sound card. I decided I am going to eliminate my h/u now instead of later. I'm gonna find myself a decent 5.1 card later today.

I have a question though. A 5.1 is divided into front, center, and rear which also is for the sub. Well, do I use the center for my sub then? Cause I'm not quite sure how I am supposed to hook my sub up with this.

For the price you cant beat this chaintech card. It is a really good card for the money:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829120103

That card is nice. Looks like I'll get some really good sq out of it. 7.1? I'm getting even more confused on how I hook up a sub lol. 7.1 is front, center, sides, rear + sub on the hookups right? Oh, it has optical output that is nice. I have a feeling optical amps are expensive though.

[mindwerkz]

5.1 is center, front x2, rear x2 (5), and a dedicated subwoofer channel (.1). 7.1 is the same but with 2 side channels as well.

[Proud Galant Driver]

Ok, maybe I am being dense. You say then it has a dedicated sub channel. So for the 7.1, front is one jack, rear is one, sides are one, center is one, and the sub has its own. So that is a total of 5 outputs. Well, card says it has two inputs so that is a total of 7 jacks. There are only 6 on the card though.

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage//29-120-103-05.jpg