Custom or Laptop
I was planing on building a custom case out of wood to put in my trunk. I was going to be using:
256MB DDR PC2100 DIMM - EPIA M Compatible
Slimline CD to Desktop IDE Adapter
VIA EPIA M10000 1Ghz Motherboard
Panasonic SR-8176 Slimline DVD - Black
Flat Ribbon Cable IDE ATA 66/100
Seagate 40GB 7200RPM Hard Drive (3.5in!)
Opus Power Supply
Xenarc 7in touch screen.
I would be doing mostly DVD and MP3. Maybe some GPS one day.
I was offered a Compaq laptop that has a 40gb hd, p3 500, 192mb ram and a DVD drive. It is around $700. Do you think I should go this route? Would probably make life easier. Do you think I should look on ebay also?
2003 Audi A4 1.8t (Totaled, Project Canceled)
Id stay away from that laptop. You can get the stuff you listed for little more than 700, it wont be that expensive if you have stuff lying around. With that laptop, you are going to have to find a way to get a controller card for the LCD, and that can be an additional $200, you have much more control over everything if you start from scratch and built it with parts instead of trying to modify something else.
Progress here: http://www.siriuscybernetics.net
I thought the Xenarc just plugs into a VGA port?
2003 Audi A4 1.8t (Totaled, Project Canceled)
It doesOriginally posted by Spaceboy464
I thought the Xenarc just plugs into a VGA port?
[H]4 Life
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This is an interesting question.
Mine is basically a laptop, because the screen exactly fit, and I could stuff the guts behind the screen...and it cost me $130...far cheaper than any screen I could buy.
What I like is the power supply is already there...just get a $99 airplane/car power adapter and you are set.
You could throw the laptop under a seat, modify the power switches so you can turn it on easier, of course you will have to reach under the seat to put dvds in the drive...and it won't be slot load either.
I wonder how the EPIA M10000 compares to a p3-500.
Of course my machine is only a 120mhz and I can play mp3s and run a moving map gps display.
But I can tell you, my next one will be designed around a EPIA board. http://www.mini-itx.com
In my experiance, the M1000 will be aboue equal to a PIII 500. They seem to be as fast as about 1/2 their clock speed. I say go with the custom though, you can build a mini-itx box about 1/2 the size of a laptop, but slightly thicker for half the price.
I went the laptop route. I have a dell inspiron pIII 500 laptop which lcd burned out. I removed the lcd and stuck the laptop under the seat. Connected the tv out to my tm-701l 7'inch screen and viola! Got one of those airplane/car adaptors for about $60 and it's a pretty cheap and simple install. But thats great if you already have a laptop lying around, or you buy one for cheap on ebay. I actually have another dell p3 500mhz laptop without the lcd if you are looking for one. Has s-video and vga output.
I went the laptop route as well.... picked up a laptop with a dead lcd for cheap
pIII-850Mhz,
32meg ATI M4 video
dvd, 10 gig main drive, 40 gig secondary drive
laptop even has firewire, audio, s-video out, mini-pci slot with an 802.11b card in it.... basically everything check out my car and project under show off your project its a nice setup fast, etc I must say the power part is the best, no messing with invertors or $200 dc-> dc supplies its built into the damn laptop
-- WireSix, Inc. --
MP3Car Lives Here!
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