Thread: Build vs Buy...

Hey Buddy!
I remember when i was in your shoes...young...and didnt know much at all about carputers...but hopefully i can enlighten you

Ok well to answer your questions:
1. Both of your choices suck! eh...being blaint dont be offended.
(motherboard)....You need something that everyone likes here... a VIA motherboard..(i have epia-m10000 model) its compact and eats so little power(around 30watts with a harddrive and a keyboard and a mouse)
(cpu)C3 Nehemiah is good...1 gh but that enough
(HD/DVD player/etc)..you can customize yourself.
(computer case) mini-itx is the name and its in many stores and all over the internet for as low as 60$ at fries electronics

(IF YOU ARE LAZY) If you dont want to be like us and just get a ready made computer, then you are welcome to go here: http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...sort=3&rows=50
**Warning**MANY HERE WILL CONSIDER YOU A CHEAT!AND BUILDING ONE IS CHEAPER TOO

(Screen) Since you have a double din, you can buy the so popular liliput for 300 bucks(usually with shipping<try ebay>) and then mold it into your double din making the screen look factory with 'Body Filler' most popular made by Bondo. (MORE INFORMATION can be found if you put some effort and search on how to mold it in, here at mp3car.com)

(configurations)
In order to run your computer you need POWER! and here is somehting these computer sellers do not tell you. You should get an OPUS, i have it and it does everything! When you start the car, the voltage drops to around 10volts...and the computer will not survive. opus will make sure the computer gets a constant dose of 12 volts while the opus get anywhere from 7v to 18v. also it turns your computer off(or puts it in hibernate) when you take the key out of the car and turns it on when the key is in.

SOUND: since VIA has a 5/6 channel out you can get two amps(one for subs and second for speakers)...have no time to explain...so i will someone else do that for now. But it can work.
(I kept my 400$ receiver and plugged the computer into the AUX input and didnt needthe radio card)
For radio card just search around.
you can find all the answers here if you search long enough!

ciao...good luck and have fun

Well, if you've got a lot of money to throw out on your car - go ahead and buy a pre-built system. Those look all nice and shiny and great, but they are no fun.
I for example built my own system, from a stinking old laptop, and it cost me $160 all-in-all. Works fine and I like it. The best part - if it's fried I know how to fix it. If that thing of yours get damaged - you're screwed.

Originally Posted by StationRocket

So i'm embarassed to admit it, but over the weekend i caught an episode of Pimp My Ride on MTV and they put a really nice looking computer sys in the car. I don't recall what the system was called i think it was something-soft. Maybe autosoft or somethink like that. Maybe MTV's website has info. They put it in an scion xB.

(edit) It was drivesoft. here's the link
http://www.drivesoft.net/
there is also a thread about it here on the board.

Meh, I wasn't all that impressed with the install, there's free software that looks better, and they made no mention of what hardware goes along with it, as well as the fact that in another one of the two dozen threads that talk about that episode and drivesoft, the price of the "system" was stupidexpensive, like 3+ grand.

and as far a build or buy, its up to you, if you can build a system that would better meet your needs for less, ie space, components, building it into a cubby, build it, otherwise, i dont see anything wrong with just buying a system, whether its a that or a capucino or a shuttle or a c134a based system (all small systems).

Well, it appears that you have made up your mind already, so why ask?

Originally Posted by plan_Z

well, I wouldn't say I've made up my mind just yet. I'm looking for more than "they both suck"...I'd rather see, "they both suck because...."...pros and cons based on experience.

I didn't intend to upset the die hard builders by any means....it's more fun to have an ongoing project rather than plug and play something, but I'm looking more for standardization and reliability. I'm new to car PCs, so I thought I would ask the experts.

"Oh please, don't you rock my boat...'cause I don't want my boat to be rockin'" - Bob Marley


plan_Z

I understand, sorry

Well, let's see..


Pre-built System:
pros: easy installation, good looking.
cons: hard and expensive to fix if it breaks, not as "fun" (I guess that depends), might get stolen more easilly, expensive, less customizable.

Custom-built System:
pros: easy to maintan/upgrade and add features/hardware, more customizable (you can place buttons/switches/circuits that will make your car function like an airplane, no need to worry about voiding the warranty, cheap and fun to build.
cons: may be hard to install for a person with little experience, may take time and may at first break down several times before all buggies are fixed.

You decide

I assume that you are asking because you are either lazy or don't have a lot of experience and have a lot of cash to spend. If that's the case then it would make sense to buy a pre-built one. However, if it was me with all that cash of yours I'd build my own system to suit my needs better.