Thread: over-measured hardware

Hmmm, I see 3 reasons why one would go for overpowered hardware

1) If you are like me, and you assemble your own computers, you end up with spare parts. Say, that athlon 1.2ghz just doesnt cut it for the programming applications I usually run for work, and I need something faster. I get a new mobo/cpu and I am left with an extra 1.2ghz chip & mobo. The easiest thing to do is just put that in the car.

2) If I have to buy new, well, these days the difference between 700mhz and 1.5ghz is tiny. While I would never buy cutting-edege, if I can put down another $20 or $30 and feel safe in knowing
a) all the stuff I run will be very fast.
b) I wont have to worry about buying a faster machine if I decide to use a program like voice recognition

3) $$$ situtation. When I was a student, ever $1 counted. but if you, for example, own a 350z and just put down $xx,xxx on a car, I assume you will want to pay $$$ for hardware that is that last .5 second faster, or newer.


Personally I went with a M9000 for size, and power. I may want to try a few apps out in the car, and want to have the power in case I want to add more power hungry applications.

The thing is, in my opinion, the coolness of a project is not determined by the speed/power of the system. I think its all about the integration. Does the car look "stock" after the install? Does the system work well? is the user intraface customized and/or sufficient for the sort of thing one is using the system for?

I mean, I see someone using an old cheap tiny lcd, with a 1xxmhz pentium... but that pentium is integrated into the car in a custom case, the lcd is embedded in the dash so it looks like it was designed to go there, I think "wow".

Someone with a 4ghz machine who just tossed a full sized case in the trunk and uses an inverter.. well.. its cool to have a car-computer at all, and it may work out great as-is, but I would not consider it an impressive install.

Thanks for making me feel great. I'm assembling the bits for a Lower power MK1 System, using an AMD K6-2 400, just needed power and screen. Today I just bought a 300watt Inverter to go with the 300watt ATX PSU.

Plan is initially, to use a composite screen, TBH, one of the mini 5-6.5" TFTs with built in Antena, and extra AV ins, so i can simply un plug it and remove it, or stash it under the trunk floor.

Later it will be properly dash fitted, but for the moment, I need to make sure I can get the whole concept down right as a big pile of carefully concealed bits, and then later, I can tweak it down to dedicated parts, and smaller systems.

I'll be the first to admit I'm one of those people building a potentially "overpowered" system. But I did so intentionally, for a numerous reasons..

1) I picked up a 1.2ghz AMD Duron/ Via Mobo combo for under CAD$60, brand new.. couldn't pass that deal up

2) While I will be playing MP3, CD, DVD, DivX, etc in the car, I also actually want a full-blown PC in the car, along with complex visualizations.. that means internet capability through GPRS, ms office, etc.. I spend a lot of time in my car, and it's a great way for me to not have to spend time in my office. Due to the nature of my company, I don't need to be in a specific location to run my business.. I just need inet access. This way, I'm free as the wind as long as I have cellular coverage (GPRS coverage up here in Canada is awesome)

3) I'm also going to be using the PC as full-tilt engine management/information system, and that has to run in the background while it plays my multimedia. Which means I need RAM and processing power

4) With 5 cameras being hooked up, it also needs to have multimedia capabilities. Recording as of now is going to be taken care of by a bank of 8mm VCR's in the trunk, but if I can find a way to record all 5 digitally simultaneously I'll do it that way. Haven't found a solution for that yet though

5) The PC is going to control relays, servos, motors, etc.. I want as much control as I can get just on the touchscreen. That includes HVAC, windows, locks, remote trunk, etc..

So yeah, I'm wondering if 1.2 ghz is even enough LOL. But then, from what I've seen of the projects here so far, I seem to be on the somewhat extreme side

for my next system it will have to be at least a P4 3.06Ghz or above with hyperthreading. Even with that I still don't think it's enough. I currently have a FV24 with P3 933Mhz with 256MB of ram. I can't play more than 1 video files at a time. It would run really slow. When I play DVD, I have to close all the applications or else they would all crash. OBD-II will disconnect when I play DVD. I'm pretty sure it's lack of speed.

Originally posted by TintedChrome

4) With 5 cameras being hooked up, it also needs to have multimedia capabilities. Recording as of now is going to be taken care of by a bank of 8mm VCR's in the trunk, but if I can find a way to record all 5 digitally simultaneously I'll do it that way. Haven't found a solution for that yet though

http://www.freedomsecurity.net/

hard people to get a hold of though

Thanks Frodo, that's definately along the lines of what I'm looking for..

Originally posted by TintedChrome
Thanks Frodo, that's definately along the lines of what I'm looking for..

yeah but good luck with them in particular, I've yet to have them call back or reply to e-mail. We need a nice system for work, but if they never call back, i'll go with a competitor and send 'em pictures

damn, doesn't sound like they know how to do business That's too bad, that's a nice system they've got there..

>Thanks for making me feel great.


Didnt mean in any way to insult your setup.. If it came off that way I apologise. Honestly, I was thinking more along the lines of

1) Having a setup at all is awesome. A 4ghz or a 200mhz would be just about equally as cool if you have the same functionality with the two machines.
2) Having an overpowered system without any reason for it doesnt add anything, though I can see why some people have that.
3) If I was going to improve on an existing setup, it would be in terms of integration vs speed...