Thread: 1996 Nissan Skyline - Zotac 9300 D-E build

I managed to pick up the CPU quite cheaply and it has low power consumption as well as generating less heat than most Core 2 Duo's, however it probably will be upgraded in future.
Having a dedicated GPU would provide better performance and there is a good chance the system will be used for gaming both inside the car and out.

Well if you're playing highend games then ok but otherwise there'll be no performance increase... Even then you'll be bottlenecking the card by putting in into a mini-itx rig.

Video cards are huge power hogs, and totally useless for carpc. Why would someone even consider playing game on a crappy 7" in your car is beyond me. I'd say, ditch the video card, and keep the system nice and simple.

Like i said, the system will be used in and out of the car, so yes, on the 7" screen - pretty pointless. When hooked up to a decent sized TV it would make more sense.
I'm just interested if the PSU can run it so that if i do decide to run one i don't have to remove the card everytime it goes back in the car.

With the figures you've posted, yes it should run, it's not a high end graphics card, far from it, infact the 8600GT is quite a bit faster than the 9400GT.

The other thing you need to be aware of is that although it's fairly low powered, it generates a load of heat, idle temps are in the high 40s... Not something you want inside a ITX case in the boot of a car!

With your current setup, as I previously said, I doubt you'll find much use with this card.

True enough, is there a way to disable the card when it's in the car short of physically disconnecting it?
Seems i may have some trouble getting the best of both worlds!

Nope, even if it's not used it'll still be powered and sitting idle.

ITX rigs will never be gammer rigs, end of, it's not what they're designed to do.

I figured as much, hence why i was looking at a low power consumption mid range card.
Still, I've got most of the components save PSU and the motherboard so i can't speak to the performance of the IGP, it may turn out to be suitable for my needs, my plan was to buy the key components first and then look at expanding it later on if required.

Thanks for your input and comments!