Thread: so now i need a carputer..a little advice

Originally Posted by bmoore09

My requirements are mostly what other want, but I really need a lot of HD space because I have around 400Gb of FLAC music. So I cant use the computers that only do the 2.5" hdd's.

So I was thinking about buying the HTPC case here at mp3car that supports 3 hard drives,

Why don't you use just one big hard drive instead? Less power draw. There's nothing stopping ou from using a single large-capacity 3.5" HDD.

All of that? around $2,000 from this site's store. Pretty steep. And im sure there are other things I'm forgetting, like a soundcard...is there a special one that you hook directly into your amplifier?

No, you don't need any special sound card. Some members are big into sound quality and have higher-end sound cards for better quality. Only you can determine if that's necessary or not.

Chances are I will buy all the big stuff and take it to an audio store to install it all, as running cables arent my specialty..and i'd like to make it look "good." . But id like to buy as much as I can on my own so they dont overcharge.

Most car audio places won't touch a PC. They have no experience with them. You might get lucky and find a shop that deals with them, but I wouldn't count on it.

I know quite a bit about computers, as I've built my own recently. Can I just build a computer with a normal sized case and mount that in my trunk? Or is there a big advantage to buying all the "mini" atx stuff?

The only advantage to smaller parts is the space savings.

Originally Posted by DarquePervert

The only advantage to smaller parts is the space savings.

And possibly some power savings since full size cases can have a slew of 80mm or bigger fans in it.

Originally Posted by walstib

And possibly some power savings since full size cases can have a slew of 80mm or bigger fans in it.

Yeah, but that's not so much a function of the components themselves, but the additional cooling hardware.