Thread: How do I know what I need?????

Originally Posted by turbocad6

OK, calm down there are way to many possibilities for any one recommendation to be "right". as far as what you need your carpc to do, just about anything currently available would do that easily.

you have to narrow down what exactly it is that you require of this, budget, performance, size, where & how you are going to install it, how you are going to power it, how much performance do you need vs. how lean you can run your system conserving services & resources

I hate to tell you this, but if your getting frustrated picking out a board then you still have a bit of research to do. the key things to keep in mind are power usage & temperature extremes, for example a p4 is usually not the best choice as it is very inefficient & wasteful power wise & will generate a lot of heat, a mobile processor will be the best as far as these things are concerned, but then costs become an issue. via's are pretty inexpensive but lacking in the performance department.

plan your whole system & research it before you just go out & buy whatever someone else tells you to, not just the board but the whole thing, case, power supply etc... truthfully the board is only one of the components in the whole equation, hit the FAQ's & research a bit more, you really can't just have someone tell you "get this"...

I'm sorry, didn't mean to sound so irate. Maybe if I listed some of the things I do know, you could point me in a direction of sorts.

I know that I need a small enclosure. My max dimensions are going to be 9 inches wide and about 11/12 inches deep. I plan on mounting the case next to my amps which are located behind my seats in the club cab portion of my R/T (on the floor). I may relocate it later, but this is where it would need to go for now. I also need to go the most economical route, if possible. My budget is somewhat limited, plus this will be my first build. So, if things don't go well, I will not have wasted too much money. If they do go well, I could always upgrade as time permits. I'm actually trying to just get the box, motherboard, cpu, hd, ram, windows for now (and whatever else is needed). I plan on setting it up in my office until I can get the hang of it and add the software I want, set up some skins, etc. Then I"ll move to getting it in the truck. As for the power supply, I was leaning toward one of the carnetix that has the startup/shutdown features, b/c I don't drive my truck daily. I have a beater for that. I hope this makes sense, and would truly appreciate any information you wish to share with me.

thanks!