car pc instead of high price radio

**biga48197** · 03-01-2009, 11:53 PM

ok at first I was going to buy a car audio indash dvd player that played everything and had nav included. As I started to think about what about a carputer. it does every and could be cheaper than some of the radios i was lookoing at.

Some of the things that I am intrested in for a car pc is a cool looking interface if possible ( but willing to deal with the normal window background), bluetooth, navigation, play music and video from ipod(I gues with a car pc it will hav a built in hd so this might not be needed), play all popular disc (dvd, cd, cd-r).

If anybody has any suggestions please let me no. thank you very much

**Enforcer** · 03-02-2009, 12:11 AM

Well if you settle for the normal windows background I pity you.

There are a plethera of FrontEnds out there that both make the experince easier and a lot more visually pleasant.

As for cost, it is very easy to put a system together for very little money, but once the bug gets you and your mind is expanded as to what you can add on, you may find yourself spending a lot more than that indash DVD player would have cost you.

Number one suggestion is research and search as much as you can, there is a lot of information on this board and you'll probably find most of your questions have already been asked and answered.

Good luck.

**DaveDog** · 03-02-2009, 12:18 AM

Also be prepared to spend an unbelievable amount of time, installing, and tweaking a car PC setup, there's a reason its still considered a hobby and not mainstream

But its worth it, everyone that gets into my truck or rides on my boat is amazed at what the system can do - especially if your always connected to the internet

**biga48197** · 03-02-2009, 12:42 AM

thanks alot for the info. I did notice how in the store part of mp3car.com there where bundels that were selling for like 450 and up. is there anything that is the most important about having a car pc inyour ride other than giving it power, making sure it performs at a fast speed, and making sure it doesn't over heat?

**navmaxlp** · 03-02-2009, 06:56 AM

I'd say the most important part is knowing what you want and how you want to implement it. You can waste a lot of money by simply not thinking things through. Take the time to explore like Enforcer said and get an idea of what CAN be done first then figure out exactly what you want. Once that's all done, plan it out and get it installed. No matter what happens, you'll want more after you get it all in but, if you plan well you won't have to back track to get it all in. Check out all the FAQs here. There's more info than you'll need but almost all the answers can be found in there.

**Bugbyte** · 03-02-2009, 09:32 AM

1. Download Ride Runner and try it out. It's free.
2. Download Centrafuse and try it out. It's free for a trial period.
3. If you just want to see them before you use them, do a Youtube search for car PC or Road Runner (Ride Runner's former name) and Centrafuse and Streetdeck.

Those will give you an idea of what is possible. You don't need a car PC to figure it out, just use your desktop until you get an idea.

You can do a NICE car PC for under $2,000. If you already have the audio components, $1,200 will give you a good PC. You can do it for much cheaper with leftover desktops or an EBay laptop with a broken screen and so forth. The bundles from mp3Car have the right stuff for a car PC already gathered up for you, so if you want to be sure, one of those will work well, too.

**billmee** · 03-02-2009, 11:10 AM

Check the classifieds here at mp3car.com complete systems are posted constantly.
I recently listed one that was turn key gps/music/video all bugs worked out for $350.

**biga48197** · 03-02-2009, 11:23 AM

wow thanks alot for the info. I will check out the classifeids.

umm bugbyte u stated grab a laptop with a broken screen on it and just instal a front end on that. which sounds like a plan to me. It would seem that that would be a cheaper route and I have to say if I can get around not having to pay a lot for something I am down with that.

what is the pros and cons using a laptop and putting a front end on it and using a carpc like the ones that are for sale in mp3car store. or are they both the same?

**MindDrive** · 03-02-2009, 11:36 AM

youre also going to want to take into consideration, that most of the aftermarket radios with nav etc, have built in amplifiers so they can be just connected to your factory speakers, where as a carputer does not have any amplification what so ever, so you are going to have to do speaker/amp wireing as well as the installation of your carpc...

the most important thing about installing a carpc is that its YOUR design that put it all together and made it work

that and the versatility of a computer is now with you where ever you drive! so whatever you do at home on your pc, can be done in your vehicle

as for the glare issue... a LOT of that can be overcome by the angle at which you mount the monitor and where the monitor is mounted... as with any monitor, there will be some reflective properties that you just wont be able to overcome such as really bright sunlight against your seats through the windshield... ive found that with several different screens ive installed touchscreen or not, this seems to be the most annoying and have yet to figure out how to overcome it... but i have a freeking PC in my dashboard so ive learned to live with it

**biga48197** · 03-02-2009, 12:29 PM

well for my sound system I had planned on running the pc into my aftermarket radio aux and then from there have my music come out of my speakers and subs.

if I was to grab a laptop and install centrafuse (for example) on to it, hook it up to a screen, give it power with power invertor would there be any disadvantage comparred to using a compact little pc that are sold in the stores on this website.

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