Thread: New to CarPC's...I think I'm ready to start

looks decent, though that hdd will not fit in that case, and neither will the power supply. unfortunately, there are not any car-computer type cases that will fit the m4 or a 3.5" hdd.

i have read of some people using the m2 power supply with similarly powered setups with few issues-- it might be worth considering.


questions:
- after personally using a 629, a low-brightness transflective 669, and a high brightness 669, i believe that the standard high brightness 669 screen is one of the best cost/feature ratios around without stepping up to a transflective unit.


-not all psu's have the 4-pin power connector, but you would then use a molex-to-4pin adapter. in your case, all the psu's that would work with your higher powered setup should have a 4pin power connector.

-all screens send the touch signals via a usb cable. i recommend running at least 1-2 extra usb cables to the front of the car. they can come in handy later.

-can't answer the last one-- i cold boot my pc(i use a ssd, so my boot times are less then 2 min)

Originally Posted by soundman98

looks decent, though that hdd will not fit in that case, and neither will the power supply. unfortunately, there are not any car-computer type cases that will fit the m4 or a 3.5" hdd.

i have read of some people using the m2 power supply with similarly powered setups with few issues-- it might be worth considering.


questions:
- after personally using a 629, a low-brightness transflective 669, and a high brightness 669, i believe that the standard high brightness 669 screen is one of the best cost/feature ratios around without stepping up to a transflective unit.


-not all psu's have the 4-pin power connector, but you would then use a molex-to-4pin adapter. in your case, all the psu's that would work with your higher powered setup should have a 4pin power connector.

-all screens send the touch signals via a usb cable. i recommend running at least 1-2 extra usb cables to the front of the car. they can come in handy later.

-can't answer the last one-- i cold boot my pc(i use a ssd, so my boot times are less then 2 min)

Hm, I might try mounting the HDD outside of the case, with some foam bumpers or something. I got that HDD for free from my father, who bought one but never used it, so I'd love to take full advantage of the space and speed of the drive. Worse comes to worse, I can use my 500gb 2.5 in hard drive I have laying around.

I looked into the M2's as well - I was just worried there might not be enough power. I think I'll end up getting it, though. I did see some reviews of people using it with no issues on a 65w cpu system. Also, it's cheaper.

On Mo-Co-So, I actually just saw the high brightness 669, which can be had with a double din prebuilt frame for only 15 bucks more or so. I think that will be my best bet. ^^

For the Hdmi cable to the PC, do you happen to know if it would be fine to extend the lilliput side with just a simple hdmi extender, or should I extend the side heading to the computer with both an hdmi and a usb extender?

Thanks for the response, by the way. Was beginning to wonder if anyone knew some info, haha.

just try to remember that the first 'x' number of new members posts need to be approved by a mod for them to be visible to the general forum, and sometimes that can take a little while.. i usually just search the new posts, and sometimes some new member posts don't get moderated and approved until the next day--when they no longer fall under new posts anymore.....



anyways... i understand trying to use what you've got on hand-- maybe try building your own case, or try looking on newegg for home computer cases that would fit in your install location-- that might prove to be a better option overall.

for only a extra $15 i would say it is a worthwhile extra expense. i have always had good support from mo-co-so...

all the cables that the lilliput comes with have screen-connection side and a computer connection side, all of them have a little 'tail' or 'whip' of a usb cable coming off them for the touch input-- so no matter what input option you use, you will need to run a usb cable to the screen as well.

I doubt you will be able to use the stock CPU heat sink in the M350 case. I have a Johnstown board in the m350, with 2 hdd's and I doubt there is 1" space available for a heat sink.

The m350 is a nice small case, but it is limited on what motherboards are practical for it.

The Foxconn H67S is not one of them.

Another thing, you may want to look at mobile processors. The one you referenced is 65 watts.

As far as the displays goes, another option is to consider this one:
http://www.display-touch.com......

It has the exact same high bright LCD that the 669HB uses, has the new double DIN frame, and a Multi Touch Capacitive Touch Screen.

Only a few $$ more than a 669HB in a DIN frame, and you get a much better touch screen. No HDMI, but if you are only using VGA that isn't an issue.
Plus you don't need to run the big bulky Lilliput all in one cable. You can use much smaller VGA and USB cables.

Originally Posted by Alstann

-Can the PSU be programmed to keep power going to the RAM, so that I can just hibernate my computer? I feel that will be most useful, because I drive my car every single day.

Most PSUs can. Check the specs and read the manuals for them before you purchase so you know you're getting exactly what you need.
Be aware that standby will still draw power from the battery.

If you want to use standby mode, it would be a good idea to determine the power draw of the PC while in standby. That will help you determine how long the PC could stay in standby before the battery drains enough to prevent your car from starting (like on a weekend or during a vacation, for example). For those occasions, you could do a full shutdown or hibernate.


Most users prefer hibernation mode, since it consumes no power, but is still faster than a full boot-up. It's a nice balance between speed & power usage.
There are some users who go with standby mode and have no problems. There's just additional planning involved.

Good luck, and be sure to post pics of your build in a worklog!

Originally Posted by Alstann

I looked into the M2's as well - I was just worried there might not be enough power. I think I'll end up getting it, though. I did see some reviews of people using it with no issues on a 65w cpu system. Also, it's cheaper.

Best not to just look at power (W) but look at the current drawn by all connected devices on all power rails to check the PSU is capable of running your system.
Some setups might have a PSU with enough total power for what they have to run but occasionally a device can draw a little too much current on one rail and then the PSU starts having problems.

Originally Posted by tft_lcd_org

I doubt you will be able to use the stock CPU heat sink in the M350 case. I have a Johnstown board in the m350, with 2 hdd's and I doubt there is 1" space available for a heat sink.

The m350 is a nice small case, but it is limited on what motherboards are practical for it.

The Foxconn H67S is not one of them.

Another thing, you may want to look at mobile processors. The one you referenced is 65 watts.

As far as the displays goes, another option is to consider this one:
http://www.display-touch.com......

It has the exact same high bright LCD that the 669HB uses, has the new double DIN frame, and a Multi Touch Capacitive Touch Screen.

Only a few $$ more than a 669HB in a DIN frame, and you get a much better touch screen. No HDMI, but if you are only using VGA that isn't an issue.
Plus you don't need to run the big bulky Lilliput all in one cable. You can use much smaller VGA and USB cables.

That screen is awesome! Thanks for the link. I was definetly keen on a capacitive screen, but the costs seemed to be so much higher. This one fits the bill, and then some.

As for the motherboard, I don't really have experience dealing with these smaller boards, or boards designed for low power mobile applications for that matter. One of the things I was keen on having was 5.1 surround sound, as well as on board graphics. I figure if I'm going to spend the money getting a new system to replace my head unit, it had better be an upgrade.

Would it be crazy to think I could just have the case opened on top, so the CPU fan could fit? Maybe dremel a hole for the fan to fit or something, haha.

---

Darque: Thanks, I'll definetly take pictures of everything, haha. I was planning on having the computer hibernated when i left the car, and if I had to leave it for a long time, I would just shutdown. I drive every single day, so it's no issues to me. I was worried if the PSU would continually drain power even if the computer is off, though.