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Reply With Quote1. Find a computer major at UT Austin.
2. If number 1 fails, read about computers and building them at www.howstuffworks.com.
3. That's too many questions to answer.
Help With a Carputer...
Hey. I'm new to this whole idea of a "Carputer", but it sparked my interest alot. I have decided i'm going to go for one, but I need a little help. First of all, the moniter. I was thinking along the lines of an in-dash moniter, one that folds in and out, and has the touchscreen feature. I'm looking to spend $200-300 for one. Then, the inside components. I was wondering if it would be possible to strip my old PC for the hard drive, video card, and audio card? Then, just buy the processor seperate (AMD Athlon). That's pretty much all I know about this whole thing. So, Some basic questions...
Where is the power supplied from?
Is there anything I need other than the stuff I mentioned above?
Can I wire it to my sound system?
Do I need to buy something special to connect the computer components (HDD, Vid/Aud Cards, Processor) to the in-dash moniter?
What is this "OPUS" thing i'm reading about?
Where does the PC components go in the car?
And could someone give me a basic idea of how everything is connected or wired together?
Thanks in advance.
1. Find a computer major at UT Austin.
2. If number 1 fails, read about computers and building them at www.howstuffworks.com.
3. That's too many questions to answer.
Well, i'm just looking for a general idea of how this stuff all works out, or what all I need. If someone can tell me everything I need, then I can probably go from there.
Ok, sorry about that it was alittle blunt, and mostly a joke.
You'll need a computer... and everything that's important to have for a computer.
Motherboard, memory, harddrive, powersupply, monitor (I think that's all I'm using)
Anyway, once you know you need those parts you have to choose which particular models and brands to buy. I'll make it easy on you and list the most popular models.
Motherboard: VIA M10000 or M-II 10000 is recomended for it's low power use and all-in-one functionality
Memory: anything generic specs depend on your board and personal choice
hard drive: again this one is up to you
powersupply: most people will scream Opus (a DC-DC power supply) but there are other solutions such as the ITPS,PW-70a combo at www.mini-box.com and inverters (those things that produce 110v)
monitors: most people will tell you to get a Xenarc or Lilliput VGA with touchscren, the lilliputs can be alot cheaper as you shop around (an in dash would just be a different caseing for the monitor)
These computers are generally stored in the trunk and connected to the car's audio system.
If I missed anything... sorry? I'm sure somone else will be around to fill in the gaps.
Thanks. I can probably easily come up with the Motherboard, memory, harddrive, powersupply, and monitor, so here's another, pretty simple question...Once I have all of that, I case it all, and put it in my trunk, what do I use to supply the power to the moniter? Just a typical PC>>Moniter Cable? Also, is it possible to connect the PC to my Bazooka500w amp? If so, what would I need to do that? Then, as you said, i'll need something to supply power to the PC itself. If I go with Opus, would that connect straight to the battery? I'm mainly aiming towards accessing my MP3's from my moniter, so i'll probably want to install WinXP. Anyways, again, thanks in advance.
Ok, here it goes:
The opus connects to the car's battery, yes.
The monitor generally comes with some kind of power supply, mine came with both a 110vAC adapter and a 12vDC "egg", I cut the "egg" off the wire and soldered the connector up to my power supply (12v).
Yes you can connect your PC directly to your amp, be careful with that. You'll need a headphone to RCA adapter connector thingy, I have a couple one is an actual adapter, the other is a 6' cable with RCAs at one end and a headphone jack at the other.
I think that answers your questions.
Alright. Thanks. This dosn't seem too complicated. What kind of casing do you use for your PC?
Oh, and the PC connects to the moniter using a regular PC>>Moniter cable, right?
Thanks a bunch...
Yes, normal PC->monitor cable.
I'm using a case from www.clearpc.ca their "micro" version, other people use smaller cases.
Alright...and, do you use a processor? If so what kind?
Sorry about all the questions.
Processor as in?
Audio: I use a head unit, so no I guess, but you can.
Computer: it's built into the VIA board.
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