Basic Carputer question(s)

**HHdesign** · 03-27-2005, 01:02 PM

I apologize for being such a noob at this but my range of expertise is lighting and wiring, not carputers, but anyways.

I like the idea of having a carputer in your dash, its very nice, is there any precursor that you car needs to have besises a battery that would make it OK for a carputer.

Secondly, What is the minium requiremnts (sys specs) for a carputer, and what would be ideal? I can get computer parts, and build them eaisly, I just dont want to get parts that wont work with a carputer interface.

Thanks in advance.

**gospeed.racer** · 03-27-2005, 01:20 PM

Anything that will work with the software you wish to run. People here are running as little as 133mhz and I have heard of people trying to run 2.5+ghz....its what you want to run more than what you need. A high power system will require more power...more power supply...and will produce more heat. A lot of us run the Mini-Itx boards due to the small size and low power. I would consider them mainstream...less than that and you may not be able to efficiently run programs and more than that and you may not like the pricing of the components (like power supplies)

**Bugbyte** · 03-27-2005, 02:02 PM

Take a look at the "Show off your projects" forum and see what people are listing as their components. Click my signature link and you can find a list of the components in my system.

**HHdesign** · 03-27-2005, 08:14 PM

Where would be a good place to shop for computer parts? Would like newegg be ok, and just buy a small mobo, like a micro form? Or is there some sites that cater directly to carputers?

**grepzen** · 03-27-2005, 08:20 PM

newegg is great!

competitive prices, good selection
Though they don't cater to the CarPC enthusiast.. plenty of good stuff to get.

**fromplanetbob** · 03-27-2005, 08:37 PM

Newegg ROCKS! And they ship fast! (I always get it before I should, but I bribe my Fedex Guy too! A gift certificate to Applebees to my UPS and Fedex Driver as Christmas did absolute wonders for me! hehe)

Anyways, you can pick up CHEAP pc's at ECOST.com as well, I pick up Celeron class PC's there all the time for work for under $400, they have some starting at $300! But they are full tower cases.

As for performance, IMHO, I'd stay away from VIA processors, I think they are underpowered. Especially considering I'm a programmer and I know how much bloat the programs out there have! Personally, I am going to run a Pentium 4 2.8ghz w/512M RAM, basically because I don't want speed to be an issue and I had the parts.

**HHdesign** · 03-27-2005, 09:08 PM

Idea, what about this, how about using a Mac? http://www.apple.com/macmini/specs.html

then hooking up the touchscreen to this? Would safe much space, would this be suffice? I'm looking to run media programs (videos, music). Thoughts?

**Bugbyte** · 03-27-2005, 09:40 PM

For more info on using the Mac Mini, check out the Mac Car forum.

**shizzle** · 03-27-2005, 11:05 PM

The mac mini is perfect for a carputer, if you dont mind the few limitations:
-Fewer progs for mac (like GPS and Frontends (the graphical user interfaces specifically for touchscreen users))
-New OS may be unfamiliar at first.
-Everyone will be jealous of you.

Other than that, I love my MM! The 8" touchscreen lilliput is a perfect match, it worked plug n' play without installing the drivers! I moved an a$$load of music and videos to it from my pc, and only a certain codec that isnt widely used isnt working. (Im guessing WMV files??? anyone???)

Originally Posted by HHdesign

I like the idea of having a carputer in your dash, its very nice, is there any precursor that you car needs to have besises a battery that would make it OK for a carputer.

All you need to do to power a mac mini is buy a simple inverter for a cig lighter, or check this out if youre good at wiring!!! Good idea:
http://www.kennettnet.co.uk/astramac/power/
With that you could easily take your mac mini in and out of the car whenever. The other best option is the micro boards mentioned.

**HHdesign** · 03-28-2005, 07:57 AM

I think I'm going to go with the Mini-Mac, It could eiasly fit just about anywhere in my car, and while I do enjoy building a computer, this seems much more afffordale. The wiring shouldn't be to much of an Issue, thats something I think I can manage, Now I just need to find a spot for the screen. Ok. all my questions have been solved. Thanks guys, I appricated it.

Wait one more... If I wanted to have my minimac also play music on my cars stero system, how would I go about doing that? If this has already been asked I apologize.