Thread: How do I power a carputer cube/gaming pc?

Originally Posted by cortewardy

Im stuck on how I can power a cube pc that im purchasing from craigslist.. The cube pc is loaded with a fat graphics card that I felt that i can use because I want to run gps, movies, music, etc. flawlessly zero lag. People may say that the video card is over kill but I threw my cd deck out the window because it kept skipping on brand new cd's in other words cd's are a thing of the past for me. My main concern is how im going to be able to power the pc ... it comes with a 600 watt power supply already but I need to know the specifics- step-by-step manner in which to power this pc through ignition like m2-atx power supplies that shut down and start up accordingly. I ultimately think I should go ahead and buy the setup please share your thoughts as I will be purchasing it this week ...any help would be great thanks. the specs are as follows
craigslist link-http://sacramento.craigslist.org/sys/544483838.html


-Aspire mini ATX case with blue fascia (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144144)


- Intel Pentium E2140 Dual-Core processor, same core as Core 2 Duo. This one is 100% stable at 2.1ghz. Using a cooler master HS/Fan. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116037)


- Zalman 600W heat pipe SLI ready power supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=zalman%2b600w)


- Team Xtreme DDR2800 2x1GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820313011)


- Gigabyte motherboard model GA-945GCM(X)-S2 (link is to open box, this was purchased new at Fry's last month.) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Tpk=ga-945gcmx


- Evga 7950 GX2 SLi PCI-E video card -very fast and expensive (http://www.eworldsale.com/evga-01g-p...874_11451.html)


- Lite-On DVD burner, 20x speed (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106079)


- Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM SATA HDD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822135106)

- Evga 7950 GX2 SLi PCI-E video card -very fast and expensive
Requirements:
Minimum of a 450 Watt power supply. (Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 28 Amp Amps.)

I'm not sure what advantage this card is going to provide you in your quest to eliminate CD's. Many people can run GPS and play movies just fine without such a power hungry processor under the hood. Add a desktop processor, 3.5" HDD, big fans, etc, and you are pretty much stuck in the "inverter only" category. I'd start with the FAQ and then search from there on how people get startup/shutdown functionality with an inverter.

Another thing to consider is the capacity of your vehicles alternator. For instance, you might want to consider not playing loud music and/or running HVAC when this computer is on. It depends, but it's something to look into.

I agree, that videocard is totally overkill. You are talking about running low intensity 2D graphics, and running them on a hot, power hungry, 3D gaming card. You just don't need it for what you want to do.

thanks for the input you all...I just want a system that can run flawlessly...with a front end running gps, music videos..that's why I thought I needed a good video card..so is it ok for me to use the duo core processor....or should I get a htpc or a media pc , the top of the line pc in the mp3car store seems over priced for the performance ( not the infill g4)..can someone list me a fast media handling pc with power consumption in mind...I have a monitor..I just need the pc with power supply and a 250+ hard drive...feel free to share ur setups sine mine is over kill thanks!

A Core 2 Duo would be a good processor choice, just look for a motherboard that has the features you want and load it up with 1GB RAM or more. The onboard video that most motherboards come with should be fine for what you want to do. Me personally, I am using the intel D201GLY2 (bought from eBay, but they sell them at the store here as well) and I can do the stuff you are describing with no problems. Just my $0.02