Question regarding a power supply for an ATX mobo

**Amax** · 02-26-2005, 11:07 PM

I have been reading and searching in this forum for a while. I would like to use a regular size motherboard like a biostar, abit or Epox. I have heard that the opus 150w is the best for a board like one of those, but are there any less expensive power supplies that would handle all the ins and outs of carputing. Like surving crank, ignition on/off, regulator, etc? I am open to any PSU or Motherboard suggestions. Thanks alot.

**MikeH** · 02-27-2005, 11:26 AM

Amax,

I'll give you my totally unbiased

opinion....

Instead of a full sized motherboard, take a look at the Travla C137-120 case and a P4 mini-ITX mobo (like an Insight). The case is relatively cheap and comes with a 120 watt DC-DC ATX PSU inside. If you pair that with our CNX-P1900 regulator you will have a 120Watt P4 system equivalent of the Opus, but at a much cheaper price. The P1900 includes a startup/shutdown controller, anti-thump control for your audio amp, and "pulse start" so that you can remotely start your system. You can also power your screen from the P1900 and "over clock" it at 13+ volts for a brighter screen. The P1900 will be available in April and will retail for about $99.

I hope this is helpful info. Good luck! It's a great hobby.

**Osiris** · 02-27-2005, 12:02 PM

I am currently using a Biostar board along with an AMD Sempron 2400+ and 512ddr ram. Other specs include a full size dvd rom and several usb devices. I wrote to Opus and they said that my setup would probaly be stressful on the Opus. To remedy this i should go with a slimline (laptop dvd drive) solution. I'm not willing to do this at this time because i pretty much purchased everything at once and im tapped out. So to power my computer I'm using a coleman 400watt inverter with 5 gauge wiring. Has been working great thus far. I ordered a CarPc Pro v.2.2 from mp3car.com to remedy the startup/shutdown issues along with temp protection, LCD powering, etc... but they went out of stock and moved to version 2.3 which i will now be ordering. My setup has been working great thus far and will stay running through the crank process. I havent had my setup that long though and alot of guys either prefer the Opus way or MikeH's carnetix solution which from doing my own research for close to a year now are great ways to setup your carputer. Their ways will cost a bit more costly than the way i went though. Basically it comes down to what your willing to spend.