Dell SX270 Info

**V6Stang** · 05-09-2006, 11:14 PM

Originally Posted by BimmaDrew

Here's a pic of the case open when i opened things to solder the wires to the button. You can see there isn't room for power. The CD bay and the 2.5" HDD are on the other side of the board.

can you post everything you do w/pics cuz im using the same setup and have no clue where to start lol would be very appreciated

**BimmaDrew** · 05-10-2006, 12:30 AM

Originally Posted by V6Stang

can you post everything you do w/pics cuz im using the same setup and have no clue where to start lol would be very appreciated

lol...don't worry, I'm nearly finished with my install. All i need is the power supply so I can turn it all on for the first time! I've been taking some decent pictures so I can post them when I "show off my project".

Once I get my power supply in the next day or 2, I'll let you know how it goes. I'm hoping it'll all work the first time...but I'm holding my breath and the wait is killing me!

But if you have any q's right now, go ahead and I'll see if I have a pic that's worth a thousand words.

**V6Stang** · 05-10-2006, 08:41 AM

Originally Posted by BimmaDrew

lol...don't worry, I'm nearly finished with my install. All i need is the power supply so I can turn it all on for the first time! I've been taking some decent pictures so I can post them when I "show off my project".

Once I get my power supply in the next day or 2, I'll let you know how it goes. I'm hoping it'll all work the first time...but I'm holding my breath and the wait is killing me!

But if you have any q's right now, go ahead and I'll see if I have a pic that's worth a thousand words.

1.Well i just got that computer for free so its what im using as well...are you planning on putting it into a smaller case? getting new hardware? or just leaving it how it is basically?

2.What kind of car do you have and where do you plan on mounting it in the car?

3.What are you doing to keep it cool? I heard alot of ppl mention these getting really hot which will be an issue for me if it gets too hot and its already sitting in my trunk where it can get to like 100 degress F so that concerns me a lil.

4.What software will you be using?

5.How do you plan on hooking it to your car stereo?

Thanks to the great write ups

so far I know how i can wire it for power straight to the battery just have to learn how to wire it with a fuse. Sorry for all the questions, just came to mind when I thought of what i had left to do with it.

**BimmaDrew** · 05-10-2006, 05:52 PM

Originally Posted by V6Stang

1.Well i just got that computer for free so its what im using as well...are you planning on putting it into a smaller case? getting new hardware? or just leaving it how it is basically?

2.What kind of car do you have and where do you plan on mounting it in the car?

3.What are you doing to keep it cool? I heard alot of ppl mention these getting really hot which will be an issue for me if it gets too hot and its already sitting in my trunk where it can get to like 100 degress F so that concerns me a lil.

4.What software will you be using?

5.How do you plan on hooking it to your car stereo?

Thanks to the great write ups

so far I know how i can wire it for power straight to the battery just have to learn how to wire it with a fuse. Sorry for all the questions, just came to mind when I thought of what i had left to do with it.

1. I'm leaving it in the original case. The case is really small as it is...you won't find too many smaller ones that are using a P4.

2. 01 BMW 325Ci. I acatually have a medium sized sub box in the trunk already, so it'll got in a gap between it and the rear strut. (I'll post pics later).

3. The operating temp is my only concern still. as long as you leave some room on the bottom and top (if you have it standing vertically), it should be ok. There are 2 fans that pull the air through the bottom and out the top...so make sure they can breath and you should be ok. But we'll see how it handles the summers.

4. I'll be using Roadrunner as my frontend. I've already been tinkering with it. But I went with it because there are people who've made my GPS software work with it.

5. I'm not using the stock stuff at all. I'm doing what most people have been doing in here...using an external soundcard (Audigy 2 NX). you need to get RCA to 3.5mm adapters since the Audigy doesn't have RCA outputs...but it's a really good card that is relatively inexpensive. But you can get sound processors that are far better and cost a pretty penny if you really care about SQ.

**V6Stang** · 05-10-2006, 09:13 PM

Yea alot of people use roadrunner it must be pretty good it seems to be really popular. What GPS program are you going to use, thats the only thing I can't decide on. I read the Faq but its still hard to choose, I was considering that Garmin one that other guy was talking about but I want something that will be interfaced with the frontend so I dont have to leave Roadrunner to access it ya know.

How much did that soundcard run you? I honestly wasn't planning on touching any of the stock hardware, I figured even with the stock stuff it should still be equal to if not better than my stock stereo system. I already have to run the computer to an amplifier anyway in order to power it through all of my speakers. Do you think a different soundcard is neccessary?

**BimmaDrew** · 05-10-2006, 09:27 PM

I'm using the Microsoft Streets & Trips 2006. The GPS mouse that came with it seems good enough (despite what some people say about it not being the newer surf III chip). I have it sitting under the windshield and I had 6 sats most of the time (varied between 5 and up to 10)!

The Audigy was about $80 or $85 at Circuit City. What car are you putting you puter in? (I'm guessing a Mustang from your name).

**V6Stang** · 05-10-2006, 09:39 PM

Oh yea, alot of ppl seemed to not be pleased with the S&T for 05 but supposivley its alot better for 06. Can it be interfaced with RoadRunner? Let me know what you think are the pros and cons for S&T

Thats not a bad price for the sound card, how much better quality will that deliver as opposed to whatever came with the optiplex?

Yea it's going into my mustang, I was just gonna hook up my mp3 player but I hate those stupid transmitters and this guy who always makes fun of everything i do was like you should just put a computer in your car and did some searching and lo and behold here i am with all of you other guys...i must say this site has been beyond useful and important especially this specific thread now lol.

**BAHitman** · 05-11-2006, 10:58 PM

Originally Posted by V6Stang

Thanks to the great write ups

so far I know how i can wire it for power straight to the battery just have to learn how to wire it with a fuse. Sorry for all the questions, just came to mind when I thought of what i had left to do with it.

You can buy a fuse holder from any auto supply store (pep boys, Autozone, etc...) You can see it from my pic of the battery connection. it's the orange wire from the b attery, the little black covered thing is the fuse, then the orange wire connects to a red wire that goes to the system through the firewall...

Make sure you get one that has a cap on it to somewhat protect it from getting wet... as for the wire connectors, you can either solder it and tape it up, or you can use a crimp on butt connector

**V6Stang** · 05-11-2006, 11:43 PM

Awesome, keep the updates and pics coming, very helpful in so many ways...but I was looking at the picture and got just slightly confused about something so I drew the diagram you see here let me know which one is correct. (The blue and green wires were substituted for black and white cuz it was just easier to see in my opinon). What did you ground the black and white to?

**BimmaDrew** · 05-12-2006, 12:03 AM

You ground them to the metal frame of the car. It usually means having to pull up some carpet or trim to find a bolt/screw on the frame. the key thing is...MAKE SURE THEIR IS NO PAINT where you are grounding it. if there is, sand it down until you see nothing but shiney metal just around the bolt/screw. It also helps if you ground it at the same bolt that your stereo amps are grounded to. it helps eliminate any noise (like alternator whine).

oh BTW. IT"S ALIVE!!!!!

It's all working. Now I'm installing software and tuning it.

Once I'm finished fine tuning it, I'll start posting all my findings.

But one key thing I found about the DSATX is that you need to trick it into supply power since you are not pluging it into a normal mother board. It would turn on, it just wouldn't output any power at all. I grounded a pin and it turned it all on (the pin with the green wire on a standard 20 pin ATX cable). It's labled "PSON#" in the DSATX instruction manual.