A little power supply advice needed

**FreeThinking3** · 09-01-2006, 02:23 PM

Hello. I have been reading and researching my CarPC for about a month now. I have torn apart my car and read the forums non stop. I have pretty much decided on what I am going to install and what will fit. I am looking for a fairly high end machine because I drive about 800-1000 miles a week and also spend a decent amount of down time in my car. I am pretty knowledgeable about cars, computers, and car audio and have wanted to combine them all ever since I can remember. Below are the components I have picked out to install into my dash where the passenger airbag was. I also plan on ordering the 8" widescreen touchscreen off mp3car as my primary screen in my steering wheel and a 17" widescreen LCD which will fit into the dash on the passenger side. I plan to put a deep cycle battery in the trunk on an isolator to power everything. Anyway, I would really like to use a DC-DC power supply, but seems I will have to break down and use an inverter due to power constraints. Any other way to solve my power problems or is an inverter my best choice? Any advice would be great. Thanks for all the help you guys have already given me! By the way I drive a '98 VW Jetta TDI.

ASRock P4i65G Socket 478 Intel 865G Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150 MCE PCI Interface 1042 Tuner Card - Retail
(2) KINGWIN KF-91 SATA Beige Aluminum Mobile Rack - Retail
Intel Pentium 4 3.0E Prescott 3.0GHz Socket 478 RoHS Version
(2) AMPO 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory
(2) Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
ADESSO WKB-4000US 2-Tone USB RF Wireless Mini Keyboard Mouse
SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - OEM
ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Blue LED Light Cooling Fan with Heatsink
USGlobalSat BU-353 WaterProof WAAS enabled USB GPS Receiver

**Tidder** · 09-01-2006, 02:25 PM

You'll probably want to check out a power wattage calculator, then see if any of the current DC-DC PSU's will work for you.

http://www.journeysystems.com/power_...calculator.php

**FreeThinking3** · 09-01-2006, 02:31 PM

Thanks for the reply. I have used a couple different calculators and I am looking at about 250W so I figure I need a PS at about 300W to be safe.

**Tidder** · 09-01-2006, 02:37 PM

Yikes, that's a lot of power. Yeah, I would probably say that an inverter would be your best bet to be sure you have enough.

Hopefully someone else will jump in here with some ideas.

**FreeThinking3** · 09-01-2006, 02:51 PM

Yeah, it's going to be a monster system with 3.0 P4, 500GB HD, and 2 GB memory. Also, since I am thinking about using a 17" desktop LCD as the second display, AC power will be needed on hand.

**DarquePervert** · 09-01-2006, 04:03 PM

I feel obligated to ask...
Why do you want that much CPU horsepower in your ride?

**turbocad6** · 09-01-2006, 04:31 PM

it's not only why that much power, but why such an inefficient way of providing the power....

p4's suck in a car.... they are extremely inefficient & wasteful... & in this waste is also the by product of excessive heat generation...... & excesive power draw..

my advice..... keep that p4 on your desktop & look to pentium m or athalon xp-m's

a pentium m 1.7 with 2mb cache will be every bit as much of a screamer as that p4 you have, while using about HALF the power... & generate less heat.. another side benifit of the pentium m is they have the highest acceptable core temps of any processor, & can run comfortably up to a full 100celcius..

trust me, I've been there... I did a p4 in my install, only to rip it out & scrap it months later....

I'd avise using dc-dc to power the pc, & if you MUST use an inverter, then just a small one for the 17 monitor alone...

**Wiredwrx** · 09-01-2006, 05:53 PM

Originally Posted by FreeThinking3

Yeah, it's going to be a monster system with 3.0 P4, 500GB HD, and 2 GB memory. Also, since I am thinking about using a 17" desktop LCD as the second display, AC power will be needed on hand.

HOLY COW,

What the heck do you need all that for in your car?

You will have issues with boot times, HEAT, and power. There are much better, more efficient solutions.

You really should think long and hard before you go ahead and buy all that expensive stuff to put in your car.

Michael

**FreeThinking3** · 09-02-2006, 01:53 AM

Thanks for the responses. I spend a lot of time sitting in my car on breaks. I understand it's overkill, but the price is comparable with a system half that. It's hard for me to justify paying almost as much for a slower system just to save power. I researched the pentium 4M's and they only seemed to save like 20 watts. I guess I am still learning. Thanks again.

**turbocad6** · 09-02-2006, 02:15 AM

NOT PENTIUM 4M'S, pentium m ...centrino.....

NOT SLOWER.... check benchmarks.... just as fast as the p4 your planning, check the specs...

more than just 20 watts difference.... it could be double that.... & that can make the difference between a dc-dc setup & an inverter....

the pentium m is just a better processor, & I'm not talking about slow....

I doubt you're gonna do a lot more with your pc than I do with mine, I run multi screens & multitask... run dual front ends, monitor my security cameras remotely... watch videos & actually do a bit of photoshop skin editing in my car...

this is not a compramise, it is an improvement, an upgrade from the p4.... it is superior in just about all aspects... but it may cost a bit more if you choose to go with like a 2.1, which will blow away the p4 3.0..... talk about fast....

I run a 1.6 m, 400fsb, 2mb cache & it is every bit as fast as the 2.8 p4 I yanked out....

I think they run up to 2.1 533fsb.... really fast...