Quote: Originally Posted by GeddyT
First, the hardware:
Chaintech miniATX nF2 IGP
Athlon XP Mobile low voltage Barton
512MB TwinMOS PC3200
120GB 7200rpm Samsung 3.5" HDD
Slimline slotloading DVD/cdrw with USB enclosure
D-Link 802.11 a/b/c PCI adapter with external antenna
OPUS 150 PSU
Lilliput 7" touchscreen
IBUS/serial interface card
BMW auxiliary input adapter for head unit
If the board is the Chaintech 7NIF2, then a couple of things can bite you.
1) XP Mobile CPU is going to run at 800 mhz unless you search for information on taking a small strand of wire and manually connect two pins on the CPU, not for the faint at heart.
2) Using onboard video? That PC3200 ram can only run at 2700 speed. Also the board is VERY finicky about RAM when you use the onboard video. All NForce chipset boards seem to be.
I have that board, and tried an XP Mobile chip on it, and I went through 3 different brands of memory before I fould one that would work (Buffalo 3200 set to 2700 speeds). I don't use it for a CarPC, but for a MediaPC for the kids playroom. I was going for low heat and because the case is small, and in a confined area (entertainment center setup to look like an old school arcade game). Also the case only has a 200 watt powersupply.
If I had to do it all over again, I would have gotten another Shuttle XPC, a little more pricey, and some of the same limitations as the Chaintech, but a little better in the end.
I got the ME6000 Epia board for my CarPC, I should gotten the M10000 but I thought I couldn't use the M10000 due to room constraints. I can't use hardware mpeg 2 acceleration in PowerDVD, it locks up. With it off, I can watch a movie, but it is really poor experience. Again, I should have changed my plans and either gotten another Shuttle XPC or the Iwill.