MP3Car.com - General Hardware Discussion

MP3Car.com - General Hardware Discussion http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/ en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:05:57 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/images/misc/rss.jpg MP3Car.com - General Hardware Discussion http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/ Slim external and/or laptop slot loading drives... http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137441-slim-external-laptop-slot-loading-drives.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:37:08 GMT The one I bought doesnt seem to like much vibration at ALL. I hooked it up to my desktop before we decided to begin mounting/molding in the car and I can hear the disc "scraping" when I move it up/down, tilting, etc.

What drive do you use? Does yours hold the disc securely? Do you have any type of skipping issues in the car? ]]> General Hardware Discussion Tengis http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137441-slim-external-laptop-slot-loading-drives.html Verizon Droid: No Need to spend $30 on the docks http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137412-verizon-droid-no-need-spend-30-docks.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:33:07 GMT Check this out, there is no reason to spend the $30 for the car dock, or for the nightstand dock when you can activate the modes using magnets. When I get my Droid, I will be building one for my home, and one into my dash. To think, Verizon charges $30 for these devices. ... Check this out, there is no reason to spend the $30 for the car dock, or for the nightstand dock when you can activate the modes using magnets. When I get my Droid, I will be building one for my home, and one into my dash. To think, Verizon charges $30 for these devices.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/28/h...and-cardboard/ ]]> General Hardware Discussion UnusuallyGenius http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137412-verizon-droid-no-need-spend-30-docks.html 06 Infiniti M35 back up camera http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137408-06-infiniti-m35-back-up-camera.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:53:35 GMT My car came with the nav system but not the reverse camera. Im looking into adding it myself and was hoping somebody could confirm whether it's possible to do

I manage and auto shop so i have access to a lot of the tech data that i need , what im not sure about is whether the oe equipment is plug and play. After taking apart the trunk , it seems that it came pre-wired for it as there are unattached wire harnesses ending at the spot where the camera controller would be. The steering column already has the steering angle sensor in it , so i think all i need (and have found) is the oe camera and control module

Any opinions? ]]> General Hardware Discussion PalmBeachBoxer http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137408-06-infiniti-m35-back-up-camera.html Some question about my first carputer project... http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137405-some-question-about-my-first-carputer-project.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:50:46 GMT Hi, greetings from Peru... I'm new in this forum, so please be patient with some of my question...

I have a Ford Taurus LX 1988 SW, for some time, I'm planning to construct a carputer for my car, finnaly I started my project, but now, I have some question I don't know what solution is a better way...

I have tested my first carputer version, and I feel is too slow for my taste, and, I want to see some HD videos, and the processor can't play those videos...

First config...
Intel Atom 270 D945GCLF
2GB DDRII ram
Seagate 160GB HDD (regular PC HDD)
Lilliput LED LCD touchscreen 8 inch

Now, I want to chage the config, I have two option, but, I don't know wich is better

Option 1
Zotac ION Mobo + Atom 330
2GB DDRII ram
Seagate 160GB HDD (regular PC HDD)
Lilliput LED LCD touchscreen 8 inch

Option 2
AMD Athlon II 240 X2
Asus AM2 mobo (nvidia 7050 or ATI/AMD 785 chipset with video)
2GB DDRII ram
Seagate 160GB HDD (regular PC HDD)
Lilliput LED LCD touchscreen 8 inch

Option 1
advantage
Low Power requirement
Very small factor
Con
No PCI ( I can't use a PCI sound card or TV or other expantion...)
Maybe, too slow?

Option 2
advantage
Avaiable PCI, PCIe
Easy to upgrade
Cost less than Zotac
Fast processor
Con
Power requierement
The case can be big...

So I need to know about the power consumption, ok, I undestand, I can use some power calculator over the internet, but I want to listen some real world result.. so, I want to use this carputer as my main HU, with the engine running and when the engine are not running, according with your experience, how much time can work each option with engine off?

the other part of my system

JL Audio amplifier Slash 300/2 (or 450/4)
JBL Amplifier BP1200.1
Eclipse EQ (optional) ]]> General Hardware Discussion masaki http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137405-some-question-about-my-first-carputer-project.html Core I7 LGA1156 Mini ITX from DFI http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137390-core-i7-lga1156-mini-itx-dfi.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:24:00 GMT P55-T36 now announced.....

http://www.clunk.org.uk/news-stories...-imminent.html

While most won't need the oooommmmph, there's a lot to be said for underclocking but using the 8 threads.

I've used a I7 920 to transcode 5 High Definition streams simultaneously from 1080i to 720p, and it did it at about 20fps per stream. The I7 chips are great at proper multi threading. ]]> General Hardware Discussion pinocchio http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137390-core-i7-lga1156-mini-itx-dfi.html steering wheel controls http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137384-steering-wheel-controls.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:10:40 GMT Can it be done i have an 05 nissan pathfinder. I would love to use the steering wheel remote for vol and track skip Can it be done i have an 05 nissan pathfinder. I would love to use the steering wheel remote for vol and track skip ]]> General Hardware Discussion themlruts http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137384-steering-wheel-controls.html Seen this yet? Zotac http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137352-seen-yet-zotac.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:55:16 GMT http://www.zotacusa.com/zotac-ionitx...therboard.html http://www.zotacusa.com/zotac-ionitx...therboard.html ]]> General Hardware Discussion GTPDan http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137352-seen-yet-zotac.html Broadcom wifi card http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137349-broadcom-wifi-card.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:42:02 GMT I have a Broadcom WLI-MPCI-G54 wireless card (mini pci) that is installed in an adapter that provides a power source plug in (3.3volt) and a network cable plug in. I can get the card to power up and acquire an ip address (limited connectivity), but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to... I have a Broadcom WLI-MPCI-G54 wireless card (mini pci) that is installed in an adapter that provides a power source plug in (3.3volt) and a network cable plug in. I can get the card to power up and acquire an ip address (limited connectivity), but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to access the browser based administration utility. I am assuming that this is how this thing is supposed to work. My system has two pcmcia slots that I am using for a usb 2.0 card (which I need) and currently the other is in use by an Orinoco gold wifi card. If I can get the Broadcom card to work I can free up the other slot for a pcmcia soundcard. I don't want to use a usb soundcard if I can help it. Does anybody know how to configure this thing? ]]> General Hardware Discussion thewizard http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137349-broadcom-wifi-card.html RPC-1 PC Remote System (i just ordered one) http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137346-rpc-1-pc-remote-system-i-just-ordered-one.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:05:52 GMT Hi everyone! Hey, was wondering if anyone here has used one of these RPC-1 PC remote start thingies... http://curioustech.home.insightbb.com/remote.html

I just placed an order. I'll be posting my results and opinion later once i receive it. ]]> General Hardware Discussion 0okami http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137346-rpc-1-pc-remote-system-i-just-ordered-one.html PCI-E x1 card options http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137267-pci-e-x1-card-options.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:02:03 GMT I have an open PCI-E x1 spot on my motherboard and I was wondering what oyu guys think could be the most useful. Currently, the things that I really NEED are an extra set of USB motherboard pins and an extra set of 1394 motherboard pins. Are cards with these pins available? (I cant find any) I have an open PCI-E x1 spot on my motherboard and I was wondering what oyu guys think could be the most useful. Currently, the things that I really NEED are an extra set of USB motherboard pins and an extra set of 1394 motherboard pins. Are cards with these pins available? (I cant find any) ]]> General Hardware Discussion cjrokke http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137267-pci-e-x1-card-options.html Help solving my GPS / Win7 / D945GCLF2 Problem http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137264-help-solving-my-gps-win7-d945gclf2-problem.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:04:25 GMT I've read everything I can find, tried more stuff than I can remember, and now at my wits end. It's time to beg for help. I don't need any more suggestions to do a Google search, or check GlobStat for updated drivers, or reinstall this, or that. I need someone that has a BU-353 USB GPS working on an Intel D945GCLF2 under Windows 7. Not XP, not Vista, not some other MB, or serial GPS unit.

BTW, I have several posts around here relating to this problem, but nothing has worked so far. I'm willing to admit that it's beyond my scope of expertise. If anyone has this configuration working, please contact me and we can chat about the problem and what it's going to cost me to get it working, short of buying a new system. Thanks for understanding. :yield: ]]> General Hardware Discussion wmpwi http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137264-help-solving-my-gps-win7-d945gclf2-problem.html Intel tips for a fast boot http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137245-intel-tips-fast-boot.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:09:48 GMT Well, I have a DG45FC and I'm not very impressed with the boot times I'm getting.

25.8 sec until the beep. (including about 5sec it takes from M4 to start the thing), so to be fair is like 20 secs.

15.2 Win7 resume from hibernation.
total: 41s.

Cold boot:

5 sec. M4
20.7 BIOS
32s. Win7 32
total: 57.7s. from IGN on. Not good, thanks to this Intel Bios.

Fully loaded with all USB ports, GPS, bluetooth, Camera, JoyCon, etc.

So today I came accross some very interesting tips for speeding up the bios side of boot up process from intel. Some are obvious, some not so much - for me anyway. I'll post them all anyway for future reference.

Quote:

Resolving Slow Boot Times

Check the following tips to speed up the boot time of your computer.

Set the hard drive as the first boot device in the boot order in the BIOS setup (Boot > Boot Device Priority menu).
Enable Intel® Rapid BIOS boot in the BIOS setup (Boot menu).
Disable Hard Disk Pre-Delay in the BIOS Setup (Advanced > Drive Configuration menu).
Disable system functions and features if you do not need them. Examples include:
- Legacy USB - this must be enabled if you use a USB keyboard or USB mouse outside the Windows* environment (Advanced > USB Configuration).
- Unused I/O ports, such as serial, parallel and IEEE-1394 ports (Advanced > Peripheral Configuration menu).
- Event logging (Advanced > Event Log Configuration menu).

Refer to Optimization Tip - Device Boot Order for additional information on reducing boot times.

(here)

And also:

Quote:

Peripheral Selection and Configuration
The following techniques help improve system boot speed:

Choose a hard drive with parameters such as "power-up to data ready" less than eight seconds to minimize hard drive startup delays.
Select a CD-ROM drive with a fast initialization rate. This rate can influence POST execution time.
Eliminate unnecessary add-in adapter features, such as logo displays, screen repaints, or mode changes in POST. These features may add time to the boot process.
Try different monitors. Some monitors initialize and communicate with the BIOS more quickly, which enables the system to boot more quickly.

Intel® Rapid BIOS Boot
Use of the following BIOS Setup program settings reduces the POST execution time. In the Boot Menu:

Set the hard disk drive as the first boot device. As a result, the POST will not first seek a diskette drive, which saves about one second from the POST execution time.
Disable Silent Boot, which eliminates display of the logo splash screen. This could save several seconds of painting complex graphic images and changing video modes.
Enable Intel® Rapid BIOS Boot. This feature bypasses memory count and the search for a diskette drive.

In the Peripheral Configuration submenu, disable the LAN device if it will not be used. This can reduce up to four seconds of option ROM boot time.

(here) ]]> General Hardware Discussion RipplingHurst http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137245-intel-tips-fast-boot.html Creative Sound Blaster USB soundcard problems resuming after hibernation http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137231-creative-sound-blaster-usb-soundcard-problems-resuming-after-hibernation.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:10:46 GMT I've resorted to using my old Creative Soundblaster usb soundcard after not getting the mic/line-in function to work on my VIA pico-itx.

The problem I am having is that after resuming from hibernation, the sound output is really low.

What I mean is is that prior to hibernation, sound output is normal at 50% volume. Once I come out of hibernation, even when I crank the volume to 100%, sound output is less than it was before hibernation with the volume set at 50%.

What I found is that I have to close Winamp/RR, disable and then enable the sound card thru device manager, and restart Winamp/RR to get the normal sound output back.

I've been searching thru the forums about a solution, but the key words are too general.

I've had success using devcon to enable/disable the usb soundcard after resume operations, but it is really annoying have to close and restart everything. Kinda defeats the purpose of using hibernation, y'know?

Anyone have any suggestions to get the usb soundcard to resume back to its previous state? ]]> General Hardware Discussion Sal R. http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137231-creative-sound-blaster-usb-soundcard-problems-resuming-after-hibernation.html Solid state alternatives to SSD http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137227-solid-state-alternatives-ssd.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:21:57 GMT I'm just starting my first carpc. I'm from canada where temps get pretty low (-35C). I'm wondering if any of you have ever thought about using a memory card to ide or sata adapter? SSD is too expensive for me right now (just had my first child!). But I've got a sdhc 8gb card laying around from an old cell phone. I found some sd -> IDE and sd -> SATA adapters on ebay for around $10 and $20 respectively. Hooked up with on of those the card should read as a regular drive to boot up no problem (unlike a usb adapter). It should also effectively be similar to an SSD in the fact that it'd have no moving parts.

I'd like to boot the os (probably a lite version of WinXP), and use a 2.5" 80gb drive that I have for media. That way, I should be assured that the computer will boot, and when the other drive works, I should be able to utilize all my media!

Any thoughts? They'd be much appreciated. Like I said, I'm new to Carputing, and I'm speaking in theory with no real world experience.

EDIT: Last minute I thought that I should ask if the 4Mbps speed of the sdhc card would effect the overall speed of the computer that much? Too Much? What do you think?

Thanks in advance! :D
Elijah Harp ]]> General Hardware Discussion thunderbay http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137227-solid-state-alternatives-ssd.html First mobile DTV car tuner http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137205-first-mobile-dtv-car-tuner.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:54:49 GMT http://www.twice.com/article/388144-...ner_At_499.php

"City of Industry, Calif. - The first market-ready Mobile DTV tuner for the car was shown by Concept Enterprises, in a $499-suggested tuner due in early December.

A standard for Mobile DTV was just approved last month by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) allowing clean reception of live, local simulcast TV content in a car or to a portable device.

Mobile DTV uses the same digital spectrum as local TV stations for HD programming and can stream it without ghosting or pixilation to a moving vehicle. It also comes without monthly service fees.

The first commercially ready Mobile DTV tuner was unveiled by Concept at the SEMA show this month, although Kenwood has shown prototype models in the past.

Concept's tuner will work with any after-market or OEM monitor with RCA outputs. The tuner is smaller than a Blackberry phone and requires a 1-inch roof-mount antenna base with a 6-inch-long antenna wire.

In the past, broadcast TV reception in the car has been limited. "Any time you moved over 20 miles per hour, the picture would break up and you'd get pixelation," said Concept national sales manager Al Miller, adding, "With the new LG ATSC M/H chip, we can receive these signals."

He added, "Especially since AT&T CruiseCast is no longer, people are looking for an inexpensive TV solution to get TV in the car. You get clean, clear reception of local broadcasting."

The ATSC Mobile DTV standard allows broadcasters to use a portion of the existing 19.3Mbps DTV channel capacity to transmit data with very robust characteristics suitable for mobile, pedestrian and handheld products, said LG maker of the Mobile DTV chips.

Broadcasters are testing or airing the service in 29 markets, expected to grow to 70 by the end of the year, according to Anne Schelle, executive director of Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), the trade group supporting Mobile DTV."

Hopefully this or other products like these will make there way into CarPC setups. Seems like a better option than Slingbox and a much cheaper solution than satellite TV. ]]> General Hardware Discussion chris4851 http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/general-hardware-discussion/137205-first-mobile-dtv-car-tuner.html