mccleanp

Hi all,

I am just about to buy some hardware for my mp3car player.

I was thinking about getting a PC Chips motherboard either the <A HREF='http://210.176.91.36/585lmr.html'>MB-585LMR</A> or the <A HREF='http://210.176.91.36/598lmr.html'>MB-598LMR</A> (sorry its a real slow site).

For the CPU I was thinking of using a Cyrix 6x86 MII P300/P333.

I am unfamiliar with both these motherboards and the Cyrix processors. Would anyone like to comment on their (suit)ability in a mp3car player?

I will be using a 20x4 VFD Display. I am intending to write my own player software (based on the xaudio player) running under Linux.

Any comments, criticisms or suggestions would be welcome.

Regards,
Paul

MP3Car.com

 

Aaron Cake

I'm using a PCChips motherboard (LMR571 I think) with a Cyrix 200. Seems to work fine for me. There are a few things you should know about PCChips motherboards:

1. They are not the highest quality motherboard in the world, but are decent with an excellant manual

2. They require a power good signal

3. The onboard sound has a bizarre impedence which may pose a problem for your stereo or head unit

4. The onboard modem does not work with Cyrix chips (probably not a big deal).

Other than that, there isn't really a problem. The BIOS is highly configurable and supports all modern functions. The board comes with high quality cables with built in latches, and warrenty support seems good (I dropped mine and had it replaced on RMA).

------------------
Aaron Cake
London, Ontario, Canada

Player: Cyrix 200, 32MB RAM, 10.2Gig Quantum HD, Onboard EtherNet/Sound/Video, Custom Lexan Case, Arise DC-DC, Win95 Kernal w/Custom Player
Car: '86 Mazda RX-7 w/Basic Performance Upgrades

__________________
Player: Pentium 166MMX, Amptron 598LMR MB w/onboard Sound, Video, LAN, 10.2 Gig Fujitsu Laptop HD, Arise 865 DC-DC Converter, Lexan Case, Custom Software w/Voice Interface, MS Access Based Playlists
Car: 1986 Mazda RX-7 Turbo (highly modded), 1978 RX-7 Beater (Dead, parting out), 2001 Honda Insight
"If one more body-kitted, cut-spring-lowered, farty-exhausted Civic revs on me at an intersection, I swear I'm going to get out of my car and cram their ridiculous double-decker aluminium wing firmly up their rump."

sproggy

Something to note about the Cyrix chips is that they consume a lot of power and generate a lot of heat.

My player uses a M2 300 chip and it requires a considerable size heatsink and fan to keep it cool. An AMD processor of the same speed would consume about half the power of the cyrix.

Saab

I'm also using a Cyrix chip (200). Doesn't cause any problems, but it is not the fastest chip in the world. So... Don't try to use DVD, but after that, it should be great for Linux.
BEN

JesTa784

ooooh.. no wonder my lmr571 wasn't working... i needs a frikkin power good signal!... Aaron, how did you exactly supply the motherboard with the power good signal? I've read things such as simply plugging in a 5v into the pin, or a capacitor to delay it to trick the motherboard. Any ideas? How did you do it? I want dc-dc!!! haha

Aaron Cake

I used a resistor and a 100uF tantalum capacitor to make a simple RC delay circuit. I don't remember the resistor, although it could be 47 Ohm. You can search the Internet for the diagram, or if need be I can post it.



------------------
Aaron Cake
London, Ontario, Canada

Player: Cyrix 200, 32MB RAM, 10.2Gig Quantum HD, Onboard EtherNet/Sound/Video, Custom Lexan Case, Arise DC-DC, Win95 Kernal w/Custom Player
Car: '86 Mazda RX-7 w/Basic Performance Upgrades

__________________
Player: Pentium 166MMX, Amptron 598LMR MB w/onboard Sound, Video, LAN, 10.2 Gig Fujitsu Laptop HD, Arise 865 DC-DC Converter, Lexan Case, Custom Software w/Voice Interface, MS Access Based Playlists
Car: 1986 Mazda RX-7 Turbo (highly modded), 1978 RX-7 Beater (Dead, parting out), 2001 Honda Insight
"If one more body-kitted, cut-spring-lowered, farty-exhausted Civic revs on me at an intersection, I swear I'm going to get out of my car and cram their ridiculous double-decker aluminium wing firmly up their rump."

mccleanp

OK, so I also have an old Intel Pentium 166 MMX lying around - should I use that instead of the Cyrix? (Saving myself a few pounds)

Regards,
Paul

xa0s

Hey they have these motherboards back in stock for $39.00: http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2....D_ID=5428&fp=T

MP3Car.com

 

Saab

IMHO I think that the 166MMX will work better than any Cyrix up to 300. Pentium processors are much more reliable, and they do not generate as much heat. Some people have had problems with the processor heating up so much that they have to underclock the CPU to keep the temp down. This means that you might even have to underclock the Cyrix down to the speed of a 166MMX to kep it from burning up.
The only problem might be that you MB doesn't support the processor, but it's hard to tell unless you have the MB book.
BEN

JesTa784

sorry to bug u aaron, but can you show me how? what's a tantalum capacitor? and what's the difference between that and a regular cap? thanks!

Aaron Cake

I will draw up the (very simple) schematic in few hours....

As for the tantalum capacitors, the major difference is that, well, they are made of tantalum :-). Basically, they have a much lower leakage current than regular electrolytics.

------------------
Aaron Cake
London, Ontario, Canada

Player: Cyrix 200, 32MB RAM, 10.2Gig Quantum HD, Onboard EtherNet/Sound/Video, Custom Lexan Case, Arise DC-DC, Win95 Kernal w/Custom Player
Car: '86 Mazda RX-7 w/Basic Performance Upgrades

__________________
Player: Pentium 166MMX, Amptron 598LMR MB w/onboard Sound, Video, LAN, 10.2 Gig Fujitsu Laptop HD, Arise 865 DC-DC Converter, Lexan Case, Custom Software w/Voice Interface, MS Access Based Playlists
Car: 1986 Mazda RX-7 Turbo (highly modded), 1978 RX-7 Beater (Dead, parting out), 2001 Honda Insight
"If one more body-kitted, cut-spring-lowered, farty-exhausted Civic revs on me at an intersection, I swear I'm going to get out of my car and cram their ridiculous double-decker aluminium wing firmly up their rump."

MP3Car.com