Help me make the Ultimate Carputer!

SmoL(2) · 12-18-2005, 07:03 PM

Ok Guys here's my dilemma.
I've been reading this forum for a few months now and fell I'm pretty ready to get started on a carputer of my own. I can actaully claim this system on tax

but because I can I want to make a system that I can also take inside an use as a media centre for my TV. I have been looking and looking and each time I think I have thought of the prefect system something comes up to blow it out of the water.

My basic needs are:
Ability to make recieve calls to mobile via bluetooth
Wireless with an external antenna (either PCI or USB)
GPS with an external antenna (either PCI or USB)
Sound card with DTS
AGP or PCIe Graphics Card
HDTV tuner with FM radio
Bluetooth USB Dongle

My screen of choice today is the Xenarc 7" (may change tommorow)

I would also prefer a P4 system.

The problem is that there is alot of heat in Australia (so will have to keep this cool) Which is why initially I was hoping for a VIA nano-board, but I really want to be able to unplug this from the car and take it inside or to LAN's etc...

I have been looking at the Asus espresso, however if you get the TV tuner in that you loose you PCI slot, and dont think I can fit everything via USB, nor do I think its a great idea to have all my peripherials running off USB.

I have been looking at shuttles aswell, however the decent ones all ship with a 350watt power supply which means I can't use an OPUS

Which is a shame as I want to be able to time the start up shutdown with the ignition and I dont want a problem with the engine cranking.

So please guys give me your ideas! If this works out as I plan it will with TAX I will put this up for sale at a give away price when I can make another one next finincial year!!!

evandude · 12-18-2005, 07:13 PM

I don't know about other people, but I don't think making it easily removable, and making "the ultimate carputer" are exactly compatible... the most impressive installs I have seen are the ones that are clean and almost everything is well hidden, and I don't think you could do that and still make it pop right out in minutes...

and before people start giving you crap, you should get your head out of the clouds, the odds of you building "the ultimate carputer" right away, starting as a carputer noob, aren't as good as they seem; you have to be realistic. There's a reason that a lot of people here have been working on their systems for years, and it's not stupidity...

SmoL(2) · 12-18-2005, 07:24 PM

Thanks EvanDude, sorry your right I should reword this to say my ultimate carputer. To me it would be ultimate to be able to harness a powerful system in acar that I can take out when needs be. And like to quote your post "If it hasn't been done before it can be done".

I understand that with a post like this i'm going to get the n00b flaming, however I do feel yours was unwarranted. I am simply asking for some input, not you to tell me im not ready to build a carputer when you don't know my technical expertise, my work experience nor the amount of research I have alredy put into this machine. I did not stuble across this site today and say hey you know what that looks cool I wanna post some messages! To do that would show great disrepect to what I believe is a respected and invaluable community, however I do not feel you how cemented that view with your post.

Moving forward, I do not think its appropriate the be having this conversation, polluting the forum and wasting the poor users time who is reading this.

Guys please, constructive criticism only would be greatly appreciated...

(p.s the only reason why I am posting this now is A. I feel i have sufficient research and work experience to do this, and B. (most importantly) I am running out of time to purchase the gear and claim it on tax (10th feb is my deadline for procurement).

simbot41 · 12-18-2005, 07:40 PM

From my limited experience, you are going to struggle with a p4 system in regards to heating issues (I am from Perth WA) as well as powering issues until the new 220w DC-DC power supplies are released and even then you may exceed power consumption. You are trying to cram alot into your system, especially with the HDTV tuner. FYI in Australia technically we cannot even have a screen visable at anytime, even if it is GPS.

you are better off with a INtel Mobile CPU.

Teranfirbt · 12-18-2005, 07:47 PM

IMO the best CPU for a high heat area is going to be a low heat CPU, such as the mobile Athlon XP or celeron.. P4's are desktop CPU's and put out quite a bit of heat, especially the Prescott..

SmoL(2) · 12-18-2005, 07:48 PM

Thanks Simbot, How are you going with HEating issues? I am in Syd and would imagine perth would be a bit hotter than here (but wouldnt make much difference).

I agree, the main reason why I was going for P4 was solely for use outside of the car. I was thinking of a pentium M processor (as theres a new suttle pc out that supports this) but thought it may be lacking for what I want. I was thinking of a P4 dual core to overcome the heat issues however these are very pricey for little heat reduction. As for the power Your spot on, There are other 220watt options, but still hard to find a shuttle type pc with that power rating (all the new ones seem to be 250-350, and I dont think 220 would suffice for the extra video card). An inverter my be my only option (which is good as it offers me portability) Does anyone know how these go with shutdown/startup converters? how about cranking?

Any guys got ideas about parts/specifications that they would think would be good??

Fox_Mulder · 12-18-2005, 08:00 PM

Don't go past the Xenarc 700TSV from CDT in Melbourne!

turbocad6 · 12-18-2005, 08:27 PM

I would buy a centrino laptop running mce2005... then dock it in the car..... everything you've specified would be met... done deal....

-zip- · 12-18-2005, 09:13 PM

Instead of the ultimate you are going to compromise one or the other or both.

They are two totally different systems.

SmoL · 12-20-2005, 01:26 AM

Thanks Fox Mulder,
Yeah I have checked out CDT they are competitve I just got to figure out if I get it cheaper from overseas and pay postage or pay a bit more and get it quicker from CDT and pay a bit more.

And Turbocad6 I agree, A centrino laptop would suit well, I'm going to go with a shuttle type atx board only for upgradabilities sake, but if it falls flat on my feet i'm going for the centrino.

Fox_Mulder · 12-21-2005, 03:49 PM

Don't forget if you choose the overseas route, custom's fees may crop up costing you more than what it would be to buy from over here!

Genesisfactor · 12-22-2005, 06:41 PM

The legalities of the LCD, btw, you may want to respect or even hide. BUT, if you're a renagede...

Why would you need an HDTV tuner for a screen that's is not HDTV speced?
You'll want USB wifi, most likely a G (if all your'e doing is internet, save a few bucks and go B, its actually faster than your internet connection. If you're doing network data transfers, go with G. Forget Pre-N since its a marketing gimmick, as per reason 3,, few people have that that you can take advantage of the speed, and its not finalized yet). I'm not sure how much the metal fram of the car will enhance or detract frm Wifi signals, but atleast with USB, you can move the dongle to an ideal location and then expand on the wire
audigy 2 for motebooks or Audigy NX can be had for cheap. They work wonderfully

If you know anything about computers, then you know to save your money on Dual Core P4's and use the cheaper AMD Dual Core chips, assuming you don't use a laptop...which i was suggest that you use. BUT media centers have 2.6-3.0ghz when they first came out. That's MORE than enough processing power. What you need to focus on is RAM. The CHEPAEST way to go IMO...

You can run your system will everything running with something like a 1ghz laptop with over a gig of RAM. You won't listen to me on that, but still...whatever you get, max out your RAM. I have a 450mhz P3-M laptop with 320Mb of ram that blows away a 1ghz with 128Mb, both running XP, just so you understand by comparision.

-Laptop computer, with USB 2.0 and/or firewire. with docking station (Basically a thin and light with the mobile docking station). They will use P-Ms, but don't be fooled by the whole lower Ghz thing, they run by a whole differnt rules set than desktop chips (larger on cache memory means faster access to the data it calulates). Infact, Intel is making thier desktop chips more like their laptop chips. Same for AMD. Processing power should be more than adequate. Whatever you get, RAM it to the MAX. And seriously, dont' forget the docking station. DO NOT BUY TOSHIBA UNDER ANY CONDITION.
Cost- ~$500 if you buy form a private party, more if you buy it from a store, and MAYBE more if you buy it off of ebay. You can get them cheaper if they're broken screen (do you REALLY need a screen on a closed laptop?). As long as it turns on its fine. Use the docking station as the primary hub for everything, which, with my docking stations, it automatically

USB 2.0 and FireWire Hub. You'll need it. Despite what USB detractors say, and i'm neutral, almost everything that you want will use USB. You can actually adjust the bandwith in your properties if you favor that. All in all though, with the ram bump, you won't really care. In all honesty, you may just need to plug in 2 items into the hub. Big deal.

Bluetooth mobile comunications. This differs if you have a phone and which phonoe you have. Cheapest and easiest way to do this...use a regualr car phone set up. If you want to record your phone calls or whatever, check to see if your phone has the ability for a computer sync. You can record the calls decently with your built in mic on the laptop, if it has one. Save your processing power for important stuff, like your tuner.

GPS for your laptop, USB or bluetooth. I prefer USB, but if you want a cleaner looking set up, go blue tooth and make ample use of your antenna. Just make sure get one with software that s highly rated. This is where i feel a laptop suffers as i like multiple hard drives so ease burden, but i don't think you'll be watching tv or videos and navigating at the same time. And if you were...please don't..unless you leave me your system in your will. Then go right ahead.

Oh, finally, with that LCD, the in-dash LCDs will solve your TV tuner/AM/FM and you can attach rear and front facing cameras withthe dual RCA jacks normally accosiated. Plus you don't need a head unit, so you can take that money and put it to better use.

You're looking, if you're lucky, at roughly a grand US, without counting the LCD and in car mods. 1-1.4g's USD looks like a soudn estimate. If you want it completely removable, including the hubs, spring for the light up USB cords and an LED ground effects system. It leaves everything out, but if make everything the same glowing color and bundle them up neatly, everyone would thing tis part of the design of the system and will add to its appeal.

I think that's a dollar and a half worth of my opinion.

Fox_Mulder · 12-22-2005, 07:53 PM

The digital TV Tuner may offer better reception, and it offers some other features such as EPG multi cams etc.

UKStormer · 12-22-2005, 08:09 PM

Why do you want an ultimate PC in the car, I am assuming all you want to do is like most people and that is listen to MP3's have sat nav, radio and at the outmost play DVD's, you do not need a monster PC to do all that. I use an M11 1200 and that does everything and as it is a mini ITX the current drain is low, also regarding memory, true for home use the more memory the better but for carputer stuff 256 is more than enough, remember a big issue with a lot of carputer builders is boot times, do a search to see how much time and effort people put into it, I use hibernation and so do many others and the more memory you have the longer it takes to both hibernate and restore, I have music in about 10 -12 seconds coming out of hibernation. As for the home, do what I have done, build a nice small PC dedicated to just that with a nice touchscreen on the wall, looks really cool, check out Meedio.com for some great software and plugins.

SmoL · 12-23-2005, 02:30 AM

Thanks alot for the replies guys they are great quality and just what I am looking for!

Genesis (like your nick btw, hope you don't work for genesys though but if you do fix my damn IVR =P) I do actually agree with you all about the laptop and getting a via board that will be permanent in the car, however since I'm claiming this on tax I want to be able to use it elsewhere (ie inside as a media centre), and as Fox Mulder said, HDTV will give a bit better reception but really I just want it to be there for a future install and the price difference between that and a regular tv tuner is marginal.

I also agree with you AMD diagnosis I do realise the new AMD dual core is technically better however I havent had enough first hand experience with them and am choosing P4 purley as its 'old faithful' to me. With the USB hub it shouldn't be a problem with an inverter if it was OPUS I may be a bit apprehensive but for this case I think its the way to go (plus then I can use some of the other devices on my laptops). I also prefer the USB GPS adaptor but don't really like the idea of having a million USB cables lying in the car (so I guess this one will depend on how I feel on the day as to which one I buy, I doubt I can find a bluetooth one with an antenna input though).

I plan on spending about 1.5 AUD on the system (not including screen) and think its possible (may hit 2 grand though), I havent however seen any LCD's with AM/FM radio would you be able to name a few models for me? I have seen plenty with FM but not an AM/FM combo.

I have also heard that the creative sound cards aren't that great for regualr audio and are tailored more towards gaming, can anyone recommend some other good cards in the market?

Lastly, I have found a board/case that I am leaning towards getting (see it at http://www.asus.com.au/products4.asp...37&modelmenu=1 let me know what you think...) I would really like a shuttle for their reliability, heat distribution and sound dissipation but I cant find one that has the ability to play dvd/audio without the operating system starting up like the ASUS offers, does anyone know of anyother systems that offer this??

And UKStormer thanks for that Meedio link!!