Should I switch from DC-DC ATX to laptop?

dmbrown73 · 03-02-2002, 09:08 PM

I am thinking of selling my in car computer and putting the money towards a laptop since my new job keeps me on the road so often. I would put a port replicator/docking station in the trunk and be able to slip the laptop in and out with ease but my main concern is whether the laptop's DVD-ROM drive would skip a lot. My current setup doesn't skip at all (Pioneer 104-S) but at the same time it isn't portable like a laptop and cranking the engine causes the DC-DC PS to reboot the computer. A laptop would stay powered (even if it switched to battery power momentarily if the car battery's voltage drop was significant) but I am concerned that it would be more susceptible to shock than my current setup. Anybody have any experience with notebooks mounted/docked in a car? I am torn whether to sell the computer and put those funds towards a notebook that I must have or keep the computer and raise the money for the notebook some other way.

MP3DUB · 03-03-2002, 01:54 AM

Not speaking from any personal experience, but i'd think that a laptops dvd would be less susceptible to bums be it that its actually held in place on the spindle. and notebooks are generally more ruggedized (hd, case, cdrom, etc) than a desktop, so in theory, it should fair better. there are a few people who do this on mp3car, might wait to hear from them, but it should be fine.

Hemi · 03-05-2002, 12:24 PM

I'm thinking of doing essentially the same thing - I finally got a head unit with auxillary input and I'm using an iPAQ to pump mp3s/wmas to it. Of course, I don't have enough space for all the music I'd like to have in the car, so I'm debating over a couple things...either set up an external HDD for the iPAQ, or set up my laptop as a server to feed music via the iPAQ.

Since using the laptop I already have would be the cheapest at this point, I'm leaning towards that. If anyone is using (or has used) a laptop in their system, I'd really like to hear what you have to say - I have the same questions/concerns as dmbrown, although I'd be using the laptop a bit differently.

Thanks,
Hemi