speakers_86

After rediscovering this site, I have been researching for the past 2 days and I am thinking of installing a laptop in my 07 Mazda 6. Heres the materials I have in mind to use.

Monitor http://www.mpegcar.com/acatalog/Display_Monitor.html
PC Aspire One AOA150-1126 Mini
TV http://www.mpegcar.com/acatalog/Digital_TV.html
Integration Car2pc
GPS BU 353 + iGuidance


PC-I like that one because it has a large hard drive for such a small laptop. Its also cheap!

TV-That should provide the signal, but I dont know what software would play it or even if that monitor can play a dtv signal.

Integration-Id probably hold off on this for a while. I have auxmod now, Id probably use that for a while. Only reason I would want this would be to get the next buttons on my steering wheel to go to the next track. Ive read car2pc can let me do this.

GPS-Im not pressed to have it, but since i can I should!


Frontend-Well, I dont really like what I have seen very much. Id like to just say ill use itunes but I dont think that is road friendly. I guess any media player that looks like a jukebox would work well. (Big next buttons, convenient scrolling through artists, etc.)

Power-Well, I think I would probably just use an inverter at first, unless or until that doesn't work anymore.

External dvd drive-Dont have any model in mind yet! I like the idea of a tray-less drive through.


Feed back from a pro would be great!

MP3Car.com

 

speakers_86

After reading this http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/powe...nsumption.html

I am thinking an inverter is not such a good idea. Now I am leaning towards a CNX-P1900. Which means I am now thinking I should redo how my amps are powered. I would probably want a thicker wire since now I would be pushing the lilli plus a computer, in addition to my 2 amps. Thats okay though, it gives me an opportunity to mount my amps in a different place. The guys at best buy mounted them on the back of the rear seat behind the sub enclosure. Looks professional, but doesnt show off my amps at all!

I was kicking the idea around of building a desktop, but I dont think Ill do that because that laptop I picked out is so cheap.

kross

I see you haven't bought the computer yet. Any reason it has to be a laptop? It's not the ideal choice for a car PC.

How about the new dual-core Intel Atom board, the D945GCLF2? $80 for the board, including integrated CPU, from Newegg. Add 2GB memory ($20!), 2.5" SATA 160GB HDD ($50), and a mo-co-so.com case and m2-atx power supply, $135 from his ebay store. link

That gives you a complete computer (no display) for $285 (plus shipping). You're looking at close to $500 with that laptop, after you add in the power supply.

Hope this helps!
-- Kevin

speakers_86

Its funny you say this when you did, because I literally just convinced myself that this laptop is a bad idea. Mainly because the power button is nowhere to be found on the pictures, and I cant find a dock for it.

I just looked at the pic for the power supply you mentioned, and theres a few things Im not sure of (even after reading most of the FAQ!). Does it plug into the motherboard? Would I still need the carnetix part if I go the route your suggesting? Where does the cable carrying all the current plug in at, and the same for the REM cable?

The only other thing Im not sure of is which os to use. It seems most use XP. Im not really sure how available that is now. Any reason not to use Vista Home Premium? Im saying Premium only because I like Media Center. I havent found it for download anywhere, but I havent checked the torrents yet. I dont really expect to find it there.

kross

Yes, it plugs into the motherboard. No, you won't need the Carnetix power supply with this.

For the power connections, there are wires for hooking up power from your battery, accessory power, and remote turn-on for the amps. You can see in this picture, but it actually comes with a plug-in wiring harness, instead of the wires just hanging out of the case like this:



Windows XP will be fine. I can't speak for Vista, haven't used it for a car PC.

-- Kevin

speakers_86

Great. Thanks for the clarification. The unit comes with the female connector for the power. Does it come with the male as well? Or do I need to find it?

I like this setup very much. Thanks.

speakers_86

I just realized, that since this doesn't have a battery, every start up will be a cold start wont it? If I'm right, I guess I should look into wiring the rem to the key less entry. I just saw this in another thread. Thats the only way I can think of to avoid a lengthy delay when the car is started.

DarquePervert

Not necessarily.
Time to look up some information about hibernate and standby modes.



Hibernation is what you want, methinks.

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MP3Car.com

 

speakers_86

Exactly, but pcs dont have batteries. If the psu turns off w/ car, as I believe it does, I dont see how a warm start can be possible. If I am wrong then great! Then I dont have much more to worry about.

edit: btw, I like your avatar.

DarquePervert

Hibernation doesn't require battery.
It writes system state to the HDD, then reads that file when it starts up.
It's not as fast as a resume from standby (which requires some power to keep the system state in RAM), but far faster than a full boot.

That's why I suggested looking up some information on that mode.

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speakers_86

Had no idea. Makes sense though. Thanks.

kross

I have mine set to go into standby when I kill the ignition, and then go into hibernate after 1.5 hours. This lets the music come back on almost immediately when I'm going to the store, or stuff like that. Overnight, or after a day of work, it resumes from hibernate, which takes about 20-30 seconds on my computer.

speakers_86

If yours goes into standby, how does it get power? Doesnt the m2-atx stop supplying power when the car is shutoff?

kross

I suggest you read more about the m2. That's why it's called an "intelligent" startup/shutdown controller.

Basically, when you turn off the car, it will simulate pressing the power button on the computer, but it doesn't actually kill the power. The computer is configured to do whatever you want it to do when the power button is pressed (shutdown, standby, or hibernate). Then, after a set amount of time (2 hours by default, but is configurable), the m2 will remove all power.

You can download the manual for it from the mp3car.com store. It has more details.

speakers_86

Oh, thats great! An awesome feature. If it works that well why do people use laptops?

MP3Car.com