Hey, I'm a complete newb and this is my first post. I've been reading and roaming around this board for awhile thinking up a dream list of things I would love to be able to do in my car.
A few basic things you should know about what I am currently undertaking in my car. I am in the process of installing my competion audio system. To do so, I am walling off the back of my car (a '97 Pontiac Grand Prix GT) to accomadate a pair of Beyond Audio 18" Inhuman subwoofers. For a front stage I will be fiberglassing new door skins to house a pair of Image Dynamic 6.5" speakers in each door and will be mounting a set of Image Dynamics HLCDs under my dash. Under the hood I am in the process of getting a bracket made to house a second HO ALT to charge the 5 batteries (one under the hood, four in the trunk, all soon to come) and the 3 large class AB amps to power the audio. My HU is currently a Panasonic 801u.
With this said, I would like to be able to install a carputer to be able to play and store DVDs, MP3s, and the likes. GPS is another feature I would love to have, but could wait until a later time. Adding a PS2 to the mix would also be involved (might as well go all out). Custom fabrication is not a problem, but I'm worried that space may be an issue. I have all the room in my center council left, along with my glovebox, and some room behind and under my seats. And if I have to, I can try to fit more in the trunk but I'm hoping to have some room left to squeeze in an air ride system.
Now as far as questions, how much cost is involved with a carputer to fit the applications I'm looking for? What sort of screens should I be looking at? I am able to get good deals on such indash screens as Visonik, or am I looking in the wrong area? What kind of power inverter would be needed for the PS2 and carputer? Vibration being a concern, what steps should I go through to insure that the carputer is not damaged during competions (while off), and daily driving situations (less stressful, but while running)?
Thats about all I can think of now. Anything that I left out that I should know please fill me in (any software issues or something). Sorry for any spelling, not my strong point by any means, but I try. Thanks for all the help in advance
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I'm going the SQ IASCA route..(1- 12" versus your 18"s) Basically, from browsing this site and others, it's pretty much like setting up a desktop, but on a smaller scale. I see most people are going with VIA's Epia M-10000 1Ghz Mini-ITX motherboard which is pretty small (7"x7") , then using common PC input/output devices from there, among them being touchscreens. The cheapest way I can think of to do a touchscreen, is to get a cheap LCD screen (visonic), then a touchscreen overlay, (don't remember site, search) for about $100, which plugs into a USB port. But the visonic screen probably uses a composite (RCA) input, which is a pretty low image quality from what I hear (blurry text) Getting a screen with a VGA input is a better route for image quality, IMO. It seems that all the 6.5"-7" LCD touchscreens with VGA inputs are in the $400-$500 range. 
I plan on using the motherboard's 1 PCI slot to house a Creative Audio Audigy 2 soundcard for better sound output than the built-in sound can provide. I think a decent setup with a 7" VGA touchscreen wil probably run in the $700-$1000 range.
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