Epia vs. Regular Motherboard

jnusaira · 02-08-2004, 11:09 PM

ok i tried searching for my answer, but havent seen it.

So ... is there a REALLLY big value going with Epia??

I am asuming the advantage is that it consumes a LOT less power and is a lot more compact, however probably less powerful for the price?

Thats what i am assuming from what i have seen. (since as u know cpu speed is often relative)

So basically what i want to do u really think i should go for the Epia over a Regular compact anthalon board ???

Thanks
joe

hijinks21 · 02-09-2004, 06:20 AM

i'd get an epia just becuase its compact and takes up less power. The M10k has more then enough horse power to play dvd's. If you get an athlon get an older one under a 1ghz. I wouldn't put anything higher because they produce way too much heat and in a car setup that is very bad

danon · 02-09-2004, 06:31 AM

i'd go for epia, or a micro atx bec. no matter how hi-tech your setup is, at the end of the day if your comp. keeps on booting or failing due to lack of power, then you really have nothing. on a car setup, efficiency is the name of the game.

.

Mr Mx6 · 02-09-2004, 07:02 AM

efficiency, well i can use my p4 2.66ghz, with a gigabyte ga-sinxp1394 m/b, 1 gig ddr ram, 40 gig 7200rpm hdd, dvd rom, tv tuner card, 12.1 inch tft touchscreen, usb kyb, mouse @ powered hub, plus on top of that, 2 12 inch subs, monoblock producing 800rms @ 2 ohm, 4 channel amp, front & rear splits, h/u, centre channel amp and speaker, alpine dolby digital 5.1 processor,(i think, wait hope thats all of it) yea i can run all that for 4 hours off a 600watt power inverter and it drains 1.1 volts how is that not efficient. oh and the stereo isn't quite either....

Hcomplyr · 02-09-2004, 07:33 AM

i have a mini-ATX with a celeron 1.7Ghz and i'm not having any issues at all with power consumption and heat, the heat may prove to be a problem in the summer though, that has yet to be seen (a black car will do that)

Rob Withey · 02-09-2004, 07:36 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Mr Mx6

efficiency, well i can use my p4 2.66ghz, with a gigabyte ga-sinxp1394 m/b, 1 gig ddr ram, 40 gig 7200rpm hdd, dvd rom, tv tuner card, 12.1 inch tft touchscreen, usb kyb, mouse @ powered hub, plus on top of that, 2 12 inch subs, monoblock producing 800rms @ 2 ohm, 4 channel amp, front & rear splits, h/u, centre channel amp and speaker, alpine dolby digital 5.1 processor,(i think, wait hope thats all of it) yea i can run all that for 4 hours off a 600watt power inverter and it drains 1.1 volts how is that not efficient. oh and the stereo isn't quite either....

600w...! What are you doing that requires all that power. My system runs on less than 30w.

Mr Mx6 · 02-09-2004, 07:44 AM

there are plans to also run a xbox etc.. on it all.......

AzzKicker · 02-09-2004, 09:06 AM

Well for starters I dont think you'd want an Athlon board. They are way to hot for a car. Even a 950 needs a lot of cooling.

If you want to go with a regular motherboard, go with an Intel setup with a Celeron chip.

If the motherboard has Onboard VGA and SOUND you make a small case for it and it will be just as convenient as any EPIA motherboard. If you make the case yourself you could probably bust a 2" thick case. I may consider doing this because I'm not sre I want to spend 150 + for EPIA stuff when for 40 dollars you can probably find old Celeron COMBOS out on Ebay.

Plus my Silverado with Center Console has small A/C vents on the consol for back seat passengers. I'm gonna route the vents into the CASE for awesome Cooling

PORTUGAL · 02-09-2004, 09:43 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Mr Mx6

efficiency, well i can use my p4 2.66ghz, with a gigabyte ga-sinxp1394 m/b, 1 gig ddr ram, 40 gig 7200rpm hdd, dvd rom, tv tuner card, 12.1 inch tft touchscreen, usb kyb, mouse @ powered hub, plus on top of that, 2 12 inch subs, monoblock producing 800rms @ 2 ohm, 4 channel amp, front & rear splits, h/u, centre channel amp and speaker, alpine dolby digital 5.1 processor,(i think, wait hope thats all of it) yea i can run all that for 4 hours off a 600watt power inverter and it drains 1.1 volts how is that not efficient. oh and the stereo isn't quite either....

How is that possible , im going to buy an Opus Psu because of its high efficiency , one thing i really want is to be able to run the car pc with the engine off for at least 2 hours ,(want to watch movies with girlfriend

) and your system is able to draw 600 wats from your battery for 4 hours

How long can a normal car battery keep a system that draws about 90wats powered ??? ( using an opus ).

Thanks

Jamez_Warner · 02-09-2004, 10:04 AM

that would require a 200Ah battery to delivery 600W (50amps @12v ) as far as I knew car batteries were about 100? you must have one beefy batt....

tom2112 · 02-09-2004, 11:39 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by jnusaira

ok i tried searching for my answer, but havent seen it.

So ... is there a REALLLY big value going with Epia??

I am asuming the advantage is that it consumes a LOT less power and is a lot more compact, however probably less powerful for the price?

Thats what i am assuming from what i have seen. (since as u know cpu speed is often relative)

So basically what i want to do u really think i should go for the Epia over a Regular compact anthalon board ???

Thanks
joe

Joe:
In case you haven't figured it out, everyone has an opinion on the subject. The reason for that is that this choice has a lot of factors. And a lot of those factors are dependent on individual needs. So, everyone is different.

To make a long story short, it all depends on what you want out of your CarPC and how much you have to spend.

The three big factors are:
Space - where are you putting it?
Power - how're you powering it?
Money - how much can you spend?

In short, the EPIA systems (not just the board) tend to be more expensive, smaller and lower power. The P4 or Athlon systems tend to be power hungry, bigger, and less expensive. Keep in mind those are generalities. Anyone can put together a dozen systems that prove me wrong. My point is to be general to give you an idea of what motivated most people to choose one or the other.

The people going the Via EPIA route are usually looking for low power solutions with a small foot print. That's the EPIA's sweet spot. However, the EPIA is no power house in the performance category. That doesn't mean that you can't do GPS, DVD's, MP3's, and ODBII stuff - all at once even. It does fine on all that. You're not going to be playing Quake III Arena on it though.

Another downside to the EPIA is the cost. The cost of the board is probably cheaper than a good P4 board and CPU, but most EPIA users spend more because they add on all kinds of higher cost - low power or space saving devices. If you go with a P4 or Athlon you're already blowing low-power and space-saving out of the picture, so why spend more on a low power or space-saving DVD-ROM or HDD?

The P4 or Athlon systems draw significantly more power than the EPIA's. They also make more heat. If you're planning to put this baby in your trunk, then who cares how hot it is? Put a fan in the case and call it a day. If you're planning to integrate the unit in your dashboard, then you've got some space and ventilation problems to solve.

Power is another issue altogether. Obviously power contributes to heat as well, so it is doubly important. Also, if you're power requirements exceed the Opus 150 watt power supply's output, then you've got to design your own power setup. The Opus is pricey but it takes care of a lot of issues, including power during engine crank - a big issue for most non-Opus users. Most non-Opus users have power inverters. They can be expensive, depending on how much power you need. If you go the power inverter route you usually end up working on tank circuits and all kinds of other electronics that I don't know much about. So I'll let someone else talk about that.

From my tag-line you can tell which route I went. Mine's not better or worse than anyone else's system. It's mine and I made it with me in mind. You have to prioritize your goals (Cost, Power, Space) and make your own descisions. I hope this helps.

Later,
Tom

RX7FDTT · 02-09-2004, 12:10 PM

This battery will last me about 20 seconds

just enough to shut the CPU down

Pale Rider · 02-09-2004, 12:17 PM

EPIA or not to EPIA.. i do not know

I currently have a ECS K7S5A+ mobo with a 1700+
I am getting a Opus to run it. I know it can handle it with ease. But my concern is the heat.

Living in Texas, when summer comes its gonna be HOT! I dont know how to deal with the heat issues that i think will come up. Sometimes in the summer it gets up to 120ish F inside your car from sittin out. So what should I do for the heat issues. I really don't want to get a EPIA and spend another $120 since I already have a workable setup, however idk if a regular mobo will work with the heat conditions around here.

jnusaira · 02-09-2004, 12:55 PM

Well i am going to probably put it in the hatch.

I have a 99 camaro ... so under the seat is out of the question ... and i i haev noquams wiring to the hatch ... although the computer will then be exposed to direct sunlight ... but i can probably put something over it with no hassle.

with a celeron lets say ... whats the max u can hook up to it?

Mr Mx6 · 02-09-2004, 08:49 PM

first of all, the power inverter is rated to put out 600watts, in reality it would probably put out between 100 to 250watts depending on usage, secondly i'm running dual batteries , the rear battery powers teh pc and stereo completely independant, that battery is a powercel 70ah, weight 27kg i recall, an opus would be good, however for the cost of me to get one into aust, is by far more han double the cost i got my 600 watt power inverter for hence the reason i chose that. i did have a athlon 1200 running in there previously, was good however it wants the processing power of a p4, which is why its a p4 2.6 now. i first connected my pc thinking i'd be lucky to hit 1 hour with the inverter, however using the multimeter i found that i was quite wrong in saying just 1 hour, till the amp cut out or pc starts to shut down would probably be in the area of 5-8 hours depending on how hard u push the pc